From our Food Goddess, TaMara:
I love popcorn. So much so, I actually have an electric stirring popcorn popper. It must be a family thing, because my brother, Paul, has all the ingredients to make movie popcorn – and he did serious research on how to get that flavor. I’m good with butter and salt, myself. But my true weakness is caramel corn, so one year when I was trying to think of something fun to give for those neighbor Christmas treat boxes, I decided to try my hand at caramel corn.
And to take it up a notch I decided to make Bacon Caramel Corn. The featured recipe tonight.
But let’s begin with some other salty-sweet ideas for the holiday gift box.
Tex-Mex Popcorn Mix, recipe here.
White Cheddar Popcorn and Chili-Cheese Popcorn, recipes here.
And if popcorn is not your thing, how about some Cajun Spiced Nuts or Indian Spiced Nuts, recipes here.
Finally, the dinner menu this week is all about improving Oven Fried Chicken and amazing Baked Garlic Potatoes, complete menu, recipes, shopping list are here.
What favorite recipes are in your gift box this year? If you give food gifts for the holidays, do you include copies of the recipes? I’m always torn. Either way, go ahead and share some of your favorite recipes in the comments. Next week we’ll tackle sweet treats for gift giving.
Tonight’s featured recipe actually came about because I read this comment at Balloon-Juice, I was intrigued enough to search out a recipe. If bacon isn’t your thing, just omit it from the recipe below to make regular caramel corn, or caramel corn with nuts.
Cashew Bacon Caramel Corn
8 oz maple smoked bacon, cut into eight pieces per strip
12 cups (3 quarts) of popped corn
10 tbsp butter
1-1/2 cups packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/2 tsp salt
1-1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 cups salted cashews (or peanuts, or peanut/cashew mix)
Skillet, saucepan, baking sheets*In skillet, cook bacon until mostly crisp, drain on paper towels and set aside to cool.
Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Reduce to 200 degrees after 15 minutes of baking.
Place popcorn onto a well-greased baking sheets.
In saucepan over medium-high heat, melt butter. Add brown sugar, corn syrup and salt. Bring to a low boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to med-low and simmer until thickened, 1 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat, add vanilla and baking soda (yes, it will foam up so be prepared). Gently stir nuts and bacon into sugar mixture and pour over popcorn, toss, coating popcorn evenly. Bake, stirring occasionally, until popcorn is a deep golden brown, about 1 to 1-1/2 hours – mine was done at the 1 hour mark. Cool and break apart.
*most recipes call for a roasting pan, I had better luck on my second batch using baking sheets – the popcorn cooked more evenly and was very crisp.
That’s if for this week. Bixby is 6 months old today which doesn’t seem possible and I may have an update on him later, depending on how work goes today – TaMara
JPL
Help, I need a few recipes that I can make ahead for a vegan that is visiting over the holidays and btw I’m not fond of tofu. I have sweet potato soup in the freezer and will serve that with a salad.
BGinCHI
I like smoked paprika on my popcorn.
Mnemosyne (iPhone)
@JPL:
There’s a butternut squash and macaroni recipe on the Whole Foods website that looks pretty good even to this non-vegan — it’s basically macaroni and cheese with no cheese/milk.
Also, people who don’t like tofu sometimes like seitan, so you may want to try a bit and see. IIRC, it’s pretty much pure gluten, so if your vegan is also anti-gluten, you may be out of luck.
JPL
@Mnemosyne (iPhone): I can’t remember if she is gluten free and I’m not asking.
JPL
@Mnemosyne (iPhone): I just googled and that does sound good. Thank you so much.
xmas eve and xmas day I have such a mix, I’m not worried about it.
TaMara (BHF)
@JPL: Pasta tossed with fresh or frozen steamed vegetables tossed with oil, vinegar and spices is quick and easy.
Cilantro Lime Hummus makes a nice snack with crackers or tortillas.
TaMara (BHF)
@JPL: And Lentil salad (serve feta on the side for non-vegans)
Scamp Dog
Never mind that work nonsense, we need puppy pictures, stat!
In other dog-related developments, I will be running a “teach your dog to jump through a hula hoop” class tomorrow. It was my donation for my church’s annual fundraising auction. This is the second time I’ve run the class, and it’s a lot of fun. I’ll see if I can get some pictures and video to post somewhere…
Mike E
OT but speaking of salty sweet: Joe Biden beat up a guy in a doughnut shop once.
Not The Onion btw.
Steeplejack
@TaMara:
You bad, bad girl.
JPL
The hummus sounds great. I love vegetarian cooking but the crossover to vegan is difficult for me.
Violet
@JPL: It’s not make ahead, like days ahead and freeze, but chickpeas tossed with olive oil and lemon and then add a variety of things like onion and/or garlic, cherry tomatoes (chopped in half if they’re big), parsley. You can go a different direction like radish, pepper, olive. Whatever. Chickpeas are versatile.
Also, too, hummus.
Violet
@JPL:
Also, I really love this curried lentils dish. Jane Brody’s Curried Lentils. You can make this ahead and I think it even freezes. Make a ton of brown rice to keep in the fridge and it’s a go to for a quick lunch. Filling, too.
beth(not the calendar one)
@Violet: my vegetarian daughter mashes the chickpeas, adds lemon juice, celery, onion, dill,carrots and some mayo to make a sandwich spread like tuna fish. It’s very good and could be made with the vegan mayo substitute.
JPL
@Violet: I have that book. That might be a good resource so thanks. Actually the popcorn recipes are vegan.
TaMara (BHF)
@Violet: Oh, yeah, brown rice. Love that and again, can toss with steamed veggies for a nice lunch or dinner.
TaMara (BHF)
@Scamp Dog: Work would have gone much better if I didn’t have an 85 lb dog who viewed my work as a personal rejection and tried to a) climb in my lap b) bring me toys to play with c) ask to go in and out every 10 minutes. Eventually had to crate him.
MUST have video of hula hoop training!
Yesterday we met a man in the park who trains search and rescue dogs, he gave me some good games to play with Bixby. He seemed to think he was a very smart dog who would need lots of stimulation. He. Has. No. Idea.
Elmo
For the ultimate in popcorn goodness – I give you Funky Chunky (www.funkychunkyinc.com but link won’t embed).
Amazeballs.
YellowJournalism
I may try this recipe, but I really, REALLY want the movie theatre one. When I was pregnant with my second child, I craved it so badly that Hubby offered to in into the theatre to get me some.
Mnemosyne (iPhone)
@JPL:
I admit that my vegan friend is probably the most non-ideological vegan ever, but she’s usually happy with any non-cheese-based vegetarian recipe. You can probably adapt at least some of your recipes by leaving out cheese/milk. Leaving out eggs would probably be trickier.
Roger Moore
@BGinCHI:
I prefer mine with the sweet and salty taste of wingnut tears.
Little Boots
there is steeplejack, and that’s important.
TaMara (BHF)
@YellowJournalism: Let me msg him and see if he can get me the products. First thing is, cooking in coconut oil. Which btw, makes very fluffy kernels.
Little Boots
we need a better society. we are not okay.
dr. luba
My friends and family get quart jars of home made Bailey’s, the Ukrainian version (vodka instead of whiskey). I found the original recipe in a catholic cookbook from the UP (Michigan’s Upper Peninsula) a couple of decades ago.
Blend together:
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup half and half
4 eggs
2 T chocolate syrup
2 t instant coffee
1 t vanilla
1/2 t almond extract
I add vodka (the cheapest kind the liquor store sells) in a ratio of 1:3. You can add more or less as you wish. I make double batches in my extra large blender, and end up with almost 3 quarts finished product to 2 recipe batches.
The stuff does not need refrigeration once you’ve added the alcohol. I assume it will last for years, but no one has ever kept it around that long. Great in coffee or over a bit of ice.
I posted this on my blog many years ago (2005–remember when everyone had a blog? Good times!) and got more hits than anything else I ever posted. It was the number one hit on Google for “Homemade Baileys” back then. The recipe has metastasized all over the internet since.
Enjoy!
Roger Moore
@JPL:
Have you tried tempeh? Like tofu, it’s a soy product that has a lot of protein, but it’s made with lightly fermented whole beans, so it has some real texture and a stronger flavor. I greatly prefer it to tofu as a meat substitute.
Helen
@Little Boots:
Didja see the exchange earlier? Prolly yesterday – I missed it in live time but read it this morning. It was Omnes Omibus and Corner Stone talking about how you are weird but normal and where the hell is Steeplejack, but Tommy? Not so normal. Made my day.
Really. Send me some Billy Joel. The old stuff. The good stuff.
Corner Stone
@Little Boots:
Thank God you’re here. Where the F were you when Omnes started linking music videos the other night? WHERE WERE YOU WHEN I NEEDED YOU?!
Never. Ever. Leave me again.
Little Boots
@Helen:
I did not, but thank you.
Little Boots
and incidentally, you are all awful, but I do love you.
Corner Stone
@Helen: TESTIFY!
Little Boots
@Corner Stone:
oh, helen shut up. on the other hand:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWQIe44Hqys
Little Boots
needs more steeplejack
Little Boots
and sorry helen, for the shut up. you do not need to shut up.
I’m a wee bit drunk.
Little Boots
and sorry helen, for the shut up.
Helen
@Little Boots: That’s Ok Sweetie. But you will send me some early Billy Joel now, right? As a sorry gift.
Little Boots
@Helen:
in a bit, when I am a bit more drunk.
did I actually post billy joel?
please don’t tell omnes.
NotMax
@JPL
Link to my recipe for curried eggplant posted here previously. Easy-peasy to make – the hardest part (relatively speaking) is peeling the eggplants. :)
Broiled whole portobello mushrooms (broil ’em on both sides just as if you were broiling a hamburger) make a nice sandwich when put on a bagel.
Helen
@Little Boots: No you did not. Just asking now. Get drunker then get back to me. I am just back from my office Christmas party, so a little drunk I am. Just like you.
Little Boots
@Helen:
fine, but we must totally keep this from omnes, who is evil:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itN5lCuKp18
NotMax
Popcorn sprinkled with a touch of garlic powder and li hing mui powder is mighty tasty.
The li hing mui powder can be found without aspartame. but sometimes takes a little extra effort to track that down.
Helen
@Little Boots: My lips are sealed.
Omnes Omnibus
@Little Boots: Anyone who goes around wantonly posting Billy Joel videos is in a bit of a glass house with respect to calling anyone else evil.
Anne Laurie
@Scamp Dog:
If you send me pics/video, I will do my best to frontpage them!
Little Boots
@Omnes Omnibus:
damn, told ya, he’s like satan. he eventually knows all. even billy joel.
Omnes Omnibus
@Helen: Fun Boy Three.
@Little Boots: Please allow me to introduce myself.
Little Boots
steeplejack was never so cruel.
Helen
@Little Boots:
Oh my goodness, I did say “early” Billy Joel. Did I not. That there UTUBE is from 1978. I was 17 yrs old in 1978. HO. LI. COW.
Thank you Mr. Little.
Anne Laurie
@dr. luba: Hmmm… sounds like a very grown-up iteration of NYC’s (in)famous egg cream. I may have to find some seltzer and see how a non-alcoholic version works…
Little Boots
@Helen:
damn, sorry.
what do you want, and stop trying to appease omnes. he is pure evil.
Omnes Omnibus
@Little Boots: Not enough people try to appease me. If more would, my life would be easier.
Little Boots
can I say, miss steeplejack.
Little Boots
@Omnes Omnibus:
why aren’t you steeplejack?
Omnes Omnibus
@Little Boots: That’s Mr. Steeplejack as far as I know.
Corner Stone
@Omnes Omnibus:
You sure?
Little Boots
@Omnes Omnibus:
fine, love you too.
Helen
@Omnes Omnibus: Really? NINETEEN EIGHTY THREE?You boys have blown my cover.
mai naem mobile
@JPL: theres a bunch of indian stuff thats lentil or chick pea based. Trader Joes and other stores have those ready to make boxes with all the ingredients you need. Also soy cheese for cheese using recipes. Pasta with veggies. Vegetarian chili with kidney beans.
raven
Nutritional yeast
Yatsuno
@efgoldman: Everything sweet should have a counterbalance of another of the four basic flavours. Almost all desserts have either a salt or sour component, but even dark chocolate has that bitter component to balance the sweet. Otherwise sweet things taste flat.
Omnes Omnibus
@Helen: Terry Hall from a few years earlier.
ETA: Although most awesome thing in that video was Neville Staple. The other singer/toaster in the hat and sunglasses.
Omnes Omnibus
@Yatsuno: It is why a good New England style apple crisp has some cheddar cheese in it.
Helen
@Little Boots: @Little Boots: OH No. Love the video and love the song. You did good.
Little Boots
@Helen:
just don’t tell omnes. he got issues/
Corner Stone
“Don’t say a prayer for me now. Save it ’til the morning after.”
BillinGlendaleCA
@Omnes Omnibus: You do realize that Billy Joel had an album called “Glass Houses”?
Omnes Omnibus
@BillinGlendaleCA: Yes, apt, isn’t it?
@Corner Stone: Duran Duran?
Tissue Thin Pseudonym (JMN)
@Omnes Omnibus: I’m a man of wealth and taste.
Corner Stone
@Omnes Omnibus: Yes, but it has to be the acoustic version. Little Boots would have known that.
But not Steeplejack. He’s kind of a d-bag when it comes to DD.
Tommy
I have noted I just bought a few thing from Blue Apron. That place rocks. I love food. Just unpacked well a package from Ohio Steaks.
Helen
@Little Boots: It is you who has to keep Omnes happy. Cuz where would you be without him?
BillinGlendaleCA
@Omnes Omnibus:
Really? I thought CS had gotten all philosophical on us. Never saw Duran Duran, won’t admit it.
Omnes Omnibus
@Tissue Thin Pseudonym (JMN): This is new to me. Industrial has never been a genre that I have followed. The only Ministry album I own is “With Sympathy.”
Tissue Thin Pseudonym (JMN)
@Omnes Omnibus: Laibach is almost more performance art than a band, even by industrial standards. They did a cover of The Beatles Let It Be, the album, not the song. And there’s this.
elmo
How do you get the coconut oil into the microwave popcorn paper bag? Sounds suspicious to me.
BillinGlendaleCA
@elmo: Very carefully.
Mike E
@raven: So, what’s the secret to making it stick? I use a pyrex bowl with minimal (bare drops of) oil to make my popcorn.
Omnes Omnibus
@Tissue Thin Pseudonym (JMN): Jesus, we should show this to maeve.
BillinGlendaleCA
@efgoldman:
He’s been hanging out with Amir too much.
Corner Stone
@efgoldman:
What do you mean? I thought this budget deal was kissed by the angels?
Tissue Thin Pseudonym (JMN)
@Omnes Omnibus: Well, they’re actually Slovenian but they do sing in German a fair amount. And then there’s this, which is just goofy.
Roger Moore
@efgoldman:
Don’t you know we need to starve the beast? There’s no better way of doing that than gutting the part that brings in the money.
Omnes Omnibus
@Helen:
Drunk. In Wisconsin. So, really no change.
@Tissue Thin Pseudonym (JMN): Words fail me.
BillinGlendaleCA
@Roger Moore: If you can’t actually cut taxes, just make it easier not to pay them.
elmo
This thread just made me buy a popcorn popper.
It might also be that I’m a little drunk and a lot lonely and bored in a Holiday Inn 2500 miles from home.
Omnes Omnibus
@Roger Moore: These are not good people.
Corner Stone
@elmo: Are there no hookers in Saskatoon?
Omnes Omnibus
@elmo: I can say that I have never drunk bought a popcorn popper. Pizzas? Sure. Gyros? Of course. And so on… But an appliance? No.
Roger Moore
@Omnes Cromnibus:
Unfortunately, they’re powerful people, which counts for far more in our national decision making process.
Corner Stone
@Omnes Omnibus: Dude. He went there.
Omnes Omnibus
@Roger Moore: True.
Helen
@Corner Stone: K so that made me LOL.
Omnes Omnibus
@Corner Stone: Have you seen the hookers in Saskatoon? Sometimes buying a popcorn popper is the better choice.
elmo
@Corner Stone: I’m sure there must be. But they would charge too much to come to San Jose.
And I’d be embarrassed in any event – ye gods, but this Holiday Inn is a dump.
Helen
@Omnes Omnibus: STOP IT. Move on to the next thread. Surely there are smart people there.
elmo
@Omnes Omnibus: drunk bought a pizza last night. Can’t do that twice in a row.
Tissue Thin Pseudonym (JMN)
Maybe this will go over better.
Violet
All this talk of popcorn and no one has posted this?
NotMax
@Omnes Omnibus
Others may scoff, but have an el cheapo hot air popper (cost less than a sawbuck 25 years ago or so – Hamilton Beach, IIRC) spits out perfectly fine popcorn. Noisy little bugger when it is doing its thing, but c’est la vie.
@efgoldman
As someone who abhors the taste of salt, couldn’t agree more. The flat taste is only among those whose taste buds have been subjected to an habitual overabundance of salt. I do utilize a bit of salt in the cooking process for some but not all dishes, but have found one of those round canisters of Morton’s salt typically lasts me 10 years or more.
Omnes Omnibus
@Violet: Or this?
Corner Stone
@NotMax:
I think I’m seeing a connection to the issue here.
Tissue Thin Pseudonym (JMN)
@Violet: Better version.
Omnes Omnibus
@Corner Stone: Pink Himalayan?
Tissue Thin Pseudonym (JMN)
@Omnes Omnibus: Damn. Omnes beat me to it.
NotMax
@Omnes Omnibus
In keeping with some of the thread discussion, JF Murphy & Salt.
Violet
@Omnes Omnibus: @Tissue Thin Pseudonym (JMN): The Muppets one is hilarious to watch, but there’s some kind of cheesy 70’s goodness in the one I linked. Apparently this is the original.
Omnes Omnibus
@efgoldman: I actually use bery little salt when I cook and when I eat out I am frequently surprised by how salty the food is. One can come home with a terrible thirst.
NotMax
@Violet
Cashman, Pistilli and West
Violet
@Omnes Omnibus: Yeah, restaurant food can be extremely salty. I went through a phase where I didn’t use salt at all in my cooking. Now I use it a bit more and find it enhances the other flavors. Still very minimal, though.
Corner Stone
Good salt is brilliant. I’m not even going to get into the Ode to Lot’s wife I once wrote.