Popping in to 2024
Popping in to 2024
A bubbly bottle and some corn kernels in a dual sweet and savory role ring in the New Year
2024 is here and we rang it in early with the family at our daughter Rose and her husband Stephen’s house in Alpine overlooking the Palisades Reservoir. In attendance were 2-and-a-half-year-old Kirk and 10-month-old Iris. We celebrated early, just after the sun went down, and graze-feasted on all the charcuterie and cheese leftovers—plus Kirk’s contribution, Piggies in a Blanket, little sausages wrapped in crescent dough—and popcorn.
Pop! went that cork on the bottle of Crémant de Bourgogne and it was delicious, pairing well with the snacks at hand as well as the curious combination of sweet and savory popcorn.
I have a current mild obsession with popcorn. It’s the one snack that Kirk can have at any time, and we make a lot of it. He always eats it plain, without butter or salt, and enjoys it. But now that he knows it can be dressed up with a savory spice-infused powdered cheese blend or a homemade toffee, he may never go back.
Garrett’s Chicago popcorn mix was my inspiration. My new friend in Alpine, Paula Currie, brought me back a tin of Garrett’s mix as a thank-you for an airport lift and I’ve been a hound on a scent trail ever since. While in Boulder in November I encountered Rocky Mountain Neder Cheddar at a Winter Market in Longmont and I was inspired to come up with my own blend.
Internet searches brought me to a recipe for the caramel part and Alton Brown’s dedicated trials led me to my take on the cheesy, savory side. This project is a labor of love, not for the faint of heart, and expensive to boot—but the end result is so worth it.
When you are ready to eat again, after the indulgence of the holidays, this recipe is ultimately adaptable to your own preference. And if you are on a strict New Year’s diet, have your popcorn like Kirk—no butter, no salt. Happy New Year and Cheers!
Part 1: The Caramel Popcorn Adapted from the recipe My Amish Friend’s Caramel Corn
Makes 8 quarts
Make the popcorn before you attempt the caramel topping and give your full attention to the topping when you make it.
Pop the corn:
2 tablespoons avocado oil (or any neutral high-heat oil)
½ cup popcorn kernels
Fashion a lid for a 6-8 quart pot from heavy-duty foil that completely covers the pot. Pierce the foil in 8-10 places with a knife to allow steam to escape. Heat the oil in a large pot, add the popcorn kernels, and place the oil lid on top. When the popping starts, shake vigorously for about 3 minutes until the popping stops. Take off the foil. Spray a clean brown paper bag with vegetable oil spray, and pour the popped corn into the bag.
Repeat the process to yield about 8 quarts of popped corn.
The Caramel Topping:
8 ounces of unsalted butter
2 cups dark brown sugar
½ cup light corn syrup
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon baking soda
Preheat the oven to 250° F Spray two large, rimmed sheet pans with cooking spray.
In a large, heavy pan (I used a 5-quart LeCreuset) bring the butter, brown sugar, corn syrup, and salt to a boil over medium heat. Once the mixture boils, set a timer for 5 minutes and stir constantly. (Have the vanilla and baking soda measured out separately in advance in small dishes so you can add them quickly.) After 5 minutes, remove the pan from the heat and stir in the vanilla and the baking soda. The mixture will foam up significantly and get very light. Immediately pour it over the double batch of popped corn that is in the greased bag, fold down the top of the bag, and shake to distribute the hot caramel over the popped corn.
Pour the coated corn onto the two prepared baking trays, breaking up clumps and looking for unpopped kernels to remove them. Distribute the drier popped corn into the areas that have more caramel on them. Place the two trays in the oven and bake for one hour, removing the trays every 15 minutes to break up clumps and stir the drier corn into the more coated clusters.
After an hour, remove from the oven and allow to cool.
Part 2: The Cheesy Popcorn Adapted from Alton Brown’s Triple Cheese Popcorn
Makes @ 8 quarts
Pop the corn:
2 tablespoons avocado oil (or any neutral high heat oil)
½ cup popcorn kernels
Fashion a lid for 6-8 quart pot from heavy duty foil that completely covers the pot. Pierce the foil in 8-10 places with a knife to allow steam to escape. Heat the oil in large pot and add the popcorn kernels and place the oil lid on top. When the popping starts, shake vigorously for about 3 minutes until the popping stops. Take off the lid. Spray a clean brown paper bag with vegetable oil spray, and pour the popped corn into the bag.
Repeat the process to yield about 8 quarts of popped corn in the sprayed paper bag.
The Cheese Topping
2/3 cup cheddar cheese powder (available online. Look for a product that has no added ingredients like stabilizers and preservatives)
2 tablespoons finely grated Parmesan
4 tablespoons nutritional yeast
2 teaspoons buttermilk powder
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons mixed spices of your choice. I used
½ teaspoon chile powder
½ teaspoon cumin
½ teaspoon ghost chile salt (or cayenne)
½ teaspoon dry mustard
½ cup avocado oil (or olive oil)
Place the cheese powder, Parmesan, nutritional yeast, buttermilk powder, and salt into a blender container or food processor to make a powder. (Not necessary, but it does help the dry ingredients cling to the popcorn better)
When the popcorn is all in the bag, drizzle the oil and shake the bag briefly. Then add the cheese powder mixture and shake vigorously to coat the popcorn with the seasoning.
To make a Chicago-style mix, scoop a few cups of each variety into a large bowl until you have a blend of half of each variety. Package in tins or in plastic bags to give away.
Pop open a bottle of sparkling wine and pop some of that popcorn into your mouth and thank yourself.
