Popcorn experiments

Those who know me know that I pride myself on making good homemade popcorn. None of that microwave or airpopper bullshit; honest to goodness in a pan on the stove homemade popcorn. And not to toot my own horn too much, but it is damn good. Ask anybody who has had it.

I'm not gonna go into how to make popcorn here. It's hard to explain verbally and I imagine you can look it up on YouTube if you don't already know how to do it. But last night I made a triple batch and separated it. I left one-third of it as my standard butter and salt (still Beej's favorite). The other 2/3 were an experiment. A lovely one, at that.

On 1/3 of the already popped popcorn, I drizzled white truffle oil and then salted it. It was very good. It was even better, though, when I added some melted butter, too. I needed more truffle oil than I thought I would, so you'll want to keep tasting it. I do think it needs a bit of butter to sort of bring out that taste, and maybe for texture. And, as I sit here eating left-overs, I'd say it might be better the second day.

The real gem, in my opinion, was rosemary-chipotle popcorn. Clearly I'm on a bit of a rosemary kick, but who can blame me? And really, who would complain? For this one, I chopped maybe 4-5 sprigs of fresh rosemary and added that to melted butter, then poured that mixture over the popcorn. I then sprinkled maybe 1/8 tsp of chipotle powder and a generous amount of table salt.

FanFREAKINGtastic. As I said, Beej still prefers the classic, and it is darn good, but the rosemary-chipotle is a wonderful discovery.

Spicy Rosemary Cashews

I got this recipe from my friend David (& then tweaked it a bit) and they've been a favorite Christmas present idea. They're best warm, it's true, but they certainly don't have to be served warm. Even so, they tend to work best if you warm the cashews in the oven first, as it seems to help the mix adhere. In a pinch, though, just throw the cashews into the coating and mix. Done!

Mix about 1 lb cashews (whole or pieces) with

• 3 Tbsp coarsely chopped fresh rosemary leaves
• 1/4 tsp cayenne
• 1/4 tsp chipotle pepper
• 2 tsp dark brown sugar
• 2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 Tbsp melted butter

* If you're not big on spice, cut down on the chipotle pepper, or just use just under 1/2 tsp cayenne and no chipotle.

If you're warming the cashews:
Preheat oven to 375. Place about 1 lb of cashews nuts on ungreased baking sheet & bake about 10 minutes, or until warmed through. Meanwhile, combine the mix in large bowl. Toss warm nuts with rosemary mixture until completely coated. Adjust salt & spice levels to taste (if too spicy, add a smidge more brown sugar). Serve warm, if possible.

Herb Yogurt Dip

I'm all about the fresh herbs. My dad keeps a pretty intense herb garden, and I plan to do the same.

I whipped up this sauce / dip and then put it on some smoked gouda quesadillas.

Ingredients:

Plain greek yogurt

3-4 sprigs of fresh rosemary

5-6 sprigs of fresh thyme

juice of 1/2 lemon

Peel of 1/2 lemon

Black Pepper

Ground Crushed Red Pepper

Direx:

Chop up the rosemary and lemon peel as small as you can get 'em. Add all the ingredients together and stir it up. It'll probably be extra good the day after you make it. I can see slathering this al over cucumbers.

Awesome Cannelinni Spread

Found this recipe in a cooking mag and added some of my own twists to make it easier and tastier. It's kinda like hummus, but the cannelinni beans give it a deeper, smoother flavor than chick peas can. I like it muchly.

Stuff Y'all'll Need

1 Can of Cannelinni (White Kidney Beans)

1 lemon

2-3 garlic cloves

2-3 sprigs of rosemary

Pinch of dried red pepper flakes

olive oil

Food Processor

Stuff Y'all Do With that Stuff

Take a vegetable peeler and peel off 3-4 strips of the lemon peel. Slice it into little strips and throw it into a pan with a good slather of olive oil. Mince up the rosemary and the garlic, and throw them into the olive oil with the crushed red pepper. Drain and rinse the beans, and add those to the mix. Make sure there's enough olive oil to get everything good and coated.

Let that all sit and simmer for 5-10 minutes. When it feels ready, spoon the whole works into the food processor, squeeze the juice from 1/2 of the lemon in there and blend it. Add a little olive oil while it's spinning if it's too thick for you.

It's good on toast, bell peppers, spoons and tongues.

Grilled Cheese with Bacon and Red Onion

Grilled cheese and bacon is old news. Been there, done that, bought the t-shirt.

But adding sliced red onion? Solid, buddy. Real solid.

probably don't need any directions or ingredients for this one. I will say that putting the cheese in the middle (i.e. bread, bacon, cheese, onion, bread) did help the loose ingredients to stay in place while I chomped. Also thought it might be good with a little mustard sauce, if you want to go all French-fancy on things.

"Anne's" Guacamole

I got this recipe from Anne, but the "Anne's" is in quotes, so I'm guessing she got it from someone, too.

It's Mexican night back in NH (Mike G's birthday), which made me decide I should make some guac and a margarita. So here goes:

1 ripe avocado

2/3 C. cottage cheese

2 Tbsp FRESH lime juice (makes a huge difference)

1 Tbsp chopped scallions

2 green chilies

2 garlic cloves, pressed

pepper to taste

1 tomato, chopped

mix everything but the tomato and a 1/4 of the 'cado in a food processor. I add an extra clove of garlic (shock) and a bit of salt. Billy is VERY against the cottage cheese and honestly, it's optional, but it gives it a smoother texture. I also throw in a bit of crushed red pepper. 

ANYWAY, mix in a food processor or chop all that stuff pretty fine and mix it by hand. If you're using a food processor, when you're done, smash the last 1/4 'cado into it to give it a chunkier texture. 

Remove the seeds from the tomato and chop the rest and mix it in. You can just throw in the whole chopped tomato, seeds and all, but it's a bit watery.

I leave out the tomato pretty often cuz I don't love tomatoes. 

Braden's Extra Garlic-y Garlic Bread

So easy, so simple, so good.

Ingredients:

-Good Crusty Bread

-Garlic Cloves

-Olive Oil

-Salt and Pepper

Directions:

1. Toast the Bread until it has a crisp surface (soft toast won't work)

2. Peel a garlic clove and rub it on the surface of the bread. As you rub, you'll be grating the surface off the clove and right onto the bread. Use as many cloves as it takes to get the job done.

3. Drizzle it with olive oil, salt it, pepper it. 

4. Put in your face.