The Family Story of Popcorn with Recipes

Since the early 80's my kids Curt and Chad were huge fans of all kinds of popcorn. Coming from a family who loved all kinds from regular to caramel, candy coated, we began experimenting with several recipes. Hope you like our journey of different kinds we came across through the years. We made it a tradition to have our caramel corn always around the holidays.

John Colenzo (Cole)

There are so many kinds of glorious popped corn, one that was newly introduced to me is the black kernel. We always had your classic yellow or white kernels. I also remember years ago,multi colors in a bag that popped a rainbow of colors when I was a little girl. A place called Loblaws supermarket carried it back in 1960 something. That's what we used to trim our christmas tree with. Now a new one for me, Black Jewel popcorn, was a little different to see the amazing black kernel with the end result being an amazing pure white in color.

It starts out with black kernels from the package and turns snow white when popped. I had never had the chance to try this until now, as it is hard to find here in Florida . My brother John introduced me to this delicious popcorn.

John, my brother, is an entertainer who works on Fisher Island located off Miami Beach Florida.Named after the first resident of the island Carl Fisher. Fisher Island is 3 miles off shore of Miami, Florida. No road or causeway connects to the island, which is accessible by private ferry ,helicopter or yacht. So he travels by ferry every night to get to work. He has the opportunity to introduce many new foods to me in his culinary experiences in his line of work. This was one of them he heard about.
We both recall our family having all kinds of requests on how they like their popcorn. My mom and dad (RIP) loved caramel corn, all our kids basically love homemade and the theater popcorn, my brother Luke is living up North, makes the best homemade (which I will have a full read below), my husband likes basic microwaved and easy, and me, homemade definitely. So when John called me about this Black Jewel, I had never had it before, but heard of Black Jewel, and wanted to try it right away, as curiosity struck me and he wanted to get my input ....

So here it is, a delicate and delicious popcorn, it was white as can be. I have to agree it was a definite change to what we have had in brightness and color but amazingly a black kernel turning white was so bizarre to me. A very good taste, worth a try.

All of us had a different  flavor craving for popcorn.
Dad loving caramel corn as he did, I decided I had to make it. When I was around seven I could remember we would go once a year to this great place in Upstate NY that made the best caramel corn in the world to all of us. It's still there today, called the Midway in Sylvan Beach. Awesome smell,while cooking fresh on the site, a buttery caramel corn that was mouth watering. Here is my version that I would make for dad below , I still make for my kids every holiday, one of their favorite's now also.

So many variations to choose from or make air popped ,pan popped, barbecue, cinnamon, pizza, butterscotch, cappuccino, caramel pecan, caramel, cheese, chocolate, classic sea salt, candy coated, gourmet sea salted, kettle, macadamia, Mexican, nacho, organic, black jewel, white, yellow, popcorn salt, pop corn in oil in oil , so many ways to make popcorn and a great snack indeed! Some folks like it sprinkled with garlic powder and black pepper, we can go on and on, I can say I love them all, as I am a big popcorn lover! How do you like yours?

My brother Luke, spent allot of time perfectly popped homemade corn, no one has duplicated the fresh taste of his buttery perfection.

Luke Colenzo

Luke another brother,( the middle child of us three kids ) , lives in Upstate NY in Whitesboro, and has five children. He works in a local courthouse and is retired Police Officer.
His secret weapon is his seasoned and" broken in" very very old popcorn pan, handed down from our grandmother back in 1975 when she passed on that pan was already 80+ years old back then. The pan is a a thick heavy club aluminum with a steam release button on the cover that rang like a bell, no other pan made popcorn this good! By far the best popcorn and still our favorite, when we can be together to have him make it for us. (The pan was only one part of his secret) He never could make enough, as we would always want another batch....and was worth fighting over ! Everyone marvels over the huge over filled bowls of popcorn he would make, that vanished in no time because it not only smelled good, but it was so addicting. So, needless to say Luke was the King" of making homemade popcorn in our family.

So that's the story on popcorn.......delicious whatever you fancy , as always, thanks for reading.

Here's a few recipes on different versions to make using popcorn:

Marshmallow Candied Popcorn with variations:
3 quarts popped corn, unsalted

5 tablespoons of butter
1 (7 oz.) jar marshmallow fluff
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 c. gumdrops

Preheat oven to 270 degrees. Place popped corn in greased deep cake about 13x9 size pan. Melt butter in saucepan, add marshmallow creme stir until well blended. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla and salt. Pour mixture over popped corn; toss until well coated.
Bake 30 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes. Stir in gumdrops. Spread onto wax paper; cool. Store in tightly covered container.

Variations: CHOCOLATE replace gumdrops with a 1/2 cup Chocolate Chips to melted butter stir until smooth see further directions above

CINNAMON : replace gumdrops with 1/4 cup red cinnamon candies to melted butter, stir until melted continue as above directions.

Pizza Popcorn

3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon seasoned Italian herbs
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt
Pepper
2 quarts hot popcorn

In blender, blend cheese, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, paprika, salt and pepper about 3minutes. Place popcorn in large bowl; sprinkle with cheese mixture. Toss to coat evenly.

Popcorn Snack Mix
3 quarts popped popcorn
2 1/3 cups salted peanuts

1 cup of cereal like chex

2 cups pretzel sticks
2 cups cheese crackers, I like the fish
1/3 cup butter or margarine, melted
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon curry powder
3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
3/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

In a large bowl, combine popcorn, peanuts, pretzels and crackers. Combine remaining ingredients. Pour over popcorn mixture; toss to coat. Place in 2 ungreased 15 x 10-inch baking pans. Bake, uncovered, at 250 degrees F for 1 hour; stir every 15 minutes.

Store in an airtight container when cool.

Nacho Popcorn
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
10 cups warm popped popcorn
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

In a small bowl, stir paprika, red pepper, and cumin into melted butter or margarine. Gently toss butter mixture with popcorn, coating evenly. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Peanut Butter Popcorn

2 quarts popped popcorn
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Bring sugar and corn syrup to rolling boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Stir in peanut butter and vanilla extract, quickly stir popcorn to coat.

Amaretto Pecan and Almond Popcorn Crunch
10 cups popped corn
1 1/2 cups whole pecans
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
1 cup butter
1/4 cup Amaretto Liqueur
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1 tablespoon Amaretto Liqueur
1/4 teaspoon salt

Heat oven to 325 degrees F. Butter baking sheet and large bowl. Toast pecans and almonds until light brown, about 12 to 15 minutes.

Mix popped corn and nuts in large bowl. Combine sugar, butter 1/4 cup Amaretto and corn syrup in heavy 2-quart saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, to 275 degrees F, or until small amount dropped into very cold water reaches soft crack stage (separates into hard, but not brittle, threads).

Remove from heat. Quickly stir in 1 tablespoon Amaretto and salt. Pour over popped corn and nuts, mixing until evenly coated. Immediately spread mixture on baking sheet. Let cool about 1 hour.

White Cheddar Cheese Popcorn

4 cups of popped corn
3 tablespoons of melted butter
1/4 cup of white cheddar cheese powder
1/4 teaspoon of mustard powder
Salt to taste

Melt the butter in a pan, dont over cook butter. Once melted, pour the butter into a large bowl and add cheese, mustard Stir together till well blended.

Curt and Chad age 2 and 4

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