Get ready. The weekend is almost upon us and it could be a wonderful treat for movie watching. Let’s face it – everyone loves popcorn. Who doesn’t love ice cream? Who doesn’t love ice cream smothered with gooey hot fudge?
Hot Fudge Sauce
- 1/4 cup pack brown sugar
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1/3 cup light corn syrup
- 3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
- 2 tbsp. unsalted butter
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- pinch of sea salt
Heat the brown sugar and cocoa in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water, whisking to combine. Add the cream and corn syrup, whisking until smooth.
Cook, whisking occasionally until the mixture begins to thicken (8-10 minutes) Stir in the chocolate, butter, vanilla and salt and cook until completely smooth and the butter has melted. Let cool slightly. Will hold in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Simply reheat over a low heat before serving.
Caramel-Chunk Ice Cream
- 2 quarts vanilla ice cream, softened (Chapman’s is the best)
Finely chop the sheet of cooled caramel. Working in 2 batches, soften the ice cream with an electric mixer. Beat half of the caramel into each batch of the ice cream, combining thoroughly. Freeze until firm. (About 2-3 hours)
Caramel Popcorn
- 1 tbsp. coconut oil
- 1/3 cup popcorn kernels
- 1 cup salted peanuts (cocktail type)
- 2 sticks unsalted butter, cut in pieces
- 2 1/2 cups light brown sugar
- 1 cup light corn syrup
- 1 tsp. sea salt
- 2 tsp. vanilla
- 1 tsp. baking soda
Coat 2 rimmed baking sheets with Pam spray. Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat until hot but not smoking. Add the popcorn and cover. Shaking the pan, cook until the corn has finished popping. Be careful not to burn. Transfer to a large bowl and add the peanuts.
Heat the butter, sugar, syrup and salt in a saucepan over a medium heat, stirring until the sugar has dissolved and all the butter has melted.
Cook until the mixture reaches 290 degrees on a candy thermometer. Remove from the heat and quickly add the baking soda and vanilla; stirring until the soda has dissolved. (stir rapidly).
Drizzle half of the mixture over the popcorn and quickly toss around to coat. Lay the popcorn out on one of the baking sheets. Pour the remainder of the syrup onto one of the prepared baking sheet and cool completely. Break into little pieces.
To serve…if you haven’t already been ‘picking’…layer the ice cream in dessert bowls (glasses) with the warm fudge sauce and caramel corn.
Caramel Corn With A Difference
Okay, lots of television watching with the Olympics and then, of course, are the weekends. Well, a new treat is begging to be made. Here it is….
- 12 cups of popped popcorn
- 1 cup dried cranberries
- 1/2 cups chopped pecans or pistachios
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/4 cup corn syrup
- 2 tbsp. orange juice
- 2 tsp. vanilla
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
Preheat oven to 275 degrees. In a very large bowl mix together the popcorn, cranberries and nuts and set aside.
In a saucepan stir together the butter, brown sugar and corn syrup and cook until the butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved. Add the orange juice and bring to a boil for 2 minutes. Remove from heat.
Add the vanilla and baking soda (will fizz up) Now the fun begins.
Pour the liquid over the popcorn and stir to coat all the popcorn. Spread out onto a parchment covered baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes. Cool down and enjoy, enjoy, enjoy.
Fall Corn Soup
Before the last of the corn is gone, get some more and make this soup. You will be sorry if you miss out.
- 2 tbsp. butter
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 1 celery stalk, veins stripped and sliced thinly
- 1 garlic clove, grated
- 3 cups vegetable stock
- 4 ears of fresh corn, kernels cut from the cob (reserve the cobs)
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1 cup whipping cream
- pinch of salt and pepper
- freshly popped and seasoned popcorn, for garnish
In a pot, melt the butter and add the onion, celery and garlic. Season lightly with the salt and pepper and cook until the onions are translucent (about 5-6 minutes). Add the stock, kernels, corncobs and bring to a boil.
Reduce the heat and add the milk, simmer for 15 minutes and add the cream. Stir to mix and remove from the heat.
Cool slightly, and remove and discard the cobs. Puree the soup in small batches until silky smooth. With a fine strainer, strain the soup into a large bowl, pressing hard to extract all the liquid possible.
Season with the following:
Popcorn Garnish
- Pinch of sweet smoky paprika
- pinch of cayenne powder
- pinch of sea salt
- 1/2 lb. crab leg meat (no shell)
Toss the hot popcorn with the spices. Pour the soup into bowls, garnish with the poporn and add some crab leg meat on top.
Serve with Road 13 Chardonnay. Perfect match.