In Irvine, I had an air popper. When I moved, I didn't want to take it with me, but I still bought real popcorn, and not the microwave stuff. One of my friends makes it by putting it in a paper bag, folding the bag over tight, and putting it in the microwave. I have yet to try that. But I have been making it on the stovetop. The nice thing about this is that nearly every kernel in the pot pops. Even with the air popper, I got a lot of unpopped corn. It only takes about 5 extra minutes (so about 10, total). All you need is a large pot with a lid (the lid is key), and the possibilities for flavors are endless. So far I've made kettle corn (pictured), and savory popcorn with salt, pepper, and dried herbs. Here's the general idea.
1. Heat a couple of tablespoons of oil or butter in a large pot. For kettle corn, I think butter is better; for savory, olive oil.
2. As the butter melts/the oil heats, add your flavoring. For kettle corn, a sprinkling of sugar goes in now. Unfortunately, I haven't quite figured out how to keep the sugar from caramelizing, so you get kind of a burnt taste to the kettle corn.
3. Once the butter is melted/the oil is hot, add a quarter cup of popping corn to the pot and cover it. Shake the pot as much as you can while still keeping it over the heat. It takes a few minutes for the popping to start, and once it does it takes about 2-3 minutes for all the kernels to pop.
