Playoff Popcorn

Tonight, according to my husband, is the start of a Stanley Cup Playoff of epic proportions.  “The greatest Stanley Cup playoff of all time!  The Detroit Redwings going head to head with the Pittsburgh Penguins.  What could be better?“

Um…I don’t know.  Lots of things.

Anyway, as my long-time bloggers know, hockey doesn’t ring my bell, but that doesn’t mean I’m not all excited for Don.  I’ve just finished making the Playoff Popcorn and I know most of you already know how to make popcorn, but for those of you that don’t, I will go step-by-step.  It is really very easy.

Playoff Popcorn
Ingredients:  corn oil, un-popped popcorn kernels, butter, Parmesan cheese (I use fresh finely grated as well as Kraft Parmesan in the shaker,) and if you can find it, white truffle olive oil. 

The truffle oil is kind of pricey but you only need a little dab of it to make everything taste great.  I drizzle a little bit of it in my potato leek cream soup and it really gives it that extra something.  You also can use a titch in mashed potatoes, scrambled eggs, pasta etc.  So, if you do splurge on it, you won’t regret it. (Unless you hate the taste of truffle oil, and then you’ve just wasted a bunch of money)

Put a large colander with a dinner plate under it to catch butter drippings, or large bowl on the counter by the stove.

Place:

-2 tablespoons of corn oil.
-1 cup of popcorn kernels

Into a medium sized pan with a well fitting lid.  Put on stove and turn the heat onto medium-high.  (A little closer to the medium side.)  DO NOT walk away from the kitchen.  Popcorn takes a couple of minutes to start popping, but once it is going, it happens pretty fast.

Don’t forget to wear pot-holders on both hands, unless you have the type of pot where the handles don’t get hot. 

Give the pot a good shake every now and then, to move the kernels around.  Even before the corn starts popping.

Once the popcorn starts popping, hold the lid on tight and give the pot a good shake around every eight seconds or so.  This is too keep the popcorn moving inside so the bottom won’t burn. 

When enough popcorn has popped so that it starts forcing the lid off the pot, pour some of the popped popcorn into the waiting colander or bowl. 

Repeat until all the kernels have popped and you can count to ten without another piece popping.

Remove immediately from heat and turn off the stove.

Now you have popcorn!  (What you do next is totally up to you.  You can melt a little butter in the hot pan you just popped the corn in and pour that on and sprinkle a little salt in it.  You can make some carmel and scatter some pecans in the popcorn and make carameled corn.  OR you can make my playoff popcorn.)

-Melt 1/2 cup of butter in the hot pan.  (You don’t need to turn the stove on.  Just plop the butter in the pan and swirl it around until it is melted.  I don’t do this over heat, because you don’t want the butter to burn.
-Add 1/4 a teaspoon of white truffle olive oil (if you have it.  If you don’t, no worries, it’s tastes good without.)
-Shake some of the Kraft Parmesan into the butter (it’s totally up to you how much you want to do.  I do maybe 7-8 shakes) 
-Pour the butter mix over the popped popcorn. 
-Shake more Kraft Parmesan cheese and sprinkle a handful of grated fresh cheese, and a sprinkling of salt.

Stir.

-Add more cheese and salt to taste.

Stir again.

And then… DEVOUR!

P.S.  And don’t worry if all you have is the Kraft Parmesan and don’t have access to the fresh stuff.  I just wrote the recipe that way, because when I made this up, that was what I had in the house.  Anyway you make it, it’s going to taste good!

Posted by Meg Tilly on Saturday, May 24, 2008 in Chewing the Fat