Kettle Corn

If you have not sampled homemade kettle corn, you are seriously missing one of life's simple joys.  My favorite time to make it is for a special treat for our kids when they have friends over, or for a family movie night.  Last time we had it, our oldest son requested it as a fun football snack.  Only problem with that?  Losing control of the popcorn bowl when celebrating a touchdown.

We're doing this on the stove top, so you'll need a big pot.  Put a little oil and just a few kernels in the bottom while it heats up.  Your heat should be about medium-high.

The thing with stove top popcorn is it can burn easily, so having everything ready from the beginning is a good idea.  If you can avoid distractions during the five minutes it takes to make, that would be good, too.  And your hand should ideally be constantly on the pot--it's all in the shake!

So while your pot is heating up, you only need a courtesy shake every few seconds.

But once those kernels start popping...

it's time to dump in the rest (by the way, these kernels are already mixed with salt and sugar) and get shakin'!

I learned a good rule:  3 seconds on, 3 seconds off.  Over and over and over.  Shake 3 seconds, rest 3 seconds.  Repeat.  Until there are 3-5 seconds between pops, and then it's time to dump before you burn it!

The bowl needs to be ready right next to the stove--get a big one so you can be hasty about your pouring.  And because who doesn't love diving into a huge bowl of popcorn??

See that?  That's burned sugar.  You don't want that.  But if you accidentally get a little, don't use it as an excuse to never try again.  Failure is a good teacher sometimes.  And trust me, it's worth it.

Kettle Corn

3 T oil

1/2 cup popcorn kernels

2 T sugar

1/2 tsp salt

Combine dry ingredients in small bowl or measuring cup and set aside.  Pour oil in bottom of large pot, drop in 3-5 kernels, and cover with lid.  Place pot over medium-high heat.  Shake frequently while waiting for kernels to pop.  Once kernels have popped, pour in remaining kernels with sugar and salt.  Shake repetitively, stopping only for a couple seconds in between shakes.  Remove from heat when popping time lengthens to 3-5 seconds between pops.  Pour immediately into large bowl.