There was a time when a small section of my kitchen wall, about 4 ft x 1.5 ft, was decorated with mementos of our movie dates. Because my husband and I are incapable of remembering 90% of the movies we’ve seen, even minutes after walking out of the theater, we decided that taping the ticket stubs on our wall would save us from the blank looks we give each other when asked, “What movie have you seen lately?”
And we do get asked that question a lot. And for years those stubs not only helped us, they were also a big conversation starter with family and friends. That tiny section of wall became an ombré pattern of white to yellowed paper, bold to faded movie titles and showtimes. Eventually, we cleaned up that wall but my husband and I occasionally talk about bringing it back.
The final scenes of Argo are unfolding on the screen now but we are comfortable and cozy in our living room instead of sitting in the dark at our neighborhood movie theater. Though our screen is much smaller we made sure that one of our favorite elements of our movie dates was present: popcorn. My husband tends to order his plain, no butter and I favor something with a little more flavor, but his family-size, free-refills bag never stops him from reaching over our shared armrest to nibble on my kettle corn.
I’ve been known to smuggle a tiny jar of brewer’s yeast (nutritional yeast) enhanced with garlic powder and paprika to sprinkle over my popcorn (recipe here). Here I’ve done something just a bit different–kettle corn tossed with brewer’s yeast and cayenne pepper for a little kick. Try it sometime. Salty, sweet, spicy and a little cheesy (from the brewer’s yeast), this popcorn has a little bit of everything.
Note: Not all brewer’s yeasts taste the same. Lewis Labs is my favorite, by far. It has a pleasantly nutty, almost cheesy taste that brewer’s yeast in bulk bins just doesn’t have. It costs more than other brands but I think it’s worth it.
Kettle Corn with a Kick
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup corn kernels
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt I would use 1/2 teaspoon next time
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1-2 tablespoons brewers yeast nutritional yeast
Instructions
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Heat the oil in a heavy pot over medium-high heat, about a minute, then add the corn kernels and sugar. Stir the corn kernels and sugar together and cover the pot with a lid. I waited a minute or two before I heard the first kernels start to pop.
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Meanwhile, have a large bowl ready with the salt, cayenne pepper and brewers yeast in it.
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When the corn starts popping, shake the pot lightly every few seconds and do this until the popping slows down, about 3-4 minutes. (I turned of the heat at the 3-minute mark, worried that I might burn the sugar and this seemed to work fine)
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Immediately transfer the popcorn to the large bowl, cover with the lid and shake to distribute the salt, cayenne and brewers yeast.
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Serve.
Recipe Notes
Recipe adapted from this PBS Food recipe.
That basket with all that goodness … oh yumminess…I want it!!!! I love popcorn! 🙂
I don’t watch movies :/ I know… weird… I’m too antsy… I can’t sit for 2 hours staring at a screen. 🙂 BUT I do want to see Argo. I kinda love Ben Affleck. 🙂
I love nutritional yeast. Addictive popcorn!
Cheers,
Rosa
Oh my gosh – I just LOVE this recipe! Anything with popcorn and unique flavors catches my eye. Hubby and I don’t get out the theater as much as we would like but need to sign up for Netfix so we can stay up to date and enjoy your popcorn. Happy Sunday Jean!!!
Love the flavors you added to your kettle corn, this would make a perfect movie snack or a fun appetizer idea!
I haven’t tried brewer’s yeast yet. What are they? How do they taste? I’m curious! Coz I love me a good popcorn. And definitely with a kick. The kick has to be there!
That’s a lovely story about the ticket stubs. It would have been a great memento to transfer to a scrap book maybe. Popcorn and movies do go hand in hand even here.
The ticket stub wall is an adorable idea! I think you Should bring it back! 😀
This popcorn sounds like the perfect snack for movies, and late-night TV viewing! Love the cayenne kick!
I am loving the idea of your movie ticket wall and I can almost visualize it 🙂 As for the popcorn, love any kind including plain but this sounds quite interesting, and making me curious!
Looks so good, i love adding a lil kick to popcorn!
nutritional yeast on popcorn is my favorite thing ever!!! yum!
This popcorn is great, Jean! I eat popcorn all the time, and can’t wait to try this recipe! Loved that you used to have your movie tickets on your wall…what a sweet, fun idea!
Hmmm brewers yeast. I bet I’d like that. I like everything else about beer (and popcorn). GREG
I could practically live on popcorn! What a great recipe, now I need to find brewers yeas!
I’m a popcorn addict and this looks really enticing – going to check out the brewer’s yeast you recommend too!
Oh I love it! Salty and sweet! My favorite kind of popcorn!
I love this! I’ve never seen corn kernels sold over here so they’re going on my list of stuff to pick up in the US! I can’t wait to have some popcorn again. 🙂 And it’s awesome that this uses nutritional yeast. I got some to use on macaroni and cheese but don’t really love it on there so I’m super happy to have found a new use for it!
I have a new way now to use my nutritional yeast:))Love this fun popcorn inspiration, Jean. I just saw Argo. I’m catching up on all the movies from last year;)
We need to have a ticket wall! That’s a great idea. I ALWAYS forget the names of the movies, even after seeing them countless time (Pretty Woman and Dirty Dancing don’t count).
And this popcorn, have to pass the recipe to hubby. He’s the popcorn maker in this house
Popcorn is a multiple night a week snack in this house so I’m always excited to see new recipes with my beloved corn – thanks for sharing this!
Please pass this delicious popcorn…tonight could be movie night!
I have to admit that I’m not really a popcorn OR a movie fan… much to my family’s dismay. The rest of the family can sit through triple features with bowl after bowl of popcorn. This one though, turned my head. Maybe I’ll surprise them this weekend!