Wednesday, June 2, 2010

fancy popcorn






I had a reunion of sorts... you see, some friends and I met up on Monday afternoon. I know I enjoyed their company... I laughed a whole lot, and loved the fun stories they shared with me. Are you kind of curious as to who I met up with? Well the ladies... you know... Carrie, Samantha, Miranda and Charlotte. Yep. those ladies. Not really my friends, but I sure did enjoy the two and a half hours I spent with them...

There are two things I have been looking forward to in the last month; seeing Sex and the City 2 and trying out this popcorn recipe. You see... I saw it (the recipe) in the happy baker and just knew that it (the popcorn) and I would be the bestest of friends. The crunch of popcorn, drizzled in a melted chocolate and corn syrup mixture with toffee pieces tossed in. I mean really! How could I not love this popcorn?!

It looks more complicated and time consuming than it really is. It does require about three different steps - but simple simple. I promise. I even made it recovering from running my first marathon.

I enjoyed half the batch while catching up with the ladies, and don't worry if you can't eat it all in one shot... store it in an air tight container for a couple of days. You're golden. I actually think it gets betters the longer it sits.

Step 1: The art of popping corn on your stove top.

You'll need some canola oil and about 1/2 c. kernels.

In a large pot (you need to have a lid), heat a thin layer of canola oil over medium heat - you want to just cover the entire bottom of the pot. You'll know that the oil is ready when you flick a little water into the pot - it'll sizzle (careful! don't flick too much, otherwise the oil will spray everywhere).
Take the pot off the heat, toss your kernels into a single layer all over the base and cover with the lid. Return to the burner, increase the heat to medium-high and gently shake the pot, side to side, over the heat. You'll hear the popcorn start popping... don't remove the lid otherwise it'll fly everywhere! Once the steady stream of popping ends, remove the pot from heat and there you have it! Popcorn!

Fancy Popcorn (aka toffee chocolate popcorn)
ingredients:
8 c. popped popcorn (about that 1/2 c. kernels you just popped)
1 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 c. dark corn syrup
1/4 c. butter
1/3 c. toffee pieces

Preheat your oven to 300 F.

Place your popped popcorn in a large rectangular baking dish... I used two half trays instead, which cut down on the baking time, but either will work.

In a medium pot over medium-high heat, bring the chocolate chips, corn syrup and butter to a boil; whisking often.

Pour the syrup over the popcorn and stir until evenly coated. I used my hands - I thought it was simplest... remember, it is a little hot at this point :0)

Toss in the toffee pieces, stir it around again.

This is when you place your pan in the oven and bake for 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes. Since I used two pans I baked it for 30 minutes and stirred every 10 minutes.

Let cool. And then enjoy.

I heart this popcorn so much I think I should host a movie night... only, not at my place since I don't have a tv. Who wants to host? I'll bring the popcorn! And I bet it's even better with some red wine... any takers?

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Looks delicious, Lynne! (And I don't even like popcorn very much). I'd love to invite you over for an evening of popcorn, movies, and wine, but since I lack both a television and a couch that might prove difficult for the time-being.

Sylvie McDermott said...

Wow, Lynne. I can`t wait to try this. I love popcorn and I absolutely love love chocolate. What a great combination! I love your blog!