Bacon & Cashew Caramel Popcorn

For a brief time in the 1990's, I lived in a cave with a slab of bacon as my only companion. I'd caress that slab of bacon and call it My Precious. It was a bleak period in my life, but that's the dark power bacon holds over me.

Occasionally, I find a recipe using bacon that plunges me into the murky depths of a culinary Mordor, and I wonder if I'll be able to return home. This was the case with the following recipe from Bon Appetit:

Bacon and Cashew Caramel Popcorn

Ingredients:

1/2 cup popcorn kernels

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

6 ounces bacon, chopped

1/2 cup cashews

1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt or coarse sea salt

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/4 cup heavy whipping cream

Nonstick vegetable oil spray

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/4 cup water

2 tablespoons light corn syrup

Preparation:

1. Heat popcorn and oil in covered heavy large pot over medium-high heat until kernels begin to pop. Using oven mitts, hold lid on pot and shake pot until popping stops. Pour popcorn into very large bowl.
   
2. Cook bacon in heavy large skillet over medium heat until almost crisp. Using slotted spoon, transfer to paper towels to drain; cool. Add bacon and cashews to bowl with popcorn. Sprinkle with coarse salt and cayenne; toss to coat.
3. Line rimmed baking sheet with foil; coat with nonstick spray. Coat 2 wooden spoons or heat-resistant spatulas with nonstick spray; set aside.
   
4. Stir sugar, 1/4 cup water, and corn syrup in large saucepan over medium-low heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat to high; boil without stirring until syrup turns deep amber, occasionally swirling pan and brushing down sides with wet pastry brush, about 13 minutes.
   
5. Remove from heat and immediately add cream (mixture will bubble up). Stir until blended. Immediately drizzle caramel over popcorn mixture; toss with sprayed spoons until evenly coated. Transfer to sheet.
6. Place caramel corn in oven and bake at 250 degrees until caramel is shiny and coats popcorn, tossing mixture occasionally, about 20 minutes. Cool completely on sheet on rack, tossing occasionally to break up large clumps. DO AHEAD: Can be made 2 days ahead. Store airtight in refrigerator.

(Bacon, the star of this production)

I adapted this recipe slightly. It called for me to steep an oolong teabag in the cream, but I didn't have this tea in my pantry. This recipe rocks without the oolong, but I'm curious about what flavor the tea would add.

Salty. Sweet. Smokey. Spicey. I must find a slab of bacon and crawl back into my cave.

all that is gold does not glitter,
muddy

Sriracha Kettle Corn

Last week after watching the CBS Sunday Morning profile on Wayne Thiebaud, I felt much better about the insane amount of time I've been spending with popcorn. Early in Mr. Thiebaud's career, he tried to get away from painting cakes, pies, and other sugary confections. He tried to paint different subjects, but he "couldn't leave it alone." I'm the same way with popcorn, so I'm going to continue with this, even if people start whispering behind my back.

Last week I threw my staff of taste testers a curve ball by making Sriracha Kettle Corn. A few days before the taste testing, I prepared them for the experience by bringing in some Sriracha sauce for them sample. For many it was their first time trying Sriracha, and that night few of my taste testers tracked down the sauce to buy. We might have a cult of Sriracha sprouting in Kansas.

Overall the taste testers liked this popcorn, and I think it surprised them. I'm not sold on this recipe. I think there might be others ways to meld savory and sweet or the sweet and heat. I'll keep plugging away.

Sriracha Kettle Corn

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons of Sriracha (Depending on your taste or mood, you can more or less Sriracha.)
  
• 1/2 cup popcorn
• salt to taste

Preparation:

1. Heat the vegetable oil in a large pot over medium heat.
   


2. Stir the Sriracha into the sugar. Once the oil is hot, stir in the sugar and popcorn.
   


3. Cover, and shake the pot constantly to keep the sugar from burning.
   


4. Once the popping has slowed to once every 2 to 3 seconds, remove the pot from the heat and continue to shake for a few minutes until the popping has stopped.


5. Pour into a large bowl, and allow to cool, stirring occasionally to break up large clumps.

My taste testers have been brainstorming potential popcorn flavors. Many of them want to see a Dr. Pepper-flavored popcorn. For the heck of it, we might just head in this direction.

at least I'm not Peanut Butter Boy (not that there's anything wrong with that),
muddy

Guns, Ammo, and Popcorn

My pantry looks like I'm a popcorn-loving survivalist who's preparing for the apocalypse. Right now I have seven types of popcorn on the shelf, and I'm considering adding more to my stash. Why stop with yellow popcorn? This isn't the only sign of my obsession. Recently someone asked my wife if I intended to continue blogging solely about popcorn. I guess, this popcorn business has gone too far.

I could deviate from this current obsession, but I won't. Instead I'm going to keep plugging away at my obsessions. I'm quite aware it's a bit odd, but I'm all obsessions, whether it's 25 pound bags of flour, popcorn, reading, and college football. Obsess is what I do best.

It's even flowed over into my professional life. I've enlisted one of classes to serve as my official taste testers. They relish the job and devour anything I bring in, and I've benefited from their feedback. We've even worked this gig into the curriculum by trying to use words to capture the tastes, smells, and textures that go along with the world of popcorn.

Monday I brought in three varieties of popcorn for the students to evaluate. While the taste of all three were similar, here are some differences we discovered:

Schlaegel's Homegrown Popcorn - $1.50 for 32 ounces

I really pulled for this local popcorn grown in Whiting, Kansas, a community slightly north east of Topeka. However, this popcorn didn't stack up well to our other two competitors. Schlaegel's produced a crispier corn with smaller kernels, but it crumbled easily, leaving a large number of bits and pieces at the bottom of the bowl. We decided that we liked snacking on this corn, but it shouldn't be used for any caramel popcorn recipes because we wanted a kernel that held together.

Jiffy Pop - $1.50 for 32 ounces

Orville Redenbacher- 4.50 for 30 ounces

Both of these brands use popcorn grown Iowa, and since I feel a deep kinship with Iowans, I don't have a problem purchasing these products. Both produced a fluffy, quality popcorn, but with Mr. Redenbacher corn costing 3 dollars more, we'll be reaching for the Jiffy Pop.

Aside from the taste test results, I learned that I'm officially old. When tasting the popcorn, I used a term to refer to the unpopped kernels, and my students looked at me puzzled. The term was foreign to them. Guess what it was?

keep on poppin'
muddy

PS. . . Friday we sample a Sriracha-flavored popcorn.

Kettle Corn

At the end of July, I informally appointed myself the Ambassador of Stovetop Popcorn. Now that my business cards are printed and my office is decorated, I'm ready to begin my job.

Sunday my daughter and I gathered around the stove to pop kettle corn, a treat that became a staple at Kansas festivals in the mid 1990's. I've never understood the appeal of kettle corn. Instead of flirting with slight sweetness of kettle corn, I prefer to commit to the delight of a slice of pie or a funnel cake. My daughter, on the other hand, displays a Christmas-morning enthusiasm for kettle corn. Her love of kettle corn and my love for her motivated me to make kettle corn.

I wasn't expecting much from the recipe, but 30 minutes after I pulled the popcorn off the stove, I stared at an empty bowl and realized that the yin and yang of the sweet and salty kernels had cast a spell on my taste buds. I'll never be the same.

Kettle Corn

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup popcorn
• salt to taste

Preparation:

1. Heat the vegetable oil in a large pot over medium heat.
   


2. Once hot, stir in the sugar and popcorn.
   


3. Cover, and shake the pot constantly to keep the sugar from burning.
   


4. Once the popping has slowed to once every 2 to 3 seconds, remove the pot from the heat and continue to shake for a few minutes until the popping has stopped.


5. Pour into a large bowl, and allow to cool, stirring occasionally to break up large clumps.

In a previous post, I explained that I used an old aluminum dutch oven to popcorn. Here's a photo of this versatile culinary tool.



There's no need to purchase a special popper. Popping corn on the stove should be an inexpensive endeavor.

keep on the sunny side,
muddy

Parmesan-Sage Popcorn

Once upon a time, kids didn't eat chicken nuggets, popcorn was popped on a stove, and families watched television together. During this fabled time, my family settled down on Saturday evenings to watch Love Boat and Fantasy Island. While watching these kitschy shows, I'd munch on popcorn and wash it down with my only soda of the week.

Times have changed. Popcorn is prepared in a microwave, and while it's nice to throw a bag in the microwave, check my email, and return to a perfectly popped bowl of popcorn, I believe something is lost in the process. Microwaving popcorn is a detached experience and doesn't fully engage the senses like popping corn on the stove. There's something joyful about the first ping of kernels ricocheting off metal, a musical freeform Buddy Rich-like solo. Then as the popped kernels fill the dutch oven, the musical notes deepen to a chorus. There's just something romantic about the whole damn experience, and I miss it.

You could call me overly sentimental, but I'd like to see America return to popping popcorn on the stove. To spearhead this movement, I offer up this recipe for Parmesan-Sage Popcorn:

Parmesan-Sage Popcorn

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup popcorn kernels
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh sage
• 3/4 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper

Preparation:

1. Place a large, lidded dutch oven over medium-high heat, and add oil and popcorn kernels.
2. Cover the saucepan,t hen begin gently shaking the pan over the heat.
   
3. Listen for the joyful pinging of the kernels, after 4-5 minutes, and continue shaking the pan until the popping slows. I find it helps to sing and shake my body to facilitate the shaking of the pan.
   
4. Remove the lid and pour the popcorn into a large bowl.
5. Wipe out the dutch oven, turn the heat to low, and add the butter.
6. Melt the butter, and then add the sage. continue cooking for an additional 30-60 seconds, until the sage crisps. Add the butter and sage mixture to the popcorn, along with the Parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper. Toss well to evenly distribute.
7. Settle down with the family in time to hear Tattoo shout, "Ze plane! Ze plane!"
   

My mother would sometimes make popcorn with bacon grease? What are your favorite popcorn memories?

while we're at it, let's get rid of baby carrots and return to old-fashioned carrot sticks,
muddy