Snow Days and the Weather
Usually, I think being stuck home all day is a treat, but yesterday, I was burning up with cabin fever. A friend called in the morning having decided to learn to make brioche from Julia Child's The Way to Cook. Baking may have been a theme of the day as IndyNess learned biscuits. I decided that just because I work at home didn't mean I couldn't take a snow day.
After I cancelled a lunch and Neal Brown re-scheduled the Seven Deadly Sins Dinner at L'Explorateur for Thursday, Feb. 15, the rest of the day was mine.
I worked a bit, cleaned the house a bit, read a bit, lounged around a bit, and even took a shower. While on the WeLL, I found a perfect recipe for caramel corn. So, I made caramel corn. (Yes, I keep Karo syrup in the pantry which is frightening, I know.) It was a great treat although I enjoyed the straight popcorn just as much as the sticky kind. I still have some leftover for being snowed in just a little today.
Snow Day Caramel Corn
6 cups popcorn
1 cup peanuts, cashews or almonds (optional)
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp baking soda
Salt to taste
Preheat oven to 250 degrees.
Combine popcorn and nuts (if using) and spread in a shallow roasting pan.
In a heavy saucepan mix sugar, butter, and corn syrup. Stir over med heat until boiling. Continue boiling for 5 minutes without stirring. Remove from heat; add vanilla and baking soda. Pour caramel sauce over popcorn; stir to coat well.
Bake for 1 hour stirring several times. Remove from oven and spread on wax paper. Add salt to taste. (I like a little salt with my sweet.) As the corn cools, keep breaking up the pieces and removing them from the wax paper before they stick. Store in a cool, dry container.
I had to pop the popcorn in a pan on the stove (old school) and didn't have any peanuts so I used cashews. It came out very much like Poppycock. Perfect for TV night and being stuck in the house. Also good with beer. Good luck digging out today -- and if you're so inclined, Happy Valentine's Day.
1 comment:
OMG. This sounds awesome. We don't have any corn syrup in the house. If we make it out to the grocery later, I will attempt this.
BTW-- you might already know this, but you can pop regular bagged popcorn in the microwave in a brown paper bag (lunch bag size). Put a quarter cup of popcorn in the bag, fold the top down 3 times making sure you leave plenty of room in the bag for the puffed-up corn and pop on high for 2 to 4 minutes, depending on your microwave (takes about 2 min, 15 sec for ours). You can melt the butter separately and pour on after.
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