Aug 05: Movie Night - Kettle Corn

Tonight was a movie night and we rented a DVD... In other words, it was an excuse to try a recipe that I've been kicking around - kettle corn. Kettle corn is usually seen at carnivals, fairs and farmer's markets. It's corn popped in oil and sugar. After popping, the popcorn is seasoned with salt. Kettle corn is salty and has a light sugar glaze to give it a little sweetness.

Watching the Kettlerista, whatever they call the guy making the popcorn, the process seems straight forward. Heat up some oil, add some sugar until it melts and add the popcorn. Stir, stir, stir so the popcorn doesn't burn and receives an even coating of sugar. Pour into a bin and salt. All done!

Searching the internet... I've found many recipes with varying amount of sugar and oil. Here's what I settled on as, what seems, like a reasonable amount of oil and sugar for my first attempt.

Kettle Corn at Home

The Fixins'
1/2 C popcorn kernels
2T Sugar
3T oil - I used vegetable oil
Salt to taste

Used an 8 quart pot with a lid

The three main ingredients - corn kernels, sugar and oil.


Heat the oil at Med-High.
Add a few kernels to act as an indicator.


When the kernels have popped, you know it's ready for the rest of the kernels and sugar.


Add the kernels and sugar. (Note: Unlike the Kettlerista, I was hesitant to add the sugar first so the sugar would melt before adding the kernels. I didn't want to burn the sugar which would have been a pain to clean.)


Stir the sugar and kernels to distribute the sugar evenly.


Cover with a lid and shake the pan, especially when you hear the kernels popping.
Think KC and the Sunshine Band.
Shake, Shake, Shake.... Shake, Shake, Shake... Shake your kettle.
You know when you're done when the popping slows down to one pop every 3 or 5 seconds.

Pour out (Very HOT!) and salt.

The finished kettle corn!
The popcorn was sticking together with light coating of sugar.


Recipe notes...
I used 3T (Tablespoons) of oil... probably can get by with 2T or 2.5T.
Used 2T sugar... probably could used 2.5 to 3T sugar for a sweeter flavor.
Or... try melting the sugar in the oil before adding the kernels.

Jun 22: Creme Brulee (Burnt Cream)

A few years ago I received a Creme Brulee Set as a present (Thanks Shawn!). The set contained four porcelain ramekins and a torch.

Since I'm a budding pyro, the torch was the first piece I used. However, I did not make the dessert until today.

The recipe contained in the set was very straight forward and simple.

Creme Brulee (Burnt Cream) is a silky smooth custard dessert with a crunchy sugar topping.

The Fixins'
3/4 C Heavy Cream... Today I used whipping cream.
1T + 2 tsp Sugar... For some reason, I had stuck in my mind 3/4 C sugar and measure it out... thinking that's a lot of sugar. Fortunately, I reread the recipe.
2 Egg Yolks
1/2 t vanilla

Preheat oven, 300F and boil some water - I used 1 cup.

1. Combine cream and sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook and stir occasionally to a simmer... about 5 to 6 minutes.

2. In a separate bowl, beat egg and vanilla until light.

3. Slowly add that hot cream mixture into the beaten egg to temper the eggs. Continue adding and beating the mixture.

4. In a baking pan, arrange ramekins. Pour in brulee mixture evenly into each ramekin.

5. Pour the boiling water into the baking dish so the brulees will bake in a water bath. Water should be halfway up the side of the ramekins.

6. Cover loosely and bake for about 25 to 30 minutes.

The four ramekins out of the oven and cooled. Afterwards, the individual ramekins were wrapped in cling film and refrigerated.


The burnt part of burnt cream.
Before serving, sugar was sprinkled sugar atop the custard.
The image shows Sugar in the Raw(TM)(aka turbinado sugar).


The torch was used to melt, slightly caramelize the sugar to form a crunchy topping.


For the sugar topping, I tried granulated sugar about 1/2 to 1 tsp. The topping didn't seem to harden up properly. Shawn suggested using turbinado sugar. At the local Starbucks, I picked up a couple packets of Sugar in the Raw (TM). Don't worry I didn't steal the packets. Being a shareholder, I'm part owner so the packets are complimentary. lol.

The final dessert turned out well. Silky smooth vanilla flavored custard. The turbinado sugar did the trick for the crunchy crust.

Of course, I can't leave well enough alone.
My next try I plan to use heavy cream and use a vanilla bean instead of vanilla extract.