Let’s face it: cocktails are better with snacks. Cocktails are often served before dinner, and they’re usually paired with appetizers so that your guests don’t get totally schnockered before the meal even begins. GarnishGuy and I don’t have a ton of dinner parties, but we’ll have friends over for drinks on occasion. But the usual assortment of cheeses or snacks from Trader Joe’s has gotten a little repetitive. I’d love to up our appetizer game without it getting too complicated.
Popcorn is a great snack because it’s simple to make and can be easily embellished. I confess, I was actually shocked when I found out how easy it is to pop your own popcorn on the stove from plain kernels. It was like the first time I made whipped cream; I realized I could never, under any circumstances, go back to the pre-fab stuff. It’s just too easy and delicious to do it from scratch. We also had a farm share that was giving us multiple ears of popcorn every week. (Yes, popcorn comes on an ear. I can’t be the only idiot who didn’t realize that for the first 20-odd years of her life.) I had a new favorite snack.
Before long, I was adding all sorts of different things to my popcorn: herbs, grated parmesan cheese, flavored oil, cajun seasoning. It’s fun to play around with. But this combination is my favorite: rosemary and truffle oil. Most truffle oil is pretty expensive, but I found a cheap bottle by Monin in Boston’s North End. Doing a little research, I found out that truffle oil is a polarizing ingredient among chefs; it’s not usually flavored with actual truffles, but with a synthetically produced version of a compound that gives truffles their flavor. Apparently it’s a poor representation of true truffle flavor. And I’m sure my cheap bottle is worse than most. But as someone who has never had an actual truffle, I’m quite happy with it.
Lately I’ve also salted the popcorn with a homemade truffle salt that we got as a wedding favor from some friends; if you’ve got some, use it. Once mine runs out, I’m going to have to get the recipe.
Rosemary Truffle Popcorn
1/2 cup unpopped popcorn
1 tsp. dried rosemary
3 tbsp. truffle-flavored oil
1 tsp. salt, or to taste
Add oil and about 3/4 of rosemary to a medium-sized saucepan. Add popcorn kernels and shake to coat. Cover and put on stove at medium-high heat. Let the pot heat, shaking occasionally to prevent burning. In about four minutes, you should hear the first pops. Once this happens, begin shaking and swirling the pan constantly as the kernels pop. Occasionally lift the lid to vent. Continue until the popping slows and the pot is full. Remove from heat. Add salt and toss or stir to combine. Transfer into a serving bowl and top with remaining rosemary.