Orange-Scented Honey Butter Popcorn

You know one of the best benefits of working from home? You can wear your pajama pants all day if you choose. I don't often go this route because I'm trying to maintain some semblance of humanity. But y'know there are days where even leggings are too much.

And then there are days when plain buttered popcorn is simply not enough. You know I love to play around with my popcorn-- cinnamon toast, a trifecta of tropical flavors, and an herby mix have all made appearances. 

I grew up eating honey butter with my hushpuppies but never thought to put it on my popcorn. And let us not forget that in the midst of a dreary winter there is vibrancy to be found in citrus. It's the perfect lunch snack.

You'll need: butter, honey, an orange, popcorn kernels, salt, and vegetable oil (not pictured).

Toss the kernels with oil and a touch of salt in a medium saucepan. You need it to be big enough to accomodate the popped corn. 

When the first kernels begin popping, slap the lid over the pot and start moving it over the burner. Keep it moving until the sound slows to a few seconds between pops.

Okay real talk. I should've just melted the butter into the honey. It would've been easier.

Because they're kind of hard to stir together. You might lose butter and that's just not cool.

Toss the popcorn with the honey butter in a large bowl. Trust me on this. I've tried too-small bowls before and it just ends in frustration and poorly coated corn.

Grate a little orange peel in there with a zester and toss to coat evenly. Honestly, just a teaspoon will do.  Oh and add a little more salt.

The bright, fragrant scent of orange and floral honey are grounded by rich, salty butter. Don't let the small serving bowl fool you-- I ate the whole thing.

Orange-Scented Honey Butter Popcorn (makes about 5 cups)

2 tsp vegetable oil

1/4 c popcorn kernels

Salt to taste

2 tbs salted butter

2 tbs honey

1 tsp orange zest

• In a medium saucepan with a lid, toss the oil, kernels, and a pinch of salt together. Heat the pan over medium-high heat. When the first couple of kernels pop, cover the pan with the lid and slide the pan back and forth over the burner
• When popping slows to a 3-4 seconds between sounds, take the popcorn off the heat. Pour it into a large bowl.
• Melt the butter into the honey and pour over the popped corn. Toss with a little more salt and the orange zest. Serve right away.

Super Bowl Sunday 2012

Y'all, it's about that time again!  Super Bowl Sunday.  I must confess, I'm way more invested in college football than I am in the NFL.  Oh sure, I cheer for the odd team here and there.  I like the Saints because I really love New Orleans.  I like the Broncos because my grandparents used to live in Denver.  But none of that really translates into a diehard fan.  I still really like to watch football of course, plus I like the commercials just as much as anyone.  So I pick a team to cheer for for the night.  I also watch the Puppy Bowl on Animal Planet.  Sooooo cute!

I remember the last Super Bowl where the Patriots played the Giants.  I cheered for the Giants because something really irks me about Tom Brady.  Probably his face.  I know everyone thinks he's sooo cute, but I just don't see it.  I mean, he's reasonably attractive (and he did land supermodel Gisele), but I can think of at least 10 other athletes I like better.  If David Beckham doesn't open his mouth and talk with his Mickey Mouse voice?  Game over.

So go Giants.  Hah.  If you're still deciding what to serve for the big game, let me make a few suggestions.

Fancy Taters- Make a big ol' batch depending on how many people you serve.

 Everyone goes crazy for Ham Rolls.  You might want to make extra, just in case!

When are Fried Chicken Tenders ever wrong?

Oh jeez, forgive me for this picture.  At any rate, no party is complete without some Pimento Cheese.  You can jazz it up with bacon and/or jalapeños.

Speaking of cheese, these Cheese Wafers like to fly off the table.

Oh my goodness, more cheese.  How do I survive? Feta Squares are lovely on their own or with chili.

For something sweet, try Chocolate Chip Cookies.  What's more American than a chocolate chip cookie?

Except maybe warm Apple Crisp.

No matter who you're cheering for tomorrow, have fun and be safe!

Creole Kale Chips

I'm back from my too-brief visit to Columbia.  It was hard to leave that sweet little baby behind, but I have things to take care of from my home base.  I think Puddin was happy to have me back this morning since it gave him a bed to sleep in after my mom went to work.  He's also super stoked to have access to my brown blanket again.

So I promised you kale chips and kale chips you will get.  You should give these a shot even if you're not a big fan of greens.  I've been trying for years to like collards without success, and I wolfed down these kale chips in two days.  Something about making them super crispy and paper thin takes away any reluctance I have to eat greens.  Note: Greens, not green food.

Minnow Cheese: A Theme and Variations

I really hope that title didn't completely turn you off.  This is really about pimento cheese.  When Will was little, he used to think pimento cheese was "minnow cheese" and wouldn't eat it.  Now, of course, he gobbles it up, as do the rest of us Southerners.

Pimento cheese is a glorious substance that can be used in a multitude of ways.  It's delicious as a sandwich, on cracker, or on top of a burger.  I like to make a grilled cheese with it on occasion.  We L-O-V-E pimento cheese in the South.  In fact, there is a restaurant in Columbia, SC called Rockaways, and they have pimento cheese fries that I die for.  I. Die.  (Rachel Zoe fans out there?)

I wanted to make pimento cheese so that I could make sandwiches for my road trip.  I realize I was traveling by myself and still felt compelled to make two sandwiches.  Just in case, y'know?

Not content with the basic PC, I decided to make two spinoffs as well.  Hence, theme and variations.  Don't get me wrong, I love pimento cheese just about every which way.  But as we learned with the peanut butter brownies, I can't leave well enough alone.

Here we go!

Basic Pimento Cheese

You could easily use just regular cheddar, but I like the look and the taste of the white cheddar mixed in.

Pimientos, Duke's mayonnaise, and black pepper

Just so you know, it's really important you use Duke's mayonnaise.  Just kidding.  Not really.  My taste buds feel that Duke's is far superior to other mayos.  I can't help it.  In fact, my bestie, Kaitlin, and I have arguments on Duke's vs Hellmans.  There's really no contest if you ask me.  The really important thing is not to use Miracle Whip.  I can't even imagine what havoc that would wreak on your PC.

First things first, grate up your cheeses.  I've never used store-bought shredded cheese for my PC, but I imagine it wouldn't be as good.  I've never been able to find extra sharp shredded cheese, and I refuse to use just sharp in this.  It needs that extra sharp bite.

Mmmm, look at that white cheddar.

Lovingly put your cheeses into a big ol' bowl.

You might be left with some cheese nubs.  Don't try to grate them and accidentally grate your finger tips off or you will have finger nubs instead of cheese nubs.  Do yourself a favor and eat them when nobody's looking.

Add in your pimientos.  I used a jar and a half for this amount of cheese.  You're working with about 16 oz. of cheese, so you can adjust the amount according to your tastes.  I do recommend draining the pimientos first if you're using the whole jar.  Otherwise it might get kind of soupy.

Mayo time!  I used a couple of big spoonfuls.  Again, you can adjust the amount according to your tastes.  Add a little at a time because you can always add mayo, but you can't take it away once it's there.

Mix it together and add some cracked black pepper.  Yummmmmm.

That's the basic PC.  But you like a little spice you say?  You want a kick with your pimento cheese?

Try jalapeños!  This is what my grand-daddy added to his PC.

Looks like it's under a microscope, no?  I recommend the pickled kind because I like the vinegar-y taste they give the PC along with the heat.

Chop those suckers up and add them to the basic pimento cheese you already made.

Nom.

"But wait!" you say. "It's just cheese?  Where's the meat?!"  Actually, my dear friend, April, brought this up to me one day when I offered up some PC.  She's from Delaware, so some of the Southern things didn't make much sense to her.  I give her credit though for her love of Sugarland.

The solution?  Well, it's the solution to life quite frankly.  Bacon.  And parmesan.

Carolina Pride makes tasty bacon.  It does indeed fry crisp without burning.  You could sub in grated parm if you have it in the fridge, but I had a block already in there.

Grate yer parmesan.  I used about 1/4 cup.  Feel free to use more and add it to the basic PC.

Fry yer bacon.  I made three slices, knowing full well I would only use two.   But I lurve bacon so there.

Crisp!  Not burnt!  Carolina Pride tells no lies.  This was actually the piece I ended up eating.  Crumble the other two into your basic PC and parmesan mix.

Good golly, Miss Molly.  I want to eat the screen.  I don't blame you if you do too.  This is a judgement-free zone.

See that big ol' piece of bacon on top?  Nom.

If you need to store your pimento cheese(es), use air-tight containers.

This is about a pound of pimento cheese total.  It'll make 4-5 sandwiches, more if you don't pile it on like I do.  You can also serve it with crackers as a nice appetizer for 4 people.

The moral of the story?  Pimento cheese is like a little black dress.  It's lovely on its own, but it doesn't mind being dressed up a bit either.

Brownies and a Road Trip

Goodness gracious, I'm in Alabama!  My dear boyfriend, Will, lives in LA (Lower Alabama), so I decided to have a visit and recharge my batteries.  After 6.5 hours, I made it to Dothan.  A little note: my boyfriend is not the boy in my picture.  That would be my lovely friend, Lummy, and it's such a cute picture of us.

Y'all, I love a good road trip.  Mostly it's because I like to make lists.  Do I always follow my lists?  No, but I thoroughly enjoy making them.  I also love to plan my snacks for the trip.  I like having savory and sweet bites on the road because you never know when you're going to crave one or the other.

This trip I decided to make my favorite peanut butter brownies.  I have a love affair with peanut butter, and is there anything better than a brownie?  Will would say, yes, there are many things better than brownies.  He's a weirdo though and doesn't like them, so really, that opinion doesn't count.  I would be fine eating a brownie every day for the rest of my life.  So there.

You need:

Wet ingredients- Sugar, brown sugar, peanut butter (obviously), butter, an egg, and vanilla extract

Dry ingredients- All-purpose flour, baking soda, salt, oats

These brownies could hardly be simpler to make.  Start off by pre-heating your oven to 350º.  In a large bowl, cream together the butter and both sugars.

See that butter on the side?  It needs to be scraped down so that it can be incorporated into the mixture.  A good rubber spatula will do the trick.

Next, add in the peanut butter, egg, baking soda, salt, and vanilla extract.

Blend those in, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Our flour and oats are the last to go in.  Instead of using a mixer (or hand mixer), stir these in with your spatula or spoon.  This will prevent the glutens in the flour from getting too excited and making your brownie tough.

With a few strokes, it'll turn into...

...this lovely batter!  It's a thick batter, almost closer to a cookie.  You can see the lovely oats throughout the batter.

Spread the batter into a greased pan (8x10 is suggested).

This is not an 8x10 pan.  It's a 9x9, so the batter was spread a little on the thin side.  No worries though, it will puff up nicely regardless.

Also, I can't leave well enough alone.  I decided to experiment a little and see what happens when I add Nutella to part of the brownies.

I scooped out about 2 teaspoons of the good stuff and melted it in the microwave.

Doesn't that look tasty?  I've been known to eat it straight out of the jar.  I'd ask you not to judge me, but even I judge me for that.  Anyhow, after I melted it, I swirled it in about half of the batter in the pan.

It was a little difficult to make marble-y since this is on the thick side.  It's also kind of ugly, but it's what's on the inside that counts.  So there.

Bake the brownies for about 20-25 minutes and you'll get this.

Slice 'em up...

See dem oats?  Yum.

The top brownie has the Nutella, and the bottom is plain.  Plain but delicious.  Of course, I tasted both in the name of...science.  The plain was nice and peanut butter-y as always.  The Nutella taste wasn't as strong as I would've liked.  The obvious solution is more cowbell Nutella, and I would mix it in when I add the peanut butter to the batter.

All in all, still a tasty brownie.  Nom.

Here's the recipe in an easy-to-follow format:

Peanut Butter Brownies- makes 16 brownies*
Courtesy of Charleston Receipts Repeats


1/2 c butter  (1 stick)
1/2 c sugar
1/2 c brown sugar
1 egg
1/3 c peanut butter
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 c flour
1 c oats

• Preheat your oven to 350º
• Cream together butter and sugars
• Blend in egg, peanut butter, baking soda, salt, and vanilla extract
• Stir in flour and oats
• Spread in a greased 8x10 pan
• Bake 20-25 minutes
• EAT

*I hardly ever get as much yield out of a baking recipe as I'm supposed to.  I think CRR said it made 2 dozen or something like that.  I don't know about y'all, but I like a substantial brownie.  My little square pan made it easy to cut these into 16 evenly-sized noms.  Such is life.