White Cheddar Popcorn

Welcome to my contribution to the Leftovers Club! Here’s hoping you will enjoy it Aly of Cooking in Stilettos. It’s my favorite snack food and I want to share the love.

Can you believe it September, my most favorite-ist month? This year has flown! Yes, I am still alive and will be turning another year older on Saturday (yay, me). If my Mom happens to be reading this … one word, Amazon … actually three words, Amazon Gift Card.

So essentially life is good. I entered a contest, I made it to the semifinals, and then I lost. Poop. Thank you to all that voted! I’m sure the best person won.

I’m alive and kicking with a roof over my head. Still living la vida loca in Virginia. I have pushed my LA dream back to 2014 for some health care. If you don’t have it … you truly-uly miss it and I wants it. I have also been busy working on taking the next step with this blog. I can’t wait to reveal it and host a little giveaway as thanks; sort of like giving a birthday gift to a lucky reader.

Now on to today’s post (in my Oprah voice) white CHEDDDDAR PopCORRRRRRRN! I love white cheddar popcorn. It’s fantabulous and I could eat it all day, every day. My most favorite white cheddar popcorn is Oogie’s and it’s very hard to find it where I live. I have tried lots and lots of other brands and it’s not as good as Oogie’s. It’s a Debbie Downer moment each time I try another brand that just does not compare. What constitutes a good white cheddar popcorn? It should taste of cheese with a subtle undertones of onion and garlic with a kiss of salt. I’m not big on salty. Salty over powers the cheese and that just blows. What do you do When you can not find your favorite snack? Why you simply make it and surprise it’s quite easy!

Bonus – when you add cheese popcorn to caramel popcorn that is simply freakin’ delicious. Trust me and check out this post I did awhile back … Cheese and Caramel Popcorn, it was an introduction to my love of Oogie’s and the sweet and cheesey delight.

So, the next time you have a movie night make it a white cheddar popcorn night!

Until next time,

White Cheddar Popcorn
A Licious Original Recipe

Ingredients
1 ounce white cheddar powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon white pepper
6 cups of popcorn, popped
Olive Oil Spray

Directions
In a small bowl combine white cheddar powder, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, white pepper. Set aside.

Using either a large bowl or in my case a roasting pan, add popped popcorn and coat popcorn with oil. Leave no popcorn dry! I found that the spray help me coat the popcorn evenly and not leave it oily. Next add the cheese mix to the popcorn and toss, toss, toss and toss some more. Then serve to the hungry masses!

Caramel/Cheese Popcorn

Do you like your sweet with some salty? I do, too. Candy corn and peanuts, butter mints and peanuts, buttered popcorn and plain M&Ms … I could be the Bubba of sweet and salty mixes but I won’t.

Today, I am writing to you about what your Superbowl party needs – no WANTS! The combo of cheese popcorn and caramel popcorn. Have you seen this? I have been seeing this mixture on my grocers’ shelves as of late yet I resisted. What if I didn’t like it? That’s four plus dollars down the drain. Renokulous, RE-DONK-U-LOUS. Yet, I wanted to try it and on my own terms.

Have you ever heard of Oogie’s Gourmet Popcorn? Their White Cheddar Popcorn is “Oh Em Gee” good! If it was a man, I would marry it …maybe a long term boyfriend. Over the holiday’s I won a box of Oogie’s Gourmet Popcorn (more on that in another post coming soon). It has the right amount of tang from the cheese and does not make you feel like you need to go work some calories off at the gym after eating. It’s all natural, too, so no words you can’t pronounce on the ingredients list.

What to use for the caramel corn? I could always buy it and be done with it … no fuss, no muss. That’s just not me, I have the need to dabble in the kitchen and make messes in said kitchen. My catering teacher in high school told me I was a messy cook and I thought to myself, “duh.” Creativity can be messy, embrace it and then make sure you have cleaning supplies nearby or better yet a maid. Sadly, I don’t have the latter.

Luckily, a week ago my mail carrier delivered a new cookbook to me. It’s entitled Sweet Confections: Beautiful Candy to Make at Home by Nina Wanat. GET THIS BOOK!

It’s beautifully illustrated; the way it is written and recipes are explained you will be a confident confectioner in no time. If you are looking for a gift for that “sweetie” in your life that loves to bake then get them “Sweet Confections”. You want to razzle dazzle a special man/lady in your life on Valentine’s Day with some homemade goodness … get this book! Toffee, Truffles, Fudge, Alcoholic Lollies …GET THIS BOOK!

When you combine Oogie’s White Cheddar popcorn and the buttery sweetness of Nina’s Caramel popcorn together, you have Winner Winner Chicken Dinner.  I combined equal parts of each popcorn into a rather large bowl and then gave it a good “Superbowl Shuffle” and serve.  That’s all I have to say about that (I love the movie, “Forrest Gump”).

A very special thank you to Nina Wanat and her publisher, LARK, for allowing me to re-print the recipe for Caramel Corn.

Until Next Time,

Jennifer

Caramel Corn
by Nina Wanat, Sweet Confections: Beautiful Candy to Make at Home, reprinted with permission

INGREDIENTS
10 cups popped popcorn, unsalted and unbuttered
1 cup roasted nuts, such as peanuts or almonds (optional)
1/2 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar, granulated
2 Tablespoons water
6 Tablespoons unsalted butter
2 Tablespoons corn syrup
1 Tablespoon molasses
1/2 Teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 225F. Pour popcorn and roasted nuts (I optioned out for nuts), if using, into a roasting pan.

Combine sugars, water, butter, cream, corn syrup, molasses, and salt in a 2-quart saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally with a heatproof silicone spatula, until the mixture reaches 250F.

Remove from heat. Stir in the baking soda, and mix thoroughly ti incorporate.

Pour the syrup over the popcorn, and stir until popcorn is coated. Bake for 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes. The caramel corn is done when it’s dry and crispy when cool. Store in an airtight container.