caramel popcorn

Ryan has been on a popcorn kick for a really, really long time.

In the last year, though, he's discovered stovetop popcorn. The man whips up a mean batch of organic popcorn—which is infinitely healthier than the microwave stuff. I mean, it's perfect: never burned, always perfectly salty, light, airy, and full of flavor.

I'm craving some right now, thank you very much.

He's a bit of a purist when it comes to popcorn, though; a kosher salt and melted butter kind of guy. And that's fine, but then there's me... The experimentalist who has a soft spot for sweet-salty Kettle Corn (thanks, church camp) and the need to do things like this in the kitchen on a consistent basis.

For Valentine's Day, I got Ryan a Whirly Pop. Don't get me wrong, he's a pro manning the stock pot on the stove, but that requires a lot of lifting and shaking and results in quite a few unpopped kernels. The Whirly Pop, albeit a uni-tasker, eliminates all that.

Look at that marvel of kitchen wonderment! This is definitely a uni-tasker I don't mind having in the kitchen. Here it is at work. What'd I tell you? He's a pro!

So one night, I got ambitious (scratch that, I was just having a normal night), and asked him to save half of his batch for caramel popcorn. That's when I made the mess pictured in the post below.

Ahem.

I recouped, started over, and don't regret it one bit.

I based my caramel popcorn on this recipe over at Smitten Kitchen, but wasn't feeling brave enough to make it spicy. You can bet that next time I will. Everything else about the recipe was the same. So whether you want it sweet or spicy, I absolutely recommend those directions.