Old Bay Popcorn
December 9, 2018 by Nicole Collins
An eventful weekend has led us right here to Day 9 of our 12 Days of Appies Challenge!
I truly feel like my dog mom skills are being challenged this weekend.
Remember how I told you I was taking the pups to go see Santa this weekend? Well, that turned in to quite the fiasco.
In the (maybe) 25 mins I was at the pet store, no one but me was looking at the camera during the Santa pic (not even Santa), little Bella pooed right in the middle of the store after the pic, then little Charlie slipped out of his collar and took off out of the store and through the parking lot. Thank goodness for the kind woman walking towards the store that helped me catch him.
Then, just now, I was rubbing little Bella's ears when I felt something caked in her fur. I gave it a sniff as I was trying to get it out.
It was peppermint ganache (that I made earlier this morning)...
In my defense, I tell her more times than I can count that she can't stand under my feet while I'm cooking.
Oye...
I was still kind of wound up today after yesterday's shenanigans, so I did a little therapeutic crafting today. And, the project turned out so cute that I think I'm going to go ahead and post it after we finish our appies challenge!
I have also come to realize that I'm a stress eater. And, you guys know that I'm a salty snacker. So, thank goodness I had some of today's recipe on hand to munch on!
Today, we're making Old Bay Popcorn!
It's always great when you're entertaining to have some kind of a grab and go snack that people can nibble on throughout the party like a snack mix, chips, or popcorn. So, today's recipe definitely fits the bill!
We're skipping the microwave popcorn today and popping our own. And, it couldn't be easier! You don't need any fancy equipment to make homemade popcorn. You just need some oil with a high smoke point, some kernels, and a large pot!
To flavor our popcorn, we're going to pour over some delicious melted butter and a generous sprinkling of Old Bay seasoning. I've told you before that Marylanders have Old Bay running in our blood stream. So, we can be heavy handed on the Old Bay. If you are a little more sensitive to the spicy notes in the seasoning, you can start with 1 tsp less, give it a taste, and decide if you want to add any more Old Bay to your popcorn. I gave you some range options in the recipes below!
Let's take a peak of some of the other snacks we've made so far!
Day 1: Holiday Charcuterie Boxes
Day 2: Honey Goat Cheese Tartlettes
Day 3: Chicken and Donut Bites
Day 4: Sweet Chili Meatballs
Day 8: Hawaiian Pizza Sliders
I think we've reached the point in our challenge where we need to get our dip on. Sounds like a good idea for tomorrow!
Let's eat!
Old Bay Popcorn
Serves: about 14 cups Print
Ingredients:
3 tbsp canola oil
½ cup popcorn kernels
3 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
2-3 tsp Old Bay seasoning
Directions:
Heat 3 tbsp canola oil in a large pot over medium high heat. Place 2 popcorn kernels in the oil, and shake them around. When the two kernels pop, add the rest of the kernels, shake the pot well to coat them in oil, and cover the pot with a lid.
When the kernels start to pop and the pot is about half full, give the pot a shake. Continue to pop the popcorn until the popping slows down to 2-3 seconds in between each pop. Remove from heat, keeping the pot covered so that last few kernels can pop without burning.
Pour the popped popcorn in to a large mixing bowl. Drizzle melted butter evenly over the popcorn. Top with 2-3tsp Old Bay. Use a silicone spatula or a large spoon to gently toss the popcorn and evenly mix the seasoning. Store leftovers in an airtight container.
Recipe notes:
*Marylanders love the spice of Old Bay, so 3 tsp was the right amount for me. If you want your popcorn to be a little less spicy, use 2 tsp and give it a taste before adding up to the last tsp.
*You don't want to use a heavy bottomed pot for this. It will interfere with the heat needed to pop the corn. So, no cast iron dutch ovens for this project. You also want to make sure your pot is at least a 4 qt pot. We need a big one. The popcorn really expands!
*I like to melt my butter in a glass measuring cup, because it helps make the pouring of the butter easier and more even.
