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Popcorn!!! (Rosemary Browned Butter, Churro, Curry and Cake Batter)
We had our annual Corporate meeting at work the other day. It's one of those legally required things that contains all sorts of super boring businessy stuff that very few find interesting, but it is the law... Since I'm the Executive Admin, it's my responsibility to bribe, coerce, finagle, manipulate or otherwise convince people to attend the meeting. So, we provide refreshments at the end of the meeting and everyone in the office knows that I'll come through with some sort of unusual or just plain delightful treat that compensates for said boring businessy stuff :-) We've done pie, cupcakes and root beer floats in the past, but I like to keep things interesting and surprising, so this year it was an Italian soda and popcorn bar. In order to please everyone, as I am want to do, I decided on four flavors of popcorn (in order of popularity): Rosemary with browned butter, churro (cinnamon sugar), curry (yes, curry) and cake batter. The Rosemary Browned butter recipe was featured here, so I'll refrain from writing that one again, but I will tell you that people lose their minds over that popcorn recipe every single time I make it. I am not exaggerating!
OH MY GOSH you guys, these were seriously all soooo good. My personal favorite was the Churro one.
A note on Popcorn: I use microwave popcorn because I'm too lazy to clean up the mess of cooking it on the stove, but don't let that deter you if you prefer to use a more natural or air popped version yourself. Since these aren't the healthiest options for popcorn (except the curry one, that one is no added fat or calories). Whatever you chose to use. I would stay away from ones that are overly buttery flavored already. My favorite brand is Orville Redenbacher's Natural, Simply Salted.
A note on browned butter: This is a really good instructional video on making browned butter. If you have never made it, I recommend you take a gander before attempting.
A note on spices: I buy my spices from Penzy's at any chance I get. Although they have store fronts in some of America's major cities, I do not live in one, so I purchase all of mine through their online store. I highly recommend you give them a try. Some of my favorites are the Balti seasoning, Balti curry powder and the Chili9000. Their spices are generally fresher and more intense than ones bought at the grocery. They also have a ton of blends that make great additions to marinades, salads etc.
EnJoy!
Churro Popcorn:
Ingredients:
One bag of microwave popcorn (although you probably really want to make more than that. Just double or triple the ingredients as desired) 1/2 Stick of butter (browned lightly) 1 Tbs. Sugar 1 tsp. cinnamon (this one is my favorite)
Directions:
Once you've popped the popcorn, dump it into a bowl and drizzle the browned butter over it. Toss it lightly and then sprinkle the cinnamon sugar over. Toss it to coat. This recipe is really flexible and should be done to your desire. You may want to use more cinnamon sugar, but I do not suggest using more butter....it gets way too heavy with more butter.
Curry Popcorn:
Ingredients:
One bag of microwave popcorn Balti Curry Powder (I realize most of you won't have this on hand, but any good curry powder could be substituted)
Directions:
Pop the popcorn, empty it into a bowl and sprinkle with curry powder and salt until the flavor is pleasing to you.
Cake Batter:
Ingredients:
1 bag of popcorn 1/2 cup of white chocolate chips 2 Tbs of cake mix (white, yellow or funfetti are the best) 2 Tbs of Party sprinkles
Directions:
Pop your bag of popcorn and place in a bowl. Place the white chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 30 seconds. Stir and microwave for 20 seconds additional, if needed, to melt.
Drizzle the white chocolate over the popcorn, along with the cake mix and sprinkles. Toss to distribute through out the popcorn. As with the Cinnamon sugar popcorn, you can adjust all of the ingredients to your desire. If you want a really sweet and flavorful result, you may want to increase your white choclate/cake mix proportions.
