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[side_show]

The gift of a new mattress for the guest room that only we ever sleep in, once or twice a year, would be hilariously rude. 

Random thought:  I have no idea what Laotian food tastes like, but I'm about to find out. 

Random thought: I am okay with the fact I am more satisfied having treated the deck in preparation for staining than I would be if I went out and partied tonight.  I am getting older and that is okay with me.

[jay-ell]

Related to my previous post, I want spend some time committing "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" to memory.

[jay-ell]

Popcorn popped in sunflower oil is tasty. I wonder if it would be good popped in olive oil? Can you add a little butter to the oil during popping, or would it burn? So much to think about.

[pmcd9]

I wonder if it would be good popped in olive oil?

Yes

Can you add a little butter to the oil during popping, or would it burn? So much to think about.

This is the only way to pop popcorn.  I only know about the olive oil thing because I was out of butter.  I also popped it in bacon grease one time.  But butter is definitely the way to go.  I'll bet mayo would work in a pinch.

[wombat]

Wow, bacon grease. I bought Bacon Salt once to put on popcorn, but it turns out Bacon Salt is really nasty. Why didn't I just do it that way?

[Choop]

ghee + coconut oil + popcorn salt = the best recipe

[theinevitable]

holy crap, I am so in love with my coworker. In a "you are a 31 year old lady with 2 kids and a nice husband" way.

"Cold weather is for the birds... but not really, because where are they to be found? South of course, because they're smart. It almost makes me never want to use that expression again. For the birds? As if the they're so foolish they'll just go for anything. Obviously not."

I really enjoy people with very distinct ways of speaking. I can hear her saying this when I read it.

[jay-ell]

This is the only way to pop popcorn.  I only know about the olive oil thing because I was out of butter.  I also popped it in bacon grease one time.  But butter is definitely the way to go.  I'll bet mayo would work in a pinch.

Being new to this whole non-pre-bagged-microwave-popcorn thing, I originally bought a small bottle of "popping and topping oil," because apparently I am an easy mark. I won't do that again; it's just a blend of a few different oils & a squirt of "artificial butter flavor." The sunflower oil is nice because you can turn the heat up a little higher without worrying about it burning, and it had a really nice sweet light flavor. I do sprinkle it with that fakey butter/salt powder, because I'm watching the calories a bit, but I'm seriously considering grated parmesan as a special treat. (I don't really care for cheddar.) But for that, I think olive oil would be better than sunflower.

Paul, do you usually pop it in straight-up butter? I would think the heat required to pop the corn would cause the butter to burn. I guess, looking back, my dad used to pop popcorn in butter when I was a kid, but he had this microwave doohickey that he used so I never thought about it. Also, Dad's popcorn -- though I love him dearly -- was never as good as the stovetop kind I've been making. It was butterier-tasting, but it was heavier and the kernels didn't seem to fluff up as big. Is this the result of using butter on it, or the result of the microwave technique?

[pmcd9]

I don't have any problem with burning.  The whole thing is over in about 3 minutes.  Maybe the butter doesn't have time to burn.

the kernels didn't seem to fluff up as big.

It might be Monsanto genetically altering your food.

[wombat]

The variety of popcorn matters a lot to how big the kernel puff up. It might even be the only thing. I can't say for sure because I only ever pop in a pot so I can't test different methods on the same variety, but I have used a lot of different varieties and even when popped the same they are different sizes.

Is there still Orville Reddenbacher popcorn? Those were always the poofiest. I once mailordered a whole sampler package of different exotic kinds of popcorn, different color kernels, heritage corn blah blah blah. In the end I wished I could still get the plain jar of Orville Reddenbacher that my local supermarket doesn't seem to carry anymore.

[pmcd9]

I think my local market has it.  I'll look next time I am there.

[jay-ell]

See, my dad used to use Orville and I just bought the cheap store brand popcorn. $1.47 for 2 pounds. I figured, corn is corn, you know?

I'm going to blame the ancient microwave doodad and try this butter thing tomorrow. I have been having a bowl of popcorn just about every afternoon for a snack -- it's the best way I've found to handle my afternoon munchies without blowing my calorie budget for the day. I think maybe I'll pop two pots side-by-side tomorrow -- one in butter and one in oil -- just as an experiment. I'm sure I can get my daughter to help me eat the extra.

[wombat]

Even with popcorn the cheap stuff is cheap stuff.

[jay-ell]

What kind of person misspells a person's last name (not a typo; an actual misspelling) while making a comment on that person's Facebook status? The correct spelling is right there; clearly, the dude's last name is Aldrich, not Aldridge. Who are you, that you're not too lazy to comment on his status but you're too lazy to know his name?

[jay-ell]

Even with popcorn the cheap stuff is cheap stuff.

But, sometimes, the cheap stuff isn't cheap. I mean, it's not cheaply made, or whatever. I buy a lot of store-brand stuff, most of it is just as good as the name-brand. In a few rare instances, it's better. (The store-brand noodle soup mix is not as salty as the name-brand, for instance.)

I will buy a bag of pricey kernels, though, and find out. Dammit, you guys, this is turning into a full-blown hobby. I just wanted to eat a tasty snack and stop giving so much money to Big Popcorn for their "convenient" disposable, microwaveable, carcinogen-laden bags. Should have known better than to mention it in front of a bunch of foodies, grumble grumble.

(Thanks for all the advice on something so simple; everybody else I've talked to about popping corn on the stove has been like, "yeah, but why?")