Netflix Binge-Night Dessert Popcorn

A dear friend of mine needed some cheering up so I offered to make her a popcorn recipe, her choice. She wanted a dessert. Initially, I got all technical and fancy but, as complicated things often can, it went south. I over salted and nothing I did could fix it. Frustrated and now low on certain ingredients, I forlornly dipped the popcorn into the syrup I'd made and then dipped it into a tub of cool whip, just to see if it would cut that dang saltiness. It did! But not enough. However, all was not a lost!! A new idea popped (ha ha) into my head.

What....
if.....

I tried the idea. It was simple. It was super delicious. And maybe I only thought it was super delicious because of that thrill that comes from salvaging a terrible attempt but I was pretty sure it was, in fact, super delicious and I felt like a flippin' genius.

Once my friend tried it and confirmed "This. Is. De. Lish. Ous." I figured the world might just need to know. I mean, maybe it's already out there, but I googled it on my phone and after about 5 seconds of looking I didn't see anything like it so I'm pretty sure it's a relatively unique thing.

So here it goes. Ready to have your mind blown?

Netflix Binge-Night Dessert Popcorn
(Netflix not required)

3 T coconut oil
1/2 c. popcorn kernels

Cool Whip/whipped cream

Chocolate Syrup

Caramel Syrup

(I'm not giving you directive on the amount of those last three, thats up to you and you'll see why in the directions.)

Directions
For the popcorn, add the oil and popcorn kernels to a heavy 3- to 4-quart saucepan with a lid. Shake the pan to coat the kernels with oil. The kernels should cover the bottom of the pan in a single layer.

Cover the pan and place it over medium high heat. When the corn begins to pop, lift it slightly from the heat and shake the pan every so often (does not have to be continuous), holding the lid in place, until the popping begins to slow, about 3 to 4 minutes. Pour into bowl and set aside.

Using a small bowl (i recommend doing this in small increments, to avoid sogginess), spoon a dollup of cool whip or whipped cream as you would a scoop of ice cream. Drizzle chocolate and/or caramel as desired. Sprinkle popcorn on top, I recommend doing the same measurement of the cool whip/whipped cream, so a 1:1 ratio, at a time. Mix together or dig in, whichever! Revel in the tastiness. Realize that I am pretty genius.

(I know, it's been a while but I've been moving a house with a baby so sorry not sorry lol I have some recipes I'm tinkering with stay tuned!)

Monty Python and The Holy Grail

This movie is definitely a family favorite. My mom challenged me on this one. In a humorous twist, the popcorn is rather sophisticated! It paired well with wine in our trial run (Wine went in the grail, so we will just pretend that was all on purpose). We went with coconut oil (gleaned from the British kind that have migrated by way of swallow) and then elderberry jam (from the French taunt "And your father smelt of elderberries!" for those not familiar with the movie). I had to find the jam online, apparently only the amish make it? I dunno. Then dark chocolate for our Black Knight and diced almonds (they look like little bunny fangs! Yeah, just go with it). Once again I successfully avoided doing a SPAM flavor, despite ample reason. You're welcome.

Monty Python
Coconut, Elderberry and Dark Chocolate Popcorn

3 T coconut oil
1/2 c. popcorn kernels

4 generous tablespoons elderberry jam
3/4 of a dark chocolate candy bar (I used the 86% Dark)

1/3 cup of almonds, sliced and diced
pinch fine sea salt, to taste depending how salty you would like it

Directions

For the popcorn, add the oil and popcorn kernels to a heavy 3- to 4-quart saucepan with a lid. Shake the pan to coat the kernels with oil. The kernels should cover the bottom of the pan in a single layer.

Cover the pan and place it over medium high heat. When the corn begins to pop, lift it slightly from the heat and shake the pan every so often (does not have to be continuous), holding the lid in place, until the popping begins to slow, about 3 to 4 minutes. Pour into bowl or bag big enough to toss further ingredients.

Heat the dark chocolate in a glass bowl until partially melted, just until melted. Glass bowl should retain the heat and melt the chocolate further, as well as keep it melted enough to mix the elderberry jam into. Stir until thoroughly combined.

Pour this mixture evenly over the bowl of popcorn and immediately stir with large spoons and toss like a salad until the popcorn is evenly coated. Be careful not to crush the popcorn while stirring. Sprinkle on the almonds and stir a bit further. Sprinkle on the sea salt to taste.

The Princess and the Frog

By a cousin's request, here is a popcorn recipe fit for a frog!...er...princess!... frogcess? prin...og.... hmmm...

*awkward jazz hands*


Jazzy Gumbo Popcorn

3 T rendered bacon grease
1/2 c. popcorn kernels
Packet of Gumbo/Creole Seasoning to taste

OR

Make your own*!
*this recipe makes 1 3/4 cups (22 tablespoons) obviously you will not need all of this but you can put it in a jar and use it for other recipes... which I am sure you put together all by your smart self. 

2 T onion powder
2 T garlic powder
2 T dried oregano
2 T dried basil
1 T dried thyme
1 T black pepper
1 T white pepper
1 T cayenne pepper
5 T paprika
3 T salt
1 T celery powder
1 T savory

and then...
1 T butter (or more if you're crazy like that)
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp tabasco sauce/hot sauce (or more if...again... you're crazy like that)

Directions
Add the oil and popcorn kernels to a heavy 3- to 4-quart saucepan with a lid. Shake the pan to coat the kernels with oil. The kernels should cover the bottom of the pan in a single layer.

Cover the pan and place it over medium high heat. When the corn begins to pop, lift it slightly from the heat and shake the pan every so often (does not have to be continuous), holding the lid in place, until the popping begins to slow, about 3 to 4 minutes. Pour into bowl or bag big enough to toss further ingredients.

Melt the butter. Then mix in Worcestershire sauce and hot sauce. Sprinkle Gumbo/Creole seasoning to taste and toss. Now go kiss a frog, princess, you're ready for a movie!

Lilo and Stitch

This was another movie I actually had never seen. Thanks to Netflix, that has now been taken care of. It was pretty cute! I <3 Hawaii so I am really wanting to do this justice. SPAM flavor anyone?!? Just kidding ;-) Actually, we're going a bit more movie specific, not just Hawaii themed. Nothing against spam. I found a recipe that involves peanut butter and so incorporated that to create....

Popcorn for Pudge
Peanut Butter Coconut Popcorn

3 T coconut oil
1/2 c. popcorn kernels

2 or 4 generous tablespoons agave syrup*
1/4 or 1/2 C peanut butter*
pinch fine sea salt, to taste depending how salty you would like it

*You can range it from a light peanut butter flavor to super PB fan levels, just keep the ratios about the same and you're golden. If you want to be even more coconutty, sub coconut oil for the agave! I actually used honey and it worked out good, too. Even better, do 50/50 of honey and coconut oil. Now you're getting fancy pants.

Directions

For the popcorn, add the oil and popcorn kernels to a heavy 3- to 4-quart saucepan with a lid. Shake the pan to coat the kernels with oil. The kernels should cover the bottom of the pan in a single layer.

Cover the pan and place it over medium high heat. When the corn begins to pop, lift it slightly from the heat and shake the pan every so often (does not have to be continuous), holding the lid in place, until the popping begins to slow, about 3 to 4 minutes. Pour into bowl or bag big enough to toss further ingredients.

Heat the peanut butter and agave (or coconut oil or honey or both) on medium low heat in a nonstick pan briefly, just until melted and completely combined. Be sure to stir the entire time so the mixture doesn’t burn.

Pour this mixture evenly over the bowl of popcorn and immediately stir with large spoons and toss like a salad until the popcorn is evenly coated. Be careful not to crush the popcorn while stirring. Sprinkle on the sea salt to taste.

From the original recipe creator: "If you used the smaller quantities listed to produce a lovely peanut butter treat, but now decided you want to amp it up, it’s not too late to make another small batch of peanut butter agave on the stove and toss it again to intensify the flavor!"

Now go ride that Hawaiian roller coaster you crazy kids! 

The Hangover

I have to admit, this was the first time I had seen The Hangover. The things we do for our friends!

A lot happens, there's probably a lot of directions one could potentially go flavor wise... but after much deliberation, I decided it all started with those shots of jagermeister on the roof.

Jager is very...licori-ishy... and some people love that and others, like me, aren't huge fans.

How to make it a little more yum? Carmel seemed like a good idea :) Now, it's fairly easy to add spirits to caramel but I'm prego so we are going to improvise on the flavor for now, imitating the Jager instead.

So here is a rather simple recipe for a movie in which a whole lotta crazy goes down.



The {Four} Best Friends
Jagermeister-Carmel Corn
3 T coconut oil
1/2 c. popcorn kernels

1/8 tsp ginger
1/8 tsp orange zest
1/16 tsp ground anise seed
2 T caramel (or more if you really like your caramel)

DirectionsAdd the oil and popcorn kernels to a heavy 3- to 4-quart saucepan with a lid. Shake the pan to coat the kernels with oil. The kernels should cover the bottom of the pan in a single layer.

Cover the pan and place it over medium high heat. When the corn begins to pop, lift it slightly from the heat and shake the pan every so often (does not have to be continuous), holding the lid in place, until the popping begins to slow, about 3 to 4 minutes. Pour into bowl or bag big enough to toss further ingredients.

Heat caramel sauce in microwave until melted, about 15-30 seconds. Add ginger, orange zest, ground anise seed and salt to caramel and stir to mix. Pour caramel mixture over popcorn, stir to coat. (Place bowl in refrigerator or freezer to harden carmel faster, if you wish)

The Avengers

Love this movie! And if you also love this movie, you know the epic, hilarious ending involving the team silently eating at a shawarma restaurant.


What better way to set this movie apart from the other superhero movie requests than to come up with a seasoning combo inspired by the tasty treat?

I recommend the use of a grinder, if you have one. I have one of those Bella Rocket Blenders and it has the grinder on it. You don't HAVE to, it's mainly because dill and parsley tend to be larger leaved and so if you want more spread from them you have to grind them down in some way. Also, instead of tahini I used sesame seeds, so those would also need to be ground. What I did was add all the seasonings together in the cup and then ground them all together. Worked great.





Post World Saving Battle Shawarma Popcorn 
3 T olive oil
1/2 c popcorn kernels

1/2 tsp garlic
1/16 tsp cardamom

1/16 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp lemon pepper

1/16 tsp dill

1/2 tsp parsley
1/4 tsp sesame seeds 

Directions

Add the oil and popcorn kernels to a heavy 3- to 4-quart saucepan with a lid. Shake the pan to coat the kernels with oil. The kernels should cover the bottom of the pan in a single layer.

Cover the pan and place it over medium high heat. When the corn begins to pop, lift it slightly from the heat and shake the pan every so often (does not have to be continuous), holding the lid in place, until the popping begins to slow, about 3 to 4 minutes. Pour into bowl or bag big enough to toss further ingredients.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Released TODAY on blu-ray! what what! Which is why this request got bumped to the top. Fun times.

As I mentioned in the Captain America: The First Avenger post, the original suggestion was for The Winter Solider, but there was some playful banter over whether or not the popcorn would be American or communist :-) So as a continuation of that joking about, The First Avenger got the all-American recipe and Winter Solider is going to be influenced by Soviet Russian cuisine in honor of Bucky the brainwashed.

I seem to learn something new on a lot of these endeavors, which is fun for me. This go around I learned that Anya Von Bremzen is an authority on this area of cuisine (she has a book if you want to learn more). It is her recipes I referred to for this flavor combo, specifically her recipes for Kotleti and Borscht.

PS Don't be scared of the beet juice, it's really just for color :-) And it was part of the banter. Honestly! You can't even taste it. And it just made the popcorn pink, so if you want to leave it out feel free. 

Can you see the movie in he background?! 

The Winter Solider
1/2 c. popcorn
3 T canola oil OR rendered bacon fat

1 T butter
1 tsp sour cream

1 tsp beet juice

1/6 tsp mustard
1/8 tsp onion powder
1/16 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp dill

1/8 tsp parsley
1/8 tsp salt
1/16 tsp ground black pepper

Directions
Add the oil and popcorn kernels to a heavy 3- to 4-quart saucepan with a lid. Shake the pan to coat the kernels with oil. The kernels should cover the bottom of the pan in a single layer.

Cover the pan and place it over medium high heat. When the corn begins to pop, lift it slightly from the heat and shake the pan every so often (does not have to be continuous), holding the lid in place, until the popping begins to slow, about 3 to 4 minutes. Pour into bowl or bag big enough to toss further ingredients.

Combine dry ingredients (mustard, onion powder, garlic powder, dill, parsley, salt, ground black pepper). Dill and parsley are usually bigger, so I suggest grinding the seasonings down for better coverage. I just used my fingers and that worked well.

Melt butter then add sour cream and beet juice to it, mix well. Pour over popcorn and toss. Add seasoning and toss again.  

Captain America: The First Avenger

I love Cap. Not gonna lie. He is my favorite Avenger and my hubby loves to tease me that this is because I can relate to him. What can I say, I am dangerously close to a lawful good alignment, I am all about truth and justice.

This was going to just be a post for the release of The Winter Solider, as suggestion from my SIL, but a bunch of communism jokes later (you had to be there) and I decided there needed to be two recipes: one for Cap and one for Bucky. Lucky for me there are two movies! Problem solved.

Cap is all American and, as the saying goes, what's more American than apple pie? Apparently, the first Avenger agrees with me because when I researched his favorite food, it turns out it's apple pie. No kidding! This was trivia given in the original comic book release back in the 1940's, the one with Cap punching out Hitler. Classic.

Wave Hi! to Bucky there in the background :-)

Captain America's Apple Pie Popcorn
1/2 c. popcorn
3 T coconut oil
3 T caramel
1/2 c. dried apple, diced
1/16 tsp cinnamon
1/16 tsp nutmeg
1/16 tsp salt

Directions

Add the oil and popcorn kernels to a heavy 3- to 4-quart saucepan with a lid. Shake the pan to coat the kernels with oil. The kernels should cover the bottom of the pan in a single layer.

Cover the pan and place it over medium high heat. When the corn begins to pop, lift it slightly from the heat and shake the pan every so often (does not have to be continuous), holding the lid in place, until the popping begins to slow, about 3 to 4 minutes. Pour into bowl or bag big enough to toss further ingredients.

Heat caramel sauce in microwave until melted, about 15-30 seconds. Add cinnamon, nutmeg and salt to caramel and stir to mix. Add diced dried apple to popcorn. Pour caramel mixture over popcorn and apples, stir to coat. (Place bowl in refrigerator or freezer to harden carmel faster, if you wish)

Finding Nemo

Ok, I know I said that How to Train Your Dragon started it all, but my friend Aiyani's request for a Finding Nemo recipe also sort of started it all...again...

Learning new things is very motivating for me. And solving puzzles. For the most part, my recipes probably won't look all fancy pants with carmel drizzles and gobs of candy. It's about the flavor.

When she asked me for a Finding Nemo recipe my brain was stumped. EVERYTHING IS A FISH! Technically, sea life... but fishy in flavor. You get the idea.

So since you can only go so far with sushi and popcorn my thought was to look into Australian cuisine, the movie taking place there and all.

I found this: http://www.dining-downunder.com/

Snazzy....

I saw a lot of lemon myrtle and alpine pepper and so.... I cheated. A bit. Can you blame me? I am not going to have access to those seasonings in a very immediate way. I have a halloween deadline and a baby due any time in the next three weeks. It's basically lemon and pepper. Bam. 

Oh and one has to use seaweed. It IS the ocean.

(As a side note, my friend wanted savory but if you're not feeling the savory, a "sweet" option would be to incorporate the influence of the Wattleseed, a native Australian flavor that is coffee, chocolate and hazelnut-ish according to Chef Cherikoff http://www.slideshare.net/cherikoff/flavors-of-australia)

42 Wallaby Way Sydney Popcorn
1/2 c. popcorn
3 T canola oil
1 tsp Braggs Sea Kelp Delight Seasoning
1 1/2 tsp Lemon Pepper
Spritz of Grapeseed Oil (Optional)

Directions

Add the oil and popcorn kernels to a heavy 3- to 4-quart saucepan with a lid. Shake the pan to coat the kernels with oil. The kernels should cover the bottom of the pan in a single layer.

Cover the pan and place it over medium high heat. When the corn begins to pop, lift it slightly from the heat and shake the pan every so often (does not have to be continuous), holding the lid in place, until the popping begins to slow, about 3 to 4 minutes.

Pour into bowl. Spritz and season to taste. 

How To Train Your Dragon

FLASHBACK!!!!!!

The recipe blogpost that started it all. October 14th, 2010... edited a smidge to get down to the recipe part. Enjoy :-)

*************

This week I am taking this blank canvas of a starch and dressing it up for a DVD premier my husband cannot wait for: How To Train Your Dragon. I dunno the last time he was this excited about a movie. We bought it, it's in the mail and it's supposed to arrive this Friday. He even invited his parents and mine to see it, since they had thus far missed out on what is apparently his new all-time-fave. So to show my support of his excitement, I proposed a themed dinner to go along with it! (yeah....It's what I do.)

Immediately, I thought "Dragon Wings" (who wouldn't) but this was not ok with the Man since (spoiler alert) the dragons are ultimately good creatures. We can't eat the good guys. Good point. So then I proposed looking into viking foods and seeing what I can come up with. Excellent idea, I will let you know how it goes in a different note. And I am all for authentic.....ish....

Back to amazing popcorn. I haven't made it yet but I know it's gonna be awesome. The plan is to have some of the sweet honey flavor common to the Viking's common fare (which I now know because of THIS site) and mix it with the spicy everyone expects when you hear the word "dragon." Stay tuned for the results and the recipe :)

(time lapse: a few hours later)



Woot! I experimented with it tonight, my parents were willing test subjects (hubby doesn't like popcorn...go figure), and it was AWSOME. Therefore, it is definitely a go for tomorrow.

This was a pretty big batch, but a normal one for my family. Mom claims the popcorn accidentally over-poured into the pot.....but I think she was just hungry. Anyway, it was a lot. So I am going to half the recipe:

Honey Butter:
4 oz stick of butter, melted in the microwave with about an 1/8 c of honey mixed

Seasoning:
1/2 tsp each of cayenne pepper, paprika, chili powder, ginger powder, and salt
2 tsp garlic salt
Mix together and use to taste

Directions:
Pop the corn. Toss popcorn with Honey-Butter mixture. Then take seasoning mix and toss to taste. (We like it hot so we added more cayenne)