Parmesan Pizza Popcorn

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It’s not often that I have popcorn. I don’t know why, it just rarely occurs to me. But last week we had a sequence of rather depressing rainy days, all in a row, and I was feeling sorry for myself. I am a Type A personality (A+ my Type B- husband used to say), and feel as though I need to be accomplishing something every waking minute. But last week I decided to give myself a break, and set aside a day for popcorn and movies...and gin and tonic, but that’s beside the point. This recipe comes from What’s Gaby Cooking: Eat What You Want by Gaby Dalkin. Wow! Is this popcorn delicious. I mean, can’t-stop-eating-it delicious. You might consider doubling the recipe if you live with a significant other/others. I knew from the first bite that I wouldn’t be sharing. So good!

Parmesan Pizza Popcorn

  From What’s Gaby Cooking: Eat What You Want

6 T. unsalted butter
1 t. dried oregano
1 t. garlic salt
1 t. dried basil
1 t. dried thyme
1 t. dried parsley
½ t. flaky sea salt
½ t. dehydrated ground onion
½ t. red pepper flakes
½ t. dried rosemary
4 T. olive oil
½ c. popcorn kernels
¾ c. grated Parmesan cheese

In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the oregano, garlic salt, basil, thyme, parsley, sea salt, ground onion, pepper flakes, and rosemary, and stir to combine. Let the mixture simmer for 2 to 3 minutes to infuse the butter and then remove from the heat and set aside.

In a large saucepan, heat two tablespoons of the oil over medium heat. Add the popcorn kernels to the hot oil and cover the saucepan with a lid. Gently shake the saucepan by moving it back-and-forth over the heat source. Once the kernels start popping, continue to shake the pan until the popping stops. Remove the pot from the heat, pour the spice butter mixture over the popcorn along with the grated Parmesan and the remaining olive oil and toss to combine. Add more salt if needed and serve. Serves 4.

Game Day Popcorn Salad

The last of my popcorn-based treats is this unique crowd pleaser, Popcorn Salad. I guarantee, your guests haven't experienced anything quite like this. It is largely make ahead as all components, except popcorn, can be mixed together and stored in the fridge, until you are ready to add the popcorn when it's time to set up your Halftime Buffet. Because of the nature of the salad, it doesn't keep well, and cannot be carried over to the next day. But, doubtless that won't be a problem, because once your guests taste this, they will be back for more. One thing that I cannot stress enough is to be certain to remove any unpopped kernels from the popcorn before tossing it into the salad. The last thing you are going to want to do is to cause someone dental pain!

Game Day Popcorn Salad

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon Frank's hot sauce
1 cup diced celery
1/4 cup diced carrots
1/4 cup chopped scallions, both white and green parts
1 8-ounce can sliced water chestnuts, drained
6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
1-1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
Few gratings freshly ground black pepper
6 cups G. H. Cretor's Buffalo & Ranch Popcorn

In a large bowl combine mayonnaise, vinegar, hot sauce, celery, carrots, scallions, water chestnuts, half of the bacon, and one cup of the cheese. Mix well. Add popcorn, and stir to combine. Top with remaining cheese and bacon, and serve within 15 minutes of assembly.

Disclaimer: This post has been sponsored by G.H. Cretor's from whom I received compensation.

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Full Plate Thursday

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Crispy Popcorn Cookies

If you think popcorn is addicting, wait until you try these cookies! It is Game Day Snack Week here on the Olla-Podrida blog. Whether you're a devoted fan of football, or, like me, baseball is your game, I'm sure that you can get totally on board when a party is involved with lots of delicious food. This week, I'm partnering with the good people at G.H. Cretor's Popcorn, and will be providing you with some popcorn-based snack ideas as well as a football themed buffet on which to serve them.

First up are these delicious Crispy Popcorn Cookies. Yes, you read that right, popcorn! I am a big fan of cookies, and I'm also a fan of salty snacks, popcorn being one of my favorites. So, I figured why not combine two of my faves? The result was a delicious cookie with a buttery popcorn taste, and pleasing crunch.

This cookie is going to quickly become a favorite among your family and friends.  It's a breeze to put together, make ahead, slice-and-bake easy, and will disappear right before your eyes.

Crispy Popcorn Cookies

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon butter flavoring
1-1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of kosher salt
2 cups crushed G.H. Cretor's Simply Salted Organic Popped Corn*
1/2 cup chopped pecans, toasted

In the work bowl of your stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and flavorings. In a separate bowl combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Add dry mixture to the creamed mixture, beating to combine. Stir in the popcorn and pecans. Using hands, form mixture into a 2" x 12" log. 

Wrap in plastic wrap, and place in the refrigerator to chill for 30 minutes. (At this point the dough can be refrigerated overnight and sliced and baked the following day so that your house smells wonderful when your guests arrive.) Slice into generous 1/4" slices (see photo). 

Place cookies on an ungreased baking sheet and bake at 350° for 18-20 minutes, turning the cookie sheet halfway, or until golden brown. Cool on cookie sheet for five minutes before removing to racks to cool completely.

*I used plain popcorn for this recipe, but there's no reason that you can't use caramel corn, or a combination of plain and caramel. To make a toffee popcorn version, use 1 cup plain popcorn, 1 cup caramel popcorn, and 1/2 cup toffee bits.

 

Disclaimer: This post has been sponsored by G.H. Cretor's from whom I received compensation.

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Finally! A Healthy Snack

I am one of those people who think that popcorn should be its own food group. After all there is just so much that you can do with it. Popping it, of course, but then thereafter you have an ingredient to season, flavor, flatten into cakes, roll into balls, crumble into cookies, candy coat, toss in salads, and garnish soups. 

Americans eat more popcorn than any other country and, by volume, it is America's favorite snack food. If you are concerned, however about the quality of the corn you are shoveling into your face during a particularly suspenseful movie, then you should give Shred Pop a try.

At only 33 calories a cup, it is gluten-free, fiber and protein rich, has no cholesterol, no MSG, no trans-fat, is made from whole grain Non-GMO corn, and comes in a variety of flavors. With all of this going for it, I was leery of the taste.  I was sent a sample of the white cheddar and kettle corn in exchange for an honest review. Each surprised me in a different way. While I am not a particular fan of the kettle corn variety of popcorn, I liked this a great deal because, unlike traditional kettle corn, it was neither sticky nor cloyingly sweet. It has the same taste and texture as regular popcorn with just a pleasant touch of sweetness. The white cheddar had less taste than most of the cheesy brands that I've tried, but this variety left hands far less messy than the name brands. As I sat at my desk munching away on it, able to continue to use the keyboard without any cheesy disasters, I found that it was quietly addicting.  I was also most thankful, having noticed the empty bag, that I had only consumed 100 calories.

If you're concerned about what your family is eating, want to send your kids to school with a truly healthy snack that they will enjoy, and feel perfectly virtuous with your late night nibble, then give Shred Pop a try.

White Chocolate Popcorn

Quite a number of years ago when my cousin moved his wife and family across the State from St. Louis to Kansas City we missed seeing them at Christmas. It was the first time we'd not been together at the holidays in more than a decade. We'd agreed not to exchange gifts as the logistics of sending so many packages back and forth through the mail seemed daunting. But instead of sending each person a gift, Barbara (my cousin's wife) sent each family a tin of popcorn. It was a nice gesture, we all thought, as we opened up the tin and stared at it . My youngest son peered at it over my shoulder and poked it with disinterest. Popcorn. Huh. And then one of us, I don't remember which one, decided to give it a taste. "Ummmmmmm," he said. Ummmm? Well, let's all try it, shall we? And we did. My guess is that it took no longer than 15 minutes for the entire tin to be consumed. (In our defense, we're talking a cookie-size tin, and not one of those whopping big multi-gallon size tins you might get from the Popcorn Factory or some carnival supply company). Yes, it was that good. There was something about the combination of salty and sweet that had us shoveling it into our mouths so quickly that I think some of us forgot to breathe.

The next day, under the guise of thanking her for the popcorn and wishing her the best for the holiday season I weaseled the recipe out of her. It is unbelievably simple, whips up in no time, and you probably have everything in your pantry at the moment. If not, don't worry. You can substitute almonds for the pecans, you can use any type or size of pretzel, just break them up if they're the big ones. Any brand of microwave popcorn will do (As you can see I used the low-cal popcorn, and yes, I'm aware of the irony of using the 100-calorie packs and then coating them with chocolate.), just be sure (and I cannot stress this enough!) that you carefully pick through the popcorn to get all of the unpopped kernels out before coating it with the chocolate or your medley will seem as though one of the main ingredients is pea gravel -- don't ask me how I know this.

Package and label any way you see fit, but I find these clear bags that allow the recipient to see what you're giving them to be the best.

It makes a great gift, bagged up and tagged with a label, greeting, and the recipe.  The amounts of ingredients listed are really up to you and your own personal taste.  Just know that the better quality the ingredients, the tastier the end product.  I used Ghirardelli white chocolate chips because they seem to melt better for me than any other brand.  Now go get popping!

White Chocolate Popcorn Medley

(Printable Recipe)

1 12-oz. package white chocolate chips, melted

2 bags microwave popcorn

2 cups mini pretzels

1 cup pecans, toasted

Prepare popcorn according to package directions. Mix popcorn, pretzels, and nuts in a very large bowl. Melt the white chocolate chips in the microwave and pour over ingredients in bowl. Stir well. 

Put the dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl.

Pour melted chocolate over all and stir until mixture is well coated.

To make the mixture a bit more festive for the holidays I added a few shakes of red sugar.

This is linked to:

Tasty Tuesdays

Tasty Tuesday Parade of Foods

Hearth and Soul

Food on Friday