Garlic Parmesan Popcorn

Dreamt up in the 5 minutes before the start of the new episode of "Next Level Chef" a few Thursday's back, I promised my boyfriend I would be back in 5 minutes with amazingly delicious popcorn for us (me) to snack on.

After 2 glasses of wine and dealing with my labrinyth spice cabinet, I returned 20 minutes later with popcorn that my popcorn-hating boyfriend ate 3/4 the bowl of (good thing it was so delicious it made him forget how long I was gone).

After making a second time not-tipsy, and conveniently relocating the spices together, I can guarantee that this garlic parmesan popcorn takes only 5 minutes to make, and is worth every minute you have to wait for it.

Ingredients:

• stove popped popcorn or microwave popcorn bag, my favourite is this simply salted popcorn, but I know it is an unpopular opinion to not buy pre-buttered popcorn. So I guess I/m outting myself-- but also, I have to tell you it works great here.

• ¼ fresh lemon juice

• fresh grated parmesan cheese

• butter (about 1 1/2 tbsp.)

• onion salt, or substitute a mix of onion powder and garlic salt

• 1-2 garlic cloves finely chopped

• dried thyme

• crushed red pepper or “slap ya mama” cajun seasoning

• small handful roughly chopped parsley

• s+p

Method:

1. In a small microwave safe bowl, combine a tablespoon-ish amount of butter, 1-2 finely chopped garlic clove(s), thyme, onion salt, and depending on how spicy you want your popcorn to be, either crushed red pepper, or the cajun seasoning “slap ya mama”. It's a fantastic seasoning that I can closest describe to a Lehigh Valley favourite, "Aw Shucks" corn seasoning. Slap Ya Mama is slightly spicy, peppery, and just the right amount of salty, and best of all, a 2-pack on amazon is under $10!

2. Roughly chop a small handful of parsley, and slice the proper amount of lemon to squeeze over.

3. Grate fresh parmesan cheese, you’re looking for about ½ cup’s worth (not packed).

4. Pop your microwavable popcorn and allow it to sit in the bag while you melt the butter.

5. Microwave the butter mixture around 45 seconds, checking frequently, until fully melted.

6. Into a large bowl add your popcorn, then the melted butter mixture (mix before pouring in), then the chopped parsley, then the grated parmesan cheese. 

7. Using a lid or a piece of foil, completely cover the bowl and shake the popcorn vigorously, 1 minute.

8. Remove the foil and squeeze the lemon juice over your popcorn, season with salt and pepper, then cover again and shake one more time.

9. Enjoy a tangy, buttery, garlic-y, peppery, popcorn that will leave you impressed with yourself while you're watching this weeks episode of "Next Level Chef", on tomorrow night at 8pm!! ;)