EZ Recipe: Popcorn

Few things in life are constant, but one thing that has never changed is the way Mom makes popcorn.  She has one pot used only for heating Orville Redenbacher’s butter flavored popping oil to create perfectly popped kernels of his gourmet popping corn.  The children all know that the favorite is the one who inherits the popcorn pot.  Not only is it caked with 30+ years of popcorn making magic, but it also has an excellent lid for minimizing oil splatter.

Since I do not have a special popcorn pot, I took liberty with the popcorn recipe and popping process, and I am happy with the results. The recipe is below, with a couple of notes from Mom, and our preferred seasonings.  We like it spicy, but if you prefer to melt down some butter and keep simple, that works too.  Share your favorite flavors and toppings in the comments below.

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1. First pour the 1/2 cup of peanut oil into the pot, and place it on the stove, making sure your large mixing bowl is nearby.
2. Toss 3 kernels into the oil, and turn the burner to high.
   Mom’s note: The oil should just cover the kernels.  Too much oil makes soggy popcorn and too little burns the popcorn.
3. Wait until all 3 kernels pop (approx. 5 minutes or so), and then pour in the 1/3 cup of popcorn kernels.
4. This part is a mix of art and science. There are three factors in play here, we want all the kernels to pop, we don’t want the popcorn to burn, and the pot will only hold so much popcorn.As the kernels pop, they will fill the pot, and at some point you will need to move them to the mixing bowl.  I generally wait until the lid starts to rise just a bit with the expanding popcorn, and then I will use the lid to scroop (a scrape/scoop motion) a bit of the popcorn into the bowl.Lift the pot over the large mixing bowl, scroop out a bit of the popcorn, and return the pot to the burner.
5. When the popping sound slows to 10 second intervals, you can turn off the stove and transfer the rest of the popcorn to your large mixing bowl.
   Mom’s Note: The goal is to pop all of the kernels you put in the oil, but just in case, use a small measuring cup to scoop out the last bit of popcorn to avoid unpopped kernels in your servings.
6. Now it is time to season the popcorn. Shake the salt, chili powder, and cayenne pepper evenly across the top of the popcorn, and then gently shake/bounce the bowl so the seasonings mix through the popcorn.
7. If you have guests, scoop out some smaller bowls of popcorn, otherwise, grab a napkin, and head to the couch!