Almond-Cashew Caramel Corn

When I was little, my dad and I would buy a tin of Poppycock and sit together and eat the whole tin in one sitting.   I am not proud of this indulgence nor the fact that I have a few cavities to prove it, but the memory of my dad and I sharing something so special and indulgent is a memory I carry around with me.  My dad loved food.  Most of my favorite memories of my dad are the ones that center around a special bakery, the perfect hamburger, the creamiest milk shake and the best fried zucchini circles.  Just to name a few.

This week is last week of school.  I am in awe at how quickly the year flew by.  Time just goes so fast and I am trying really, really hard to be in the moment, cherish the little moments and embrace all that I have.  As each of my kids grow older and move on to new experiences, my list just grows and grows on who I want to thank and appreciate for a wonderful year.  This year the list is especially long as I have three kids in three different schools.  As much as I tell myself, "next year, I am going to buy them something" I just can't help myself to make and create, give from the heart and hopefully convey my gratitude for taking care of my kids all year.

This caramel corn is the first of many creations.  I am also making a milk chocolate cookie, Cherry crumb bars, blueberry crumb cake, blueberry pound cake, triple chocolate triangles, and a banana nut loaf.

I have adapted this recipe and it is almost as good as the caramel corn I grew up eating.

Almond-Cashew Caramel Corn
makes approximately 8 cups

ingredients:
1/2 cup popcorn kernels, freshly popped
2 cup whole almonds
1 cup whole cashews
2 cups brown sugar
6 Tbls. unsalted butter
3 oz. light corn syrup
3 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
3/4 tsp. salt
3/8 tsp. baking soda

instructions:
• preheat oven to 250*.  butter or spray 2 baking pans.  mix warm popcorn and nuts in prepared pans.  place in the oven until caramel sauce is ready.
• combine brown sugar, butter, + corn syrup in heavy medium saucepan.  whisk over medium low heat until sugar dissolves and butter melts.  attach a candy thermometer to the side of the pan and increase the heat to high and boil without stirring until 255*.  remove from heat.
• stir in vanilla extract, almond extract, salt + baking soda (the mixture will bubble, so stand back).  gradually pour the caramel over the popcorn and nuts, stirring.  try to coat all the popcorn.
• bake for about 1 hour and 20 minutes.  I like to bake it in 20 minutes increments, stir a little, rotate the pan and then bake 20, etc.  cool completely.
• be careful, this is addicting.

Popcorn - Sweet + Savory

I didn't want to give the "guy" teachers Cake in a Jar. I thought they should get something a little less frilly.  Thus, this popcorn!  Eli was already mortified that he had to hand deliver goodies to his "middle school" teachers so why torture him anymore than I had to.  He said to me, as he was leaving the house that morning, "mom, I am not in elementary school anymore".  Yeah, so, what is that supposed to mean?  Am I hovering?

Anyway, I was reading one of my new favorite blog gals, Food Woolf (found her when I participated in the bake sale last month) and she posted about another one of my favorite gals; Nancy Silverton's spiced caramel popcorn.  The light bulb went off and I realized that this could be the perfect token of our "appreciation" for those few "guy" teachers.

The original recipe is from Nancy Silverton's Sandwich Book (Brooke a.k.a. Food Woolf - created this recipe, inspired by Nancy's original )and since I love most things Nancy Silverton, I wanted to give it a try.  My friend, Vic (we go way back to middle school) and I spent a long overdue day together last Sunday and it was her desire to hang in the kitchen with me.  As much as I wanted to bake and create, I didn't want our day together to be just about cooking and dishes.  The popcorn gave us the best of both worlds.

Eli popped the corn while she and I made the caramel sauce.  It was so great having another pair of capable hands by my side.  While I was doing the finishing touches on the caramel sauce, Vic started our lunch.  She is one heck of a chopper!  I was impressed.  After we tossed the popcorn and spread it out on silpat pads, she and I sat down to a nice, quiet lunch, chatting, reminiscing, and laughing.

Spiced Caramel Corn

ingredients:
1 cup of almonds, toasted and loosely chopped
1 tsp. vegetable oil
1/3 cup un-popped popcorn
1/4 cup water
2 cups sugar
2 Tbls. brown rice syrup
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. cardamon, ground
2 tsp. ground nutmeg
3/4 tsp. cinnamon
13 tsp. Chinese allspice
1/2 tsp. cayenne
1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt


directions:
to pop the corn:
• in a medium sized pot, heat the oil over high heat with one kernel.  when the pops, add the un-popped corn and cover with a lid ( I took a short cut here. I popped in the air popper.  big mistake.  I think it changed the texture of the final product.  I wouldn't suggest the air popper).  Once the corn begins to pop, shake consistently until you don't hear any more popping.  remove from heat.
to make the caramel
• off heat, combine water, sugar, spices, salt, vanilla extract and rice syrup in a large, deep pot, stir together.  Once blended, put the pot over medium-high heat and bring to a boil without stirring it.  Using a pastry brush dipped in water, remove any un-dissolved sugar from the side of the pan.
• continue cooking over medium heat for 4-5 minutes.  Tilt pan and swirl to prevent burning.  Wait for this turn a caramel color and starts to smoke.  Add the popcorn and the nuts, stir until completely coated, moving the skillet on and off heat.  Cook to a deep brown.
• pour onto your prepared cookie sheet (lined with silpat) and spread out evenly.  let cool completely before tasting!