Popcorn and Beer!

Ok this post is a little late. But it has been a BUSY weekend!  I've been home all of 24 hours right now as I type this.

So what do we do on a monday to relax after a weekend of running around like chickens with our heads cut off? Why, popcorn and beer.

Oooooohhhh..... how.... ordinary. Whatever. I don't do that in the microwave fake butter stuff.
I do mine over the stove. With real oil! So bite me. It's fabulous. And since we support our local farmers, I made it with rainbow kernels. That just means the corn is multi colored, sadly the popcorn is all white. If someone knows how to make it also turn out colorful please call me.

So How Do You Make This?

Take a nice sized quart pot with lid. Put maybe 1-2 tbsp of peanut oil down. You want that so you can get the heat up. Now at this point you can leave it at the peanut oil, OR add 1 tbsp butter, OR add 1 tbsp olive oil. I typically go olive oil. I like to think its healthier and it just adds a nice level of flavor.

Stick that on high heat and pour in 2-3 tbsp of kernels and slap that lid on. Let them sit on high heat until you hear the first kernel pop. Once that happens start shaking the CRAP out of that pot on the heat until you don't hear the kernels popping anymore. Or the lid pops off, whichever comes first.

Place that in a bowl quickly and immediately sprinkle with salt (and if you want some melted butter). Make sure you shake the bowl as you add toppings to make sure its well spread. Now EAT!

You can add other toppings such as cheese, old bay seasoning, sugar... the list is endless.  Oh and uh yeah, crack open a bottle of beer (preferably craft beer from your local brewery) and enjoy the evening!

FLUFFY STUFF!!

Who doesn't love marshmallow fluff? In all its gooey, sticky, yummy, sugary goodness, it is just about the perfect piece of food ever. I feel bad. I didn't get photos of this one. But trust me, it looks like marshmallow fluff but tastes even better! We had to drive to my mom's this weekend, and since she's a fluff fanatic I was going to bring the stuff with me, but I forgot. *sigh*

So here I am writing about my favorite food ever without pics. Boo!

This was actually a lot simpler than I thought, but I did need a candy thermometer. So you need to get yourself one if you don't have it. I got mine at the local grocer store for 20$. Its digital, has an alarm to go off when it hits the right temp, and attaches to my fridge. Its kinda awesome. And I like cooking gadgets.

So here's a couple of tidbits before we get to the recipe: 1. Start the corn syrup mixture first THEN the meringue so that hopefully they finish at about the same time, 2. Once you mix the corn syrup mixture PUT THE LID ON THE POT!! this will create condensation on the sides of the pot that will move all the sugar crystals into the mix and prevent and crystallization of the mix which would ruin things, 3. SLOWLY add the mixes together so you don't cook the eggs (Ew!). Ok so thats three things, sue me. Remember them, they're important!

On to the recipe!!

Marshmallow Fluff!!!
3/4 c. sugar
1/2 c. light corn syrup
1/4 c. water

pinch of salt

2 large egg whites

2 overflowing capfuls of vanilla 

1. Mix sugar, corn syrup, water, and salt in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir well and put lid on the pan until boiling. Once boiling remove lid and place in thermometer and stir occasionally until it hits 240'  (I didn't REALLY stir mine much, it was well mixed prior and the boiling was mixing it well enough I figured).

2. While the sugar boils,put the egg whites in your stand mixer with the whisk. Beat on medium speed until you get medium peaks. This is where your time management and multi tasking skills come in handy. Keep the mixer near the pot so you can move on to step three quickly. 

3. When the sugar stuff hits 240' take it 0ff the heat and SLOWLY add a few bits to the eggs on low, this will temper the eggs so they don't cook. Then continue to slowly add more of the sugar to the eggs until its all in there. Keep mixing the two together until the fluff actually starts to get kinda shiney and glossy. 

4. Continue mixing and add the vanilla. Once done put in an airtight container (or eat right away I wont judge) and refrigerator until you're ready to use it.  It should last about two weeks, but you'll probably use it faster than that.

So what do you do with it? Top ice cream, add to a peanut butter sammy, top on brownies (bonus put under a broiler and have roasted marshmallow topping!) eat right off the spoon if you want! Its awesome and endless so have fun!