May the Odds Be Ever in Your Flavor!

This week brings one very exciting movie release and the start of many Sunday evenings glued to the TV. First and foremost was Friday's release of The Hunger Games! Yes, I saw it and I loved it. Although I'm not proud of it, I also may have elbowed a few tweens for the perfect viewing seat. I was, however, proud of myself for sneaking in several bags of delicious flavored popcorn! Movie theatre fare is mediocre at best and overly expensive. I decided to BYOP (that's bring your own popcorn, not Pinot). Popcorn is the obvious choice for movie watching, and I certainly didn't go hungry at The Hunger Games, but it will also come in handy for tomorrow's long-awaited return of Mad Men and next week's premiere of Game of Thrones. Whether it be herb butter, Old Bay Seasoning, caramel, coconut or truffle oil, there are dozens of ingredients that you can use to spice up an ordinary bag of popcorn. To be extra prepared, I made one batch of sweet and one batch of savory popcorn. It came as no surprise to me when my husband requested a S'mores flavored Popcorn. I've mentioned his obsession with s'mores before but I knew things had gone too far when he proclaimed that, had he been in the Hunger Games, surviving on s'mores would be a priority. For the savory popcorn, I decided on a chili-lime combo. I really liked them both, but I seriously cannot stop eating the S'mores popcorn. I just hope this stash will make it to next Sunday. May the odds be ever in my favor!

S'mores Popcorn
makes about 10 cups
INGREDIENTS
1 bag freshly popped popcorn, cooled
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
4 Tablespoons butter 

1/4 cup light corn syrup 

1/2 teaspoon baking soda 

2 cups mini marshmallows
4 graham cracker sheets, crushed
1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS

1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. Combine the brown sugar, butter, and corn syrup in a medium saucepan and cook on medium-high heat until boiling (about 5 minutes). It will have a caramel color and consistency. Remove from the heat and stir in the baking soda. (Mixture will foam up, which helps coat the popcorn)

2. In a very large bowl combine the popcorn, marshmallows and graham crackers. Drizzle the caramel over the popcorn, gently stirring with a large wooden spoon. Continue to stir until the caramel evenly coats the popcorn mix. Spread mix out onto the baking sheet.

3. Microwave chocolate chips in a heat proof bowl in 30 second increments, stirring often until melted. Use a spoon to drizzle chocolate over popcorn, then set aside until chocolate cools. Break pieces apart and enjoy! Store popcorn in an airtight container for about a week.

Use a natural microwave popcorn without butter or flavorings

 

Wait a minute, this is really starting to remind me of something.....Yes, a Jackson Pollock painting!! Anyone see the resemblance? (Pollock on the right)

Get the recipe card here.

And now, for a savory popcorn with a kick...

Chili-Lime Popcorn

makes about 10 cups

INGREDIENTS

1 bag freshly popped popcorn, cooled

lime zest from 2 limes, juice from 1
1/2 cup crumbled cotija cheese
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons melted butter

DIRECTIONS

Pour popcorn into a large bowl and set aside. Melt butter, then add lime juice, zest, chili powder, cayenne powder and salt. Slowly drizzle butter mixture into popcorn, mixing until thoroughly coated. Stir in cotija cheese. Serve immediately.

What a Circus!

Every year at FOOD & WINE, the art department celebrates Halloween in a big way. We're not just talking pumpkins and spider webs, here. We really transform ourselves into some obscure theme, and this year we went with Under the Big Top. Past years have included Octoberfest, an old time saloon, a pizza parlor and even the band Devo. Take a look at some of the days highlights. Judging by our costumes, maybe we have become a little too comfortable around each other...what do you think?

Smooth as Pierre, the tight rope walker, yours truly as the gender defying Claud(ine), LeAnna as Esmerelda the fortune teller and Rory as strongman

Some of our circus features included: a popcorn and cotton candy machine, black cherry rum cocktails, fried oreos, corndogs, apple pies, bacon popcorn and excessive spandex. Hey strongman, you could have at least stood up to weightlift.A few trips to Goodwill and a dress from high school dances past made the ultimate sacrifice for my gender defying costume. We printed out vintage circus posters and pasted them all over our desks. The fried Oreos were really simple to make. Now, I don't condone making these as a snack every day, but everyone should try a fried Oreo at least once in their life!

Fried Oreos

(makes about 20)

INGREDIENTS

1 cup pancake mix

1 egg

1 cup milk

2 tsp. vegetable oil

1 15.5 oz. bag of Oreos, frozen for about an hour (this helps when frying)

about 2 quarts vegetable oil for frying

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large, deep saucepan, heat your oil to 375 degrees. (You'll know the oil is ready when you place a drop of batter in, and it immediately rises to the top and starts to fry. If it falls to the bottom of the pan, the oil's not hot enough.)

2. Mix pancake mix, egg, milk and oil in large bowl. 

3. Working with three Oreo's at a time, place the cookie in the batter, and using a fork, coat each cookie thoroughly with the batter. 

4. Fry the Oreo until batter is golden brown and puffed up. Using a slotted spoon, remove and place on a rack over paper towels to cool. 

5. For a finishing touch, sprinkle fried Oreo's with 1 tablespoon confectioners sugar. Enjoy! 

Black cherry soda made the cocktails a perfect side show! (Check out the menagerie) 

Did I mention it was work as usual all day long?