How to Make Stove-Top Popcorn

When I was a little girl, before the advent of microwaves, Mom and Dad used to make popcorn on the stove. I have blissful memories of popcorn nights. Usually it happened during a television "special," such as It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. Such an evening promised to be a special family night, involving rarities, such as extra television, sugary sodas, and of course, lots and lots of buttered popcorn.

Later on, during the advent of the microwave, my family and I forgot about those blissful times and opted instead for the ease and the over-processed smells of microwave popcorn. What could be easier? You stick a bag in the microwave and 3 minutes and 20 seconds later, you have a bowl of popcorn. Well, my readers, fate took a turn about a year ago, and on one of my trips home, I discovered my family was returning to the popcorn recipes of old. I once again tasted the overpowering taste of the buttery, salty stove-top popcorn and remembered the way it used to be.

I have been shocked and horrified to think of how I could have settled over all these years for something so artificial, when I could have had the real deal. In short, I have fallen back in love with stove-top popcorn, and I can't hide it anymore. I want everyone to know how good it is. I have heard from many people that it is hard to make stove-top popcorn, or that it burns more easily. However, it is easy to make stove-top popcorn. Once you taste it, you can never go back. Microwave popcorn tastes like sawdust. Even movie theater popcorn will be put to shame, since it uses buttery flavoring, rather than real butter.

And now that I've made all your mouths water, here is the recipe for stove-top popcorn.

Ingredients: popcorn, vegetable oil, 2 T butter, salt
equipment needed: stove, 2 quart saucepan with lid, paper bag, bowl, timer

Pour vegetable oil in the saucepan, enough to just coat the bottom. On top of the oil, pour one full layer of popcorn kernels, again using just enough to cover the bottom. Place the saucepan with a lid on top of the stove burner and turn onto high.

While the burner is heating up, shake the pan every few seconds. Once the first kernels start to pop, remove the pan from the burner for 30 seconds, but leave the burner on high.

After 30 seconds, place the pan back on the burner. This gets the burner nice and hot. As the oil heats and bubbles, continue to shake the pan every few seconds.

Once the popcorn begins to pop, shake pan continuously. When the popcorn begins to raise the lid, dump all of the popcorn into a grocery paper bag.

Put the pan back on the burner and melt the 2 T. of butter. Turn off the burner. Pour the melted butter on top of the popcorn in the bag and shake. Pour popcorn into bowl and salt. Eat and enjoy! Now wasn't that easy?

This recipe gets rave reviews. I even had someone once say, "This is like a lost art form." You know a recipe is good when it gets labeled as an art form.