“Popcorned” Snacks for The Super Bowl

The mere mention of snack foods has me recalling countless moments of culinary indulgences that have included a slew of sweet and savory offerings befitting the snack occasion. Movie time at the cinema is always a tub of hot buttered popcorn with a box of hard candy to keep my mouth occupied. I once took crackers, vine ripened tomatoes and homemade aioli into the cinema with me. All was going to “snack plan ” until i started grinding pepper on top of the tomato with my trusty Peugeot pepper grinder, to the horror of those seated around me. Despite its utter  deliciousness,  it was not a good snack option for the movies, so I tend to stick to the tried and true popcorn tubs and candy boxes  that seem to be the least offensive o fellow movie goers.

For the glorious snack occasion which is television watching on the couch at home, I like to treat myself to pieces of good quality dark chocolate with cups of peppermint tea. If the TV program is dramatic or requires a box of tissues, a bowl of ice cream with homemade butterscotch sauce is cordially  invited to join me on the couch. At the sports stadium, a hot dog and fries smothered in tomato sauce is the victor on the day, and if I’m heading out on a road trip, I like to have a bag of minty Oddfellows sweets to freshen my mood.

The snack occasion can also be broken down to the type of sports your watching where as I like to match potato chips with dips to tennis matches, as you shouldn’t be snacking on anything too time consuming when watching tennis as the blink of an eye can mean match point. The minute you take your eye off the game to focus on your snack, could mean you miss out on a vital point having to contend yourself with second-hand replays which are never as satisfying as seeing it as it happens.

I find myself enjoying a meat pie while watching the rugby – as the game is played in the cooler months of the year here in Australia and New Zealand, a warm tender meat stew wrapped in a crisp buttery hot pastry will always be the ticket. If I have the pleasure of watching  big wave surfing, a fish taco is calling my name given the obvious oceanic connections.

With the 2012 super bowl fast approaching, I began going through my internal recipe Filofax to fit the snack to the super bowl occasion. Having never before had the pleasure of hosting a super bowl party, I wanted to make sure the snacks fit the moment. The food would have to be flavorful and substantial to stand up to the many hours of beer consumption that accompanies this snack occasion. I would also need something that I can stagger the delivery of  as with the length of the game laying all your snack food down at once could have serious repercussions if your snacks run thin during the first quarter. It would also  need to be something of similar yet varied tastes so that I didn’t have to spend too long preparing the snacks during the game.

As a long time advocate of food that is popcorned or in other words, fried morsels of various food items that resemble popcorn once cooked, the obvious choice for my 2012 super bowl snack food table is a trio of popcorned centric foods with accompanying sauces.

Introducing popcorn chicken, popcorn calamari and popcorn tofu. Serve alongside the Super Bowl staples of potato chips, hoagies, pizza, salsa and dips for a memorable super bowl Sunday!

Popcorned Food Snacks for The Super Bowl

Best served after the first, second and third quarters of the game.

Dredging Flour for Popcorned food

This recipe can be used to dredge all the items you wish to fry. Once you have made this dredging flour recipe, divide it into 3 separate containers so that you can keep all three raw foods separate from each other.

4 cups of plain flour
4 tablespoons of cornstarch
2 teaspoons of salt
2 teaspoons of celery salt
2 tablespoons of garlic powder
2 teaspoons of finely round black pepper
2 tablespoons of onion powder

Mix all the ingredients together and cover until ready to use.

For Popcorn Chicken

1 raw chicken breast per person sliced into small cubes and soaked in butter milk for at least 2 hours before serving, preferably overnight.

For Popcorn Calamari

1 squid tube per person, cleaned and sliced into small pieces about the same size as the chicken. Soak the calamari in milk for at least 1 hour before serving, overnight if possible.

For Popcorn Tofu

1 piece of firm tofu sliced into small cubes and left to sit in its natural liquid until required.

Readying the Food for Frying

Drop the sliced food items a handful at a time into a bowl containing a third of the dredging flour and Shake the bowl well to ensure the food is well covered.

For the calamari and tofu it is ok to pass the food  once throw the dredging flour before frying but for the popcorn chicken, remove the dredged chicken pieces and place back into the buttermilk. Drain again from the buttermilk and dredge once more in the flour to ensure a thick coating.

When ready to fry, carefully place the pieces into the hot oil using tongs. Avoid dropping the pieces in as to avoid potentially dangerous splatters of hot  oil. Only fry a handful of food at a time as the temperature of the oil will drop too dramatically if you over crowd the pot or skillet.

In between batches of food, check the temperature of the oil, increasing or decreasing the heat where necessary to maintain as close as you can to 185 C / 365 F.  If the oil is to hot the food will burn,  the oil to cool and the food will become oil logged and soggy.

The food items will only take a minute or two to cook. Remove carefully with tongs or a slotted spoon and drain in a large bowl on paper towels to soak up any excess oil.

Serve each popcorned food with its accompanying sauce .

Butter chilli sauce for popcorn chicken

350mls ABC hot chilli sauce or it’s equivalent
200mls red wine vinegar
250g butter
150g caster sugar

Place all the ingredients into a pot and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to encourage the pot to come to a simmer and cook for a further 5 minutes, stirring occasionally to ensure the sugar has dissolved.

Cool the sauce and pour into a glass bottle or jar. Will keep for 2 months in the refrigerator.

Avocado and lime mayo for popcorned calamari

250 mls extra virgin avocado oil.
4 limes – zested and juiced
3 small fresh free range organic egg yolks
1 garlic clove, finely minced
Sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper

Place the egg yolks into a cake mixer bowl along with the juice and zest of half the limes. Using the whisk attachment on the cake mixer, Turn to low and whisk for a minute until the mixture is glossy.
Turn the cake mixer speed to medium and slowly dribble the avocado oil into the bowl, drip by drip to begin with before allowing the oil to come to a very slow gentle stream making sure the whisking is continuous threw out this step.
You are looking to make a smooth creamy thick emulsification of the egg yolks, acid and oil. Three ingredients that would not normally mix together in this fashion unless the oil is introduced slowly to the yolks and acid whilst continuously whisking to combine.

Once all the oil is incorporated and the Mayo is thick and creamy, add the minced garlic and season with sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper. Taste for flavor, adding more lime juice or seasoning where you deem fit.

This sauce will keep in the refrigerator for up to one week, depending on the freshness of the eggs used. The fresher the eggs the better the sauce!

Use the remaining lime zest to sprinkle over top of the popcorn calamari once cooked.

Soy and Mirin Dressing for Popcorned Tofu

I struggled through my early scone making attempts, producing inconsistent batches of dense, flat biscuits that looked more like flapjacks than scones. Most recipes I read remarked on how easy they were to make, but Aunt Edna I was not and edible, far from it.

I fortunately stumbled across a recipe for lemonade scones sometime back that instantly improved my scone baking sessions.  I combined this great, and yes, simple  recipe with some important preparation watch points and voilà  – the Eiffel tower of scones were mine for the buttering. Great Aunt Edna would be proud.

Some watch points to take into consideration when making this scone recipe

Scones like a light gentle touch. Do not overwork the scones when mixing the dough as this will result in dense, flat scones. In some master scone makers view, this is one of the most, if not the most important step.

When mixing the wet ingredients into the dry, use a butter knife to work the ingredients into a crumbly dough. This should only take 30 seconds of gentle cutting through with the knife.

Work quickly and lightly. The dough doesn’t like to sit around once it’s made. Heat the oven before you start mixing so you can pop the scones straight into the hot oven.

Use the lemonade at room temperature. This will produce a better dough which will be easier to work with and require less handling.

Use Self raising flour that is not passed its use by date. This  is an important step in achieving well risen scones. Old self-raising flour will have lost some of its raising agent potency, so buy a new bag of flour if you have had yours sitting around your pantry for a while.

As well as preheating the oven, pre heat the baking tray. This will kick-start the scone raising sequence.

Set the oven shelf in the top 1/4 of the oven. As heat rises, this is the hottest part of the oven which scones like.

Use the rolling-pin lightly. Some scone making purists insist on not using a rolling-pin at all as it knocks the delicate dough about too much, but provided you use a gentle touch, rolling the dough lightly will result in a smooth looking attractive scone.

Roll the dough out thickly, not thinly. The ideal height of the dough is 2.5 to 3cm in thickness or just over 1 inch. In Delia Smith’s kitchen this is believed to be the number 1 way to produce great scones. Rolling out too thin will not give you the finished height, so always roll thicker than you think.

Use a heavy round cutter to cut out the scones. Dust the cutter in flour each time you cut a scone and push don’t twist the cutter. Twisting the cutter will tear and push down on the dough edges causing the scones to rise unevenly.  If you’re using a knife to cut out your scones, make sure it’s sharp so it doesn’t tear the dough and pinch it together by being blunt.

Place the scones snuggly next to each other on a small baking tray. I use a half-size roasting tray which causes the scones to sit next to one another giving them support as they rise.

Lemonade scones

Makes 12-14 scones

Ingredients

3 cups of self-raising flour
1 teaspoon of sea salt flakes
1 cup of lemonade
1 cup of cream

1 egg yolk beaten with a tsp of cream for glazing the scone tops
Extra flour for dusting

Method

Pre heat the oven on fan bake at 220C with the shelf in the upper part of the oven. Pre heat the roasting tray that you intend to bake the scones on as well.

Into a large bowl place the flour and salt and mix to combine. Into a measuring jug combine the cream and lemonade.

Make a well in the middle of the flour and pour in the liquid. Using a bread knife, mix   lightly, cutting through the flour until a crumbly dough is formed. This step should take no longer then 30 seconds of gentle mixing.

Turn the dough out on a floured surface and gentle form the dough into a round disc.

Using a rolling-pin, lightly roll the dough until it is  2.5 to 3 cm in thickness. If your unsure of the thickness measured the dough with a ruler as this step is vital in achieving scone making success.

Once your happy with the thickness, dust a heavy round cutter and tap out the scone rounds sharply, bringing the  cutter straight down into the dough and removing by pulling straight up without twisting.  Twisting will cause the dough to rise unevenly.

Once the circles are tapped out, lay them closely touching each other on a preheated flour dusted baking tray.

Lightly brush the surface of the scones with  the beaten egg yolk mixed with a teaspoon of cream. This will give the scones a beautifully glazed top.

Bake in the oven for 12-15 minutes until golden and well risen. Remove from the oven and allow to sit for couple of minutes in the tin before removing to a wire rack.

Serve immediately with lashings of creamy butter, homemade jam, freshly whipped or clotted cream, or for savory options, grated cheese and Marmite.

Hotcakes, flapjacks, drop scones, pfannkuchen, griddle cakes,  crêpes, pikelets  or pancakes. It seems every nation on earth has their own version of sweet, savory, stuffed, thick or thin pancakes. Despite the numerous guises and flavor combinations that can be found on all four corners of the culinary planet, one thing remains constant across all borders, pancakes are comfort fodder for the masses.

Evidence of pancake creation can be linked back to prehistoric times, where a batter of milk, flour, egg and spice was prepared on searing hot stones  to resemble what we have come to expect the humble pancake to be today.   The great Roman gourmand and author Marcus Gavius Apicius wrote about a batter that incorporated pepper and honey, a version that would be worth giving a try some 2,000 years after he penned the recipe.

My history with this famed pan cooked batter does not stretch back as far as ancient Rome, but it does come after years of trial and error having   cooked and created hundreds of breakfast brunch stacks in many  professional  kitchens over the last 20+ years.

This pancake recipe is a cross between the New Zealand style pikelet and the North American pancake, a pikelet usually being smaller, thinner and sweeter than its star spangled cousin, the pancake.  This pancake recipe uses the addition of melted butter to give the edges a crisp quality and helps to make the texture short and flaky rather than stodgy.

Here are a few watch points to bear in mind when preparing and cooking your next stack:

Mix the dry ingredients and wet ingredients separately. This will help to achieve a uniform batter that is well incorporated and lump free.

Cool the melted butter before incorporating. Adding hot butter to the wet ingredients could scramble the egg yolks.

Allow the batter to rest for an hour before using, or better still make the batter  and rest overnight covered in the refrigerator. Resting will allow the gluten in the flour time to relax so the batter doesn’t become gluey when cooked. Take the Batter out of the fridge 30 minutes before you intend to use it.

Use butter to cook the pancakes, not oil. This will add to the overall flavor and will also help maintain the correct temperature in the pan whilst cooking the pancakes.  If the butter burns, the pan is too hot to add the mixture. Remove the pan from the heat and allow it to cool slightly before placing back on the heat and adding the batter. The best time to add the batter is when a bit of butter melts and sizzles without colour.  This will ensure the pancakes cook evenly with golden crisp edges.

My… Best Pancake Recipe

Ingredients

Makes 15 pancakes

100g butter – melted and cooled
1 3/4 cups of milk
1/4 cup of cream
2 egg yolks
2 cups of plain flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt

Extra butter for frying

Method

Into a measuring jug  whisk together the milk, cream and eggs. Add the cooled butter and combine well.

Stir the dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl and make a well in the centre. Slowly pour in the liquid ingredients, whisking continuously until a smooth pourable batter has formed.

Heat a skillet on medium heat or induction setting 6 with 1/2 teaspoon of butter until it sizzles.

Add a small ladle approx 60mls or 3 tablespoons of batter to the pan and allow to cook for 1 minute or until bubbles begin to form in the cake. Flip carefully and cook on the other side for a further 45 seconds.

Repeat the last 2 steps until all the mixture is used up, stacking the pancakes as you go.

Serve warm with all The usual suspects like maple or golden syrup, grilled bacon and fresh banana, stewed fruit, fresh berries, or cream and jam. For something a little different try mango cheeks with  grated palm sugar and yogurt, lemon juice and vanilla sugar, or grilled pineapple rounds with grated ginger.

Salted peanut caramel ~ more addictive than crack

A highly addictive and pleasingly simple confectionary that has delighted many of my customers and staff alike. I too am guilty of over-indulging in shards of its ruthless crunch and sweet salty balance. My teeth must curse me every time I make this, but it’s worth the extra effort in oral hygiene. A recent remark from one of my customers had me remembering just how first-rate this recipe is and how imperative it is that I share it with you.   “I gotta get me some of that salted peanut caramel. I read a review online that it’s more addictive than crack!”

My dad used to love this as a child, with the version he used to buy being somewhat more honeycomb-like in texture with the addition of baking soda which causes it to froth uncontrollably. This version looks good stacked in a large glass jar or makes great school fete treats, served in a brown paper bag with a ribbon. I’ve given you the recipe for a large glass jar full, but feel free to cut the recipe in half if 5 cups of sugar sounds like an overly daunting prospect.

Salted peanut caramel recipe

Ingredients:

5 cups of white sugar
2 cups of water
100 gms of butter
2 cups of roasted, salted skinless peanuts

Method:

Spray a large metal tray with non stick oil and then line it with baking paper.

Into a heavy bottomed pot place the sugar and water and heat on high or induction setting 8.

Allow the sugar and water to come to a gentle rolling boil and cook the mixture until the water evaporates and the sugar begins to turn a light caramel colour. This step should take about 15 minutes.

It pays to not walk away from the cooktop as you are waiting for the sugar to turn to caramel, as it “goes” fairly quickly and may surprise you at it’s speed at turning from white to caramel.

As soon as the sugar turns to caramel, remove immediately from the heat and add the butter, stirring through until smooth.
Beat in the peanuts and then carefully pour the mixture on to the lined metal tray.

If the caramel is thick, line the top of the caramel with more baking paper and carefully roll with a rolling pin to flatten, being extremely careful as the caramel is piping hot.

Allow the caramel to cool completely before snapping into rough pieces and consuming.

Nana, My Mum~Tere and Uncle Rex

I adore my Grandmother, Lyn Jameson, a remarkable women from a resilient era.

Nana (As we call her) is a funny old stick ( as her son-in-law, My father USED to call her) who can spin a good yarn, make a delightful carrot cake with lemon cream cheese icing and loves nothing finer than a glass of claret and a belly full of laughs.

Photo by jules:stonesoup

My Nana is  quite the accomplished cook. Her Steamed fruit pudding that she invented some 60 years ago has won her fame the globe over and appeared published as a winning recipe  in the Geelong News on December the 17th 1991. I will publish it in its entirety shortly, for the online community to enjoy!

She is also a published writer “Akatere~ a place far away“  which is a novel based on her youth  and an artist that uses the medium of oil on canvas.

Every time I make the south bound journey to visit with my Nana she  has a few choice narratives and humorous fables that we share over a glass or so of her favorite ‘plonk’.

Upon visiting with her a few weeks ago, she ambushed me with a hand written recipe that she then made me stand up and read a loud to her and my then giggling mother.

Hmmmm, I sense a conspiracy.

Although she does not take credit for this clever recipe, credit lies in the passing on of wisdom between a Grandmother and one ever so grateful granddaughter.

I love you Nana! Thank you for making me smile

My Nana Lyn and Grandpapi Cliff

Fruitcake Recipe ~ and

Guaranteed to make you one!

Please ensure you read this recipe a loud to someone you love from start to finish…

Ingredients:

4 Liters of Whiskey

1 cup water

1 cup sugar

4 large eggs

2 cups dried fruit

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup brown sugar

Lemon juice

Nuts

Method:

• Firstly sample the whiskey to check for quality.
• Take a large bowl. Check the whiskey again to be sure it is of the highest quality. Pour one level cup and drink.
• Repeat.
• Turn on the electric mixer and beat 1 cup butter in large fluffy bowl.
• Add 1 teaspoon sugar and beat again. Make sure the whiskey is still O.K.
• Cry another tup. Turn off mixer.
• Break 2 legs and add to the bowl and chuck in the cup of dried fruit.
• Mix on the turner. If the fried druit gets stuck in the beaters, pry it loose with a drewscriver.
• Sample the Whiskey to check for tonsisticity.
• Next, sift 2 cups of salt or something. Who cares. Check the whiskey.
• Now sift the lemon juice and strain your nuts.
• Add one tablespoon of sugar or something. Whatever you can find.
• Grease the oven. Turn the cake tin to 350 degrees.

Dont forget to beat of the turner. throw the bowl out the window. Check the Whiskey again. Go to bed.

Who the heck likes fruitcake anyway.

Bottoms UP Nana!