Savory Popcorn for Mom

Mother’s Day is just days away and if you’re thinking about making her a treat, why not try something a little different like some savoury popcorn.

We’ve come up with a list of some recipes that can spice up the typical popcorn snack. You can make it for your mom as an appetizer snack, package some up as a gift, or serve it with an after dinner movie or some relaxing time with your mom.

I’m usually a plain butter and salt popcorn gal. Every so often I’ll make a batch of caramel popcorn (we blogged the recipe here a few years ago) as a treat. Today though we are focusing on the savoury type of popcorn with lots of flavour! Take a look at some of the recipes below and see if anything stands out and give it a go for your mom or just for fun.

All of these recipes are best on some freshly popped popcorn. The recipes will nicely coat about 12-16 cups of popped popcorn but you can cut down the recipes to however much you’d like to make.

Brown Butter Lemon – Cook 6 Tbsp. of butter in a pan until browned and then take the pan off the heat and add 1 ½ tsp. of lemon zest. Stir and pour over the popcorn. Toss with salt.

Garlic and Herb – Melt 4 Tbsp. of butter in a pan and add 4 cloves of grated garlic and a tsp. each of fresh finely cut rosemary, sage, thyme and Drizzle over the popcorn and toss with some salt and

cook for a minute.

Parmesan and Rosemary – Add ½ cup of grated Parmesan along with 3 Tbsp. of olive oil, 1 Tbsp. of fresh finely cut rosemary, and toss with salt.

Three Cheese – For this one you’re gonna want to make sure your popcorn is warm. Then toss in 2 cups of shredded cheddar, 1 cup of grated Parmesan, and a ½ cup of Pecorino. Spread it all on a baking sheet (lined is probably best) and bake it at 350 degrees until the cheddar melts. About 3 minutes. Keep an eye on it though!

Italian Cheese – Mix 6 Tbsp. grated Romano cheese, 2 ¼ tsp. of Italian seasoning, and ¾ tsp. of garlic salt.  

Sesame – Heat 6 Tbsp. of butter with 2/3 cup of sesame seeds and cook until the seeds are toasted (5 or so minutes). Stir in 1 Tbsp. of sugar and toss with some salt.

Sesame Ginger – Melt ¼ cup of butter and stir in ½ tsp. of sesame oil, a drip or two of soy sauce, and a pinch of ginger powder. Pour over the popcorn and toss well.

Bacon Chive – Cook up some chopped bacon bits (6 slices is fine but you can some extra because the more bacon the better!). Keep the drippings and drizzle 2 Tbsp. of that with the same amount of butter over the popcorn and then toss with the bacon, ½ cup chopped chives, and ½ tsp. of cayenne. Season with some salt but it might be salty enough with the bacon and drippings.

Sriracha Lime – Whisk 5 Tbsp. of melted butter with ¼ cup of  Sriracha , 1 ½ tsp. of lime zest, , and 1 Tbsp. of lime juice and drizzle over the popcorn. Toss with salt.  

Chipotle – Melt 4 Tbsp. of butter with 2 Tbsp. of Chipotle hot sauce, and 1 tbsp. of Chipotle chile powder. Drizzle over the popcorn and toss with salt and corn nuts.

Cajun – Melt 4 Tbsp. of butter with 1 Tbsp. of Cajun seasoning , 1 tsp. of lemon zest, ¼ tsp. of cayenne, and 2 chopped scallions. Drizzle over the popcorn and toss with salt.

Curry- Melt ¼ cup of butter add in 2 Tbsp. of curry powder and mix well. Add in a tsp. of salt and a Tbsp. of turbinado sugar pour over the popcorn and toss. You can add in some more sugar or salt while you toss.

Buffalo – Melt 6 Tbsp. of butter and mix in 1/3 cup of Buffalo sauce toss in your popcorn and mix well. Add in ½ cup of crumbled Blue cheese and some celery leaves. Toss with some salt.  

French Onion – Melt 6 Tbsp. of butter with a packet of French onion soup/dip mix and toss with warm popcorn. Sprinkle in a package of French fried onions.

Salt and Vinegar – Combine ¼ cup of malt vinegar with 2 tsp. of salt and pour into a clean spray bottle. Shake well to dissolve all of the salt and spray over the popcorn.

There you have it many ways that you can make your popcorn more interesting. You can even make small batches of a few and get your mom to do a taste test to see which she likes best. Pair you savoury popcorn with some nice wine or other cool beverage and enjoy. 

Really Easy Appetizers

With the holiday season approaching fast, it’s time to think about appetizers. If you’re going to a party, hosting a party, or making a big holiday dinner then you may need to make appetizers or bring them.

Appetizers don’t have to be super complicated. I’m sure there are many that are more elaborate and time consuming but we are going to look at making really easy and quick but yummy appetizers so you’re not in the kitchen all day making them.

Easy Appetizers:

1.      Toothpick Caprese Salad. Put a grape/cherry tomato on a toothpick then add on a bocconcini ball, and then piece of basil. Drizzle all of your Caprese toothpick salads with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

2.      Jalapeno Cheese Crisps - Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Cook some slices of bacon until crispy and chop and put aside. On a baking sheet place a mound of Parmesan cheese and then on top about a tbsp. of cheddar. Place a jalapeno slice and sprinkle some bacon bits on top of that. Make as many as you’d like. Cook until golden and crisp, about 12 minutes.

3.      Garlicy Dipping Oil – Whisk together ½ cup of olive oil, 4 cloves of garlic, pinch of red pepper flakes and sea salt, ground pepper, 1/3 cup of Parmesan, and a 2 tbsp. parsley. Serve with a sliced baguette.

4.      Apple Bacon Crostini – Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. On a baking sheet, place apple medium thick slices about a ½ inch apart. You can choose what type of apple you like (some may like the sweeter ones and some may prefer more tart ones like Granny Smiths). Top the apples first with a thin slice of sharp white cheddar cheese and then sprinkle some bacon bits on top. Bake until the cheese has partially melted about 7-9 minutes. Drizzle with maple syrup and sprinkle ground pepper on top before serving.

5.      Bacon Brussel Sprout Skewers – Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place a metal rack inside a baking sheet. On a skewer pierce a piece of bacon then pierce a brussel sprout. Repeat two or three more times depending on how long your skewer is. Place on the baking sheet and roast for 20-25 minutes. Sprinkle with pepper before serving.

6.      Pita Chips – Take some store bought pitas, whole wheat or white and brush with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Fry in a pan until crisp and golden on both sides. Cut into triangles and serve with dip. To make it a sweet bite, sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon instead of salt and pepper.

7.      Dill Dip (you can dip the pita chips in this) – Mix 1 cup of sour cream, 1 cup of mayonnaise, 2 tbsp. of dried dill weed, 2 tbsp. of dried onion. 1 tbsp. of dried parsley, 1 tsp. of garlic powder, and a pinch of salt. You can also make this with fresh dill and parsley. I’ve done it with a ¼ cup of each fresh.

8.      Baked Eggs in Portobello Mushroom Cap – Clean some Portobello mushroom caps. Rub them all on the outside with a little bit of olive oil and place a piece of  prosciutto inside them al. Crack an egg in a small bowl and slide into the mushroom cap. Sprinkle with pepper and fresh herbs of your choice. Bake for 20-30minutes at 375 degrees.

9.      Baked Wrapped Date – Slice a date lengthwise and remove the pit. Fill with goat cheese and close back up. Cut your back slices in half and wrap each date with back and secure with a toothpick. Arrange on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes at 350 degrees. Turn onto the opposite side and bake for 5-8 more minutes. Keep turning and baking for 5-8 minutes until the entire thing is crispy and golden. Place on a paper towel to cool.

10.  Deviled Eggs – Hard boil 6 eggs. Once cooled, peel the eggs and slice lengthwise. Scoop out the yolks and place in a bowl. Mash the yolks with a fork until crumbled. Mix in 2 tbsp. of mayonnaise and 2tsp. of mustard. Mix and mash until you form a paste. You can add more mayonnaise if you’d like it creamier. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Pipe the filling into the egg or spoon in with a small spoon. Sprinkle with paprika and fresh herbs.

Mother's Day Slaw and Sandwich

This weekend is Mother’s Day and we are sticking with the things to do for mom this week on the blog. We’re gonna go down the food road today and share with you some recipes for a healthy fresh Spring lunch for mom (these would be good picnic recipes too).

I’m a big fan of fresh coleslaw. I like the simple deli style with the mayonnaise sauce, cabbage, onions, and carrots. I first tried it in England and was hooked; it was so delicious. However, some people like a different and more exciting take on coleslaw so that’s why we are sharing Nicole’s broccoli slaw recipe today with you.

For the Broccoli Slaw you will need the following...

Broccoli, chopped in bite sized pieces

Red grapes, cut in half

Sunflower seeds

Red onion, sliced thin

Slivered Almonds

Raisins

Chopped Bacon

Cheddar cheese, cut into small chunks

1 cup of Mayonnaise, 2 tbsp. vinegar, ¼ cup of sugar (cane or raw)

Whisk together the sauce (Mayonnaise, sugar, and vinegar) and then pour over the other cut ingredients in a large bowl and toss. It’s that easy. Most of the work, like with many slaws, comes in the form of chopping and slicing. Chill and then serve.

Something refreshing and delicious and very healthy to make alongside a slaw, is a sandwich. I came up with a form of a Clubhouse sandwich one morning when I was looking through the fridge at the leftovers.

You will need a ripe avocado, brown bread (your choice and it doesn’t have to be brown), Roma tomatoes, lettuce, bacon, turkey breast or chicken breast (I used leftover turkey the first time I made this but when we just made this, we used deli roasted chicken breast), and then some condiments (we just used Mayonnaise but an aioli would be yummy too).

First things first, cook the bacon and then let it cool slightly.

While the bacon is cooling, slice the avocados, tomatoes, and then wash and dry the lettuce.

Now to assemble the sandwich...toast the bread and then spread on the Mayonnaise.

Then place on the chicken or turkey.

On top of that put on the tomatoes, bacon, avocados, and lettuce.

 Put the other slice of bread on top and then slice in half diagonally. 

Serve with the cold slaw and there you have a yummy healthy Mother’s Day lunch for mom.