Kettle Corn Without the Kettle!

Fall is here! Summer left somewhere after midnight last night and we woke up to fall this morning. I don't know about where you are, but it has come pretty late for us. Not that I'm complaining. Originally a Florida girl myself, I love having a real fall but that just means that winter's coming. And nobody needs winter. Maybe a week's worth to get your hot chocolate in and stuff like that.  

So, in continuation of our fall series and to celebrate this morning's arrival, I am posting a new family favorite in this house. I have been making kettle corn pretty much every evening for the last few weeks. Dentists and gastroenterologists are cringing everywhere. But it's soooo good! And easy! No popcorn popper required. I'm not really sure how healthy it is but compared to what we normally snack on in the evenings, we have to be losing weight. Right? (Maybe that last part is wishful thinking.)

So, time to get out a pot with a lid, popcorn kernels, salt, sugar and oil. I always use sea salt. I don't know why. It just seems like a good idea. I have been trying and re-trying different techniques and I think I have it about perfect now. 

Put a couple tablespoons of canola oil (really any kind of oil) in the bottom of your pot and one popcorn kernel. Heat it on medium-high a few minutes until the kernel pops then throw in 1/3 cup of kernels, 3 teaspoons of sugar (teaspoon as in the kind you use for cereal, in the drawer with the knives and forks- this is all very scientific), several pinches of salt, and stir it up with a spatula then shake it all flat in the pot. That was a really long sentence. 

Then, wait until it starts popping and then give it some shakes. The more it pops, the more you need to shake it to keep the sugar from burning. About halfway through or close to the end I really keep it higher off the heat or turn it off altogether. It's better to have some unpopped than a whole batch of burnt sugar popcorn. Just leave the lid on until it stops popping then pour it in a bowl. It will stick together a bit but just break it up when the sugar cools. Now I will warn you. You will be tempted to eat this straight from the pot, but DO NOT do it! That sugar is HOT. Wait for it to cool. You may still get hit with an errant kernel popping and end up with a popcorn hickey on your neck. I don't know anything about that. I'm just saying it could happen. 

Now you have a lovely bowl of delicious kettle corn you will be forced to share. My suggestion is to make this when no one is around so it's all yours. You will wonder how a whole bowl could just disappear.

It's even easier to make just butter and salted popcorn, so feel free to try different variations. It turns out well when you're not contending with cooking sugar. I know people have suggested throwing Parmesan cheese in there. I have yet to figure out why because so far I have only ended up with flecks of burnt cheese. And really it's not cheesy anyway. I want to know my cheese is there. I have a variation involving ranch dry mix I would like to get to, but I've been having a hard time getting past the kettle corn. 

Enjoy!

-t-