Popcorn & MIFF - 1 - $ - V

Well hello! Apologies for the lack of posts this week but I have spent most of my evenings sitting in a dark room and not cooking much food at all. That's because I have been watching as many movies as I can jam in during the Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF).

It's been a case of uber time management and grabbing snacks, cups of tea and glasses of vino in between dashing from one session to another. The movies wind up today which is a good thing I think because my eyes are just about square! This year's festival has had a fantastic program and apart from seeing loads of flicks I also got to see some craft queens as well as Her Royal Feminist Germaine Greer in the flesh!
My fave movie was Bill Cunningham New York - a documentary about the 80 year-old photographer. This film is a must-see for anyone who loves fashion, photography or New York and is truly poignant and inspirational. I laughed, I cried and I wanted to buy even more shoes!


With one session to go tonight and not a lot of food in the house I thought it best to bring you a guide to everyone's favourite movie snack - POPCORN! Next time you head out to the cinema or drive-in don't buy that hideous uranium yellow stuff - make your own! It's too easy, it's about a million times cheaper and there are so many different things you can put on it...

Popping The Corn

Before...

I find it's best to use a pot that is the same size as your hotplate so that you get even heat distribution for the little kernels to do their thing. If your hotplates are small and you need lots of popcorn it's best to make several batches that all work out, rather than one giant one that's half burnt.

It's a tough job but someone's gotta do it...

You need enough oil to just cover the bottom of the pot in a thin layer. You can use just plain old canola or vegetable oil because it's function is conducting heat, not making a taste sensation.
Put the pot on a very high heat and let the oil heat up. Throw in a couple of sacrificial kernels to check the temperature and when they magically explode it's time to pour in enough kernels to cover the bottom of the pot in a single layer. Put a lid on and wait for the popping to start. Once it becomes rapid turn the heat down slightly and give the pot a shake every few seconds so that the unpopped kernels can drop down to the bottom of the pot.

And we're off!

Once the popping subsides take the pot immediately off the heat. The kernels that didn't explode have had their chance, so don't burn the ones that fulfilled their popping destiny.
Now it's time to add your favourite popcorn topping...


Toppings

There's so many to choose from so here's a few suggestions; some obvious and some perhaps not so obvious. If you have a favourite please leave it in the comments below...

• Melted butter
• Salt - my current pick would have to be Hawaiian Black Lava
• Icing sugar
• Shredded coconut
  
• A combo of salt and sugar
• Cayenne pepper for a little heat
• Paprika
• Finely grated Parmesan or other hard cheese

The ultimate way to serve popcorn though would have to be covered in crunchy caramel. Head over to Not Quite Nigella to see Lorraine's beautiful photos and how-to guide for this version.

Enjoy!