Cooking with Sara: Gooey Caramel Corn

The other night I made the mistake of being all braggy and gloaty on Facebook and posted that I was eating warm gooey caramel corn on the couch.  And then I felt bad from the comments my girls made and decided to go ahead and post the how-to.  Just like the brownies, this recipe is easy, really quick, and uses ingredients that aren't too crazy.  There just isn't a reason not to whip it up whenever it's chilly outside and you feel like parking yourself on the couch all night.  It's gooey and sticky and makes strings like mozzarella on pizza.  I dare you to make it and not devour the entire bowl before it even cools.

Now, up until this morning, I'd only ever made non-microwave popcorn using an old school air popper.  I got mine at a thrift store for $3, but I hesitated sharing this how-to because hello - who but me owns an air popper?  (Or a cotton candy maker, for that matter, but I digress.)  But my Facebook girls reassured me that it's easypeasylemonsqueezie to make stovetop popcorn, so I decided to give it a whirl.  Hurrah for learning something new!  I'm pretty sure that my air popper is now destined for the giant Goodwill pile growing in my garage.

Gooey Caramel Corn

1/3 c. popcorn kernels*

1/2 c. unsalted butter

1/2 c. brown sugar

12 large marshmallows

approx. 2 Tbsp. oil (peanut is best, canola is fine)

Heat the oil in a tall pot (a heavy bottom helps), over medium high for about a minute.  Pour the popcorn kernels in and cover with a lid.  Life the pot off the burner, and give it a good swirl to coat the kernels with oil.  Place back on burner, and tilt the lid just enough to allow steam to vent.  Kernels should begin to pop after about a minute.  Swirl the pot once more and then allow the kernels to finish popping.  Process should take about 3 minutes.  Remove from heat when approx. 2 seconds elapse between pops.  Pour into a large heat-safe bowl and set aside.

Melt the butter in a medium pot over medium-low heat.  Stir in the brown sugar until dissolved.  Add in the marshmallows and stir (a silicone spatula scraper works best) until melted and smooth.  Be careful to not let the mixture come to a boil.  Working quickly, pour the hot caramel mixture over the popcorn and fold it in until all the popcorn is coated.  I'd tell you to let it cool before eating, but I'd be a total hypocrite.  I'd also tell you that leaving it out on the counter overnight in an uncovered bowl won't taste any good the next morning, but I'd be a total liar.

* Note:  If you can't find popcorn kernels in your regular grocery store, check one that has a large bulk section.

The ingredient lineup:

Crucial: Tall pot with a lid.

This.  Is too much oil.  I didn't bother measuring for my first batch, and it turned out a little oily.

This.  Is the right amount.  You totally can't see anything, I know.  You basically just need enough oil to lightly coat the kernels.  I threw in 2 tablespoons of oil for our 1/3 cup popcorn, and it was fine.  I could've even used a smidge less.

It doesn't look like much, but it totally makes real live popcorn.  Who knew!

Tilt the lid just a smidge so that steam can vent.  But be careful when it starts popping, because hot oil splatters are Danger.

Voila!

Butter in the pot, all melty-like.

Once the brown sugar is mixed in, drop in your marshmallows.

The marshmallows will puff up some while they heat.  Just stir occasionally and they'll melt down.  I suppose you could opt do the caramel sauce in the microwave, the same way you might for Rice Krispy Treats.  But with all the opening the microwave, taking out the bowl, stirring, putting it back in the microwave, and shutting the door, it just seems sooo much easier to put it on the stove with a heat-safe spatula.

All melted.  Avoid the boiling bubbles.  If you get the mixture too hot (see: soft crack or even hard crack stage), the finished caramel corn will be more crunchy and less chewy.  And we demand chewy.

Action Shot No. 1.  I'll have you know that because my free intern (read: Bo) was gone, I was trying to pour molten hot caramel sauce with my left hand while photo-ing with my right.

Action Shot No. 2.  Blurry because. Stirring. With LEFT hand.  And photo-ing with the RIGHT.  But it does make me look all cool and actiony, so we'll take it.

Mmmmm.  Remember those gooey strings I mentioned earlier?  Why!  They there be!

Double Mmmmm...

You really probably need to click-zoom for a better look.  Go on!

Cooking with Sara: French Dip Crockery

Santa brought me a crock pot this year (yes, it was totally on my list!), so I decided to crack open the box today and whip up something.  I flipped through my new cookbook and cruised around All Recipes, and ended up choosing a French Dip recipe because I had nearly all the ingredients already on hand.  And going to the store is suuuuch a big fat pain. 

As always, I made a few mods to the original recipe, mostly because I didn't have the exact ingredient list.  But, the key to this recipe is the step where you slice the beef and then continue cooking it.  I tried a taste at this step, and it was kinda dry and flavorless.  Cooking it sliced for an additional hour allowed it to really soak in the yummy juices. 

2-4 lb Roast (I used sirloin roast, a teeny tiny little one)

2 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce

1/4 c low-sodium Soy Sauce

12 oz Water

1 packet Lipton Onion Soup Mix

12 oz. Beer (obviously, I went wayyy fancy with this item, hehe)

8 oz Beef Broth

1/2 tsp. Dried Thyme, crumbled

1/4 tsp. Dried Oregano, crumbled

4 Cloves Garlic
Black Pepper, to taste

Throw all ingredients into a slow cooker and cook covered on High for 3 hours.*  Give it a quick stir and turn the temperature down to Low for another 2 hours.  Remove the roast, and slice it thinly across the grain.  Return slices back to the slow cooker and cook for one more hour.  Serve on buttered, toasted french rolls with small bowls of the broth for dipping.

* Note:  You could just leave it on the Low setting all day instead.  But, as usual, I was rushing this recipe and trying to make it ready in 5 hours instead of 7-8.

Ooooooohhhh...new and shiiiiiinyyyyyyy....

Dubious.  And - Lover of weird face photos.

The ingredient lineup.  I wouldn't normally have used a light beer, but this was all that was in our fridge, so there you go.  I wasn't about to make a trip to the store for this venture.  I wanted it put together and thrown in the pot as fast as I could do the prep (and take photos).

My roast looks so teeny and lonely in the huge crock pot.

G'night, lil guy.  Sweet marinating, tenderizing dreams.

After I sliced the roast and put it back into the pot, it looked like a sad, veggie-less stew.

You can't really tell from this photo (I'm no pro), but the meat was falling apart as I stacked it on the bread.  Success!

Bo's sandwich got the cheese.  (And not even a great variety of cheese either. That's what happens when I don't eat dairy and have no idea what state our cheese supply is in.)

And...done.  My plate looks like a ghost town.

Grocery Rage

Anyone else miss this show? I coulda been a rockin contestant.

I entered the store in a peaceful and sunny mood. The woman walking in with me was cheerful and friendly and made me smile. And the first thing I noticed was a scattering of cheese samples. Yummo! I practiced some self-control and only sampled one, tiny piece (way to go, sraa!*). Then I carefully made my way over the butcher counter to pick up some seafood and shellfish for dinner. Again, yummo!

The second I walked up to the counter, I could sense that an evil force was trying to wreak havoc on my serenity. A woman there stepped up after me, ignored the semblance of a line we had going, and elbowed her way up to the meat case. Unbelievable. (Is it just me or does SoCal's population have the biggest sense of self-entitlement going?) Lucky for me and nanner-nanner-poo-poo for her, I was making eye contact with the butcher as he walked up and asked, "Who's next?" Ms. All Elbows missed the boat as she was critically scanning the selection of meats in the case. Karma, baby!

After my stint at the butcher case, I was immediately bumped into by a person and then by a cart. This was while I was standing stock-still, trying to pick out some ground sirloin. And nary an apology to be heard. From there, it just went downhill. The store's aisles were littered with dropped (and squished) produce, screaming 3 year olds, abandoned shopping carts, and women with bad attitude written all over their faces. My hair is decidedly frumpy today, but that certainly shouldn't earn me ugly looks from the general public.

My only motivation to stay in the store - and not run away as fast as these pink paisley flats could carry me - was my huge annoyance with making multiple trips to stores. I knew that I had to stick it out long enough to at least gather ingredients for a salad. (And even then, the store was out of the greens I usually buy.)

It seems that today has just been one of those days. As Chiml was singing me (over IM, of course):**

It's just one of those days that a girl goes through
When I'm angry inside,
Don't wanna take it out on you.
Just one of them things.
Don't take it personal.
I just wanna be all alone
And you think I treat you wrong.
Don't take it personal
Baby, baby, baby, baby, baby.
Don't take it personal.


* sraa is yet another of my alter egos. I'm up to at least 3 named personae by now, so brownie points to you if you can remember the other names :)

** I'd embed the youtube clip for this song, but it appears that I've lost youtube connectivity along with my iTunes connectivity. The IT people here have no idea how ugly I'll get when I'm cut off from music.