Football! and [super easy] Stovetop Popcorn

Ladies and Gentlemen – football season has officially begun! A day I have been [im]patiently awaiting since February 4. Gronk is back (sort of), Tebow is gone (finally), and all riff-raff has been dealt with accordingly (at least on our end).

The arrival of football also indicates the return of my favorite season – FALL! Apple picking, fall veggies [squash! all shapes & sizes!], scarves & boots, fall foliage, warm spices, pumpkin beer, pumpkin pie, pumpkin picking, PUMPKIN EVERYTHING. Wait, did I mention that I love pumpkin? Because seriously, guys — I loooooove pumpkin [hey, Michael, does that make you angry?!].

But before I dive mouth head first into pumpkin recipes, let’s focus on the ‘holiday’ at hand. The first regular season NFL game is upon us, friends. Food-wise, that’s a big deal. Because what’s better than spending every Sunday, Monday and the occasional Thursday for the next six months plopped on your couch — or a friend’s couch — with a beer in hand and a snack spread like no other on the table in front of you?! Nothing, that’s what. Except for maybe baking/cooking/eating all things pumpkin until, ohhh… next April. or winning the lottery. or probably a bunch of other awesome things that are currently escaping me.

Football + pumpkin makes me brain-dead with happiness, okay?!

Alright, so when you think football food, what comes to mind? wings. chips & dips. pizza. buffalo. barbeque. chili. beer. lots of beer [pumpkin beer?! yes]. The name of this game is snack food. But does popcorn come to mind when you think football food? Probably not. I recently learned [or, um, was taught] how easy it is to pop your own popcorn andddddd now I’m obsessed. Yea, you heard me right: stovetop popcorn, from actual corn kernels. Thank you, Orville Redenbacher.

(actually, thank you Uncle Joe & Mom for the inspiration for this post! if you hadn’t told me about this, I’d still be making microwave popcorn! gross.)

I know, I know – writing a ‘recipe’ for homemade popcorn is incredibly lame; it’s way too easy to require a recipe. So let’s bypass the lame-ness and call these ‘guidelines’ instead. Don’t expect exact measurements – eye-balling ingredients is half the fun!

Let’s get to work. First, gather your ingredients: popping corn, salt, olive oil and a medium-size saucepan (with its lid). In terms of your serving size, it’s pretty straightforward: the bigger the pot, the bigger the serving. One thing I’ve learned is that no matter how many or how few kernels I use, I always end up with WAY too much popcorn (what?! that’s crazy talk, Talia – there’s no such thing as too much popcorn).

You’ll want to coat the bottom of the saucepan with a thin layer of olive oil, just enough to cover it. I like to use olive oil, but I’m sure you can substitute to your liking: canola oil, coconut oil, popping oil [yea, I guess that’s a thing], etc. Add about 1/4 teaspoon of salt directly to the oil.

Next, add your corn kernels – a single layer on the bottom of the pan should do it.

Here is the most important step of the whole process: COVER YOUR SAUCEPAN. Otherwise… that oil gets messy. Not that I know from experience or anything. But seriously, cover it. Then, put your saucepan over high heat and wait for the fun to begin! And by fun, I clearly mean popping. Once you hear the first few kernels start to pop, turn the heat down to medium/medium-low – and be sure to keep the pot covered!

Once the popping becomes more sporadic (3 to 4 seconds between pops), remove your saucepan from the heat. A few more kernels may continue to pop, so just sit tight until the popcorn is done doing its thing. If you’ve done it properly, all the kernels will be popped! If you haven’t done it properly, well… don’t feel bad, you’re not alone. I never do it right. But don’t worry, it is still delicious!

The last thing you want to do is season your popcorn. Most days, I like to stick to the basics – even just a few shakes of sea salt packs some serious flavor! Other days, I turn to Google for ideas and recipes. Here are a few of my favorites:

Movie theater style: add a few tablespoons of butter directly into the oil before heating/popping or add melted butter to the already popped-corn (to achieve messy, buttery fingers like you’d only get at the movies).

Kettle corn: add 1/4 to 1/3 cup of sugar to the oil before adding your popping corn.

Cinnamon-sugar: mix cinnamon and sugar [roughly 2 tablespoons of sugar to 1 teaspoon of cinnamon] and add to your freshly popped corn.

Parmesan-truffle: after popping, drizzle 1/4 to 1/2  teaspoon of truffle oil, a pinch or two more of sea salt, and a generous grating of Parmesan cheese. Be careful not to add too much truffle oil – even just a little bit of this stuff goes a long way!

Cajun: add 1/4 teaspoon each of the following spices to freshly popped corn – cumin, garlic powder, dried basil, dried thyme, paprika – as well as a pinch of black and cayenne peppers.

Southwestern: after popping, add the following spices: 1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder, 1 teaspoon paprika, 1 tablespoon cumin, 2 teaspoons salt.

Pumpkin pie spiced [of course!]: after popping, drizzle a tiny bit of maple syrup or agave nectar on your popcorn (just a few teaspoons) and then sprinkle some pumpkin pie spice on top and mix well. If you don’t have pumpkin pie spice, you can very easily make your own.

Alright, back to the game! I leave you with what I found to be hands down THE funniest thing I have read in months.  WARNING: not suitable for the die-hard, sensitive-to-Boston-sports-haters fans; the hilarity of this article may make you angry.. and/or cry.