KETTLE CORN

After church today I was having coffee with one of my sons when discussion of Kettle corn came up. Well, I'd never tried making Kettle Corn before so I did a little research when I got home and came up with the following recipe.

I popped some tonight and it is delicious! If you'd like to try making some for your family, my recipe follows the next few paragraphs.. Popped corn and fudge was our EVERY Sunday evening meal when my children were growing up. We'd eat breakfast, go to church have a big meal around noon; then in the early evening I'd stir up a batch of fudge and pop a big pan of corn. We'd gather around the TV to watch Disney and enjoy the popped corn and fudge. After spending a weekend with us, my little niece reported to her parents, "Aunt Cleo doesn't fix supper on Sunday - all we had was popped corn and fudge!" Yes, that is what we ate every Sunday evening.

I'm including a photo of the very very old pan I've used to make popped corn for fifty plus years (no wonder it looks so bad). The pan itself originally was the pan for a pressure cooker; the lid has been around as long as that old pan! This pan has popped a field of corn through the years!

INGREDIENTS 2/3 cup popcorn kernels

1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp. sugar

3 tablespoons Crisco shortening

3 tablespoons butter, melted

salt to taste

Use a heavy pan oven over medium heat. Melt Crisco shortening then add the popcorn and the sugar. Heat until the Crisco begins to sizzle. Cover and shake for 3-4 minutes (or until popcorn stops popping}.

Transfer to a large bowl. Drizzle with butter. Add salt; toss to coat.

Left: Freshly popped/buttered kettle corn.

Bottom: The VERY old heavy pan I refer to as 'my popcorn pan'.