Kool Kollege Katering

I have been busy with one of my new jobs - college catering.  Our oldest son's friend's mother (follow that?) owns Mountain Kettle Korn Katering.  They started off popping kettle corn for weekend Farmer's Markets, which Winter Park, Florida's market has become their staple.  The business grew from that to a variety of other things that makes Miss Denise some good money.  She is a single mom in a nice house with a booming business and a host of employees, of which I am one.  College Student Governments pay for our services, for which their ever grateful students line up for freebies.
Here are some of the other things we do:

• Multi-Grain Rice Cakes -  popped before your eyes!  These things are addictive!!  Farmer's Market mostly.
• Deco-ware - college students line up to glue gems and sparkles onto wine glasses, water bottles, and little glass piggies.  Oh, NOT wine glasses - - - water goblets!  Get real, they're wine glasses.
• Moose Mix - college students line up to fill their pan with kettle and caramel popcorn, swirls of melted chocolate and a variety of candy toppings.  Gummy bears fly off the table!
• Chocolate Fountain - a monster sized stainless steel fountain circulating 26 pounds of premium chocolate for college students to dip a variety of cookies, fruits, and cakes.
• Make Your Own Caramel Apples and pretzel sticks -  college students line up to receive a dipped apples or pretzels that they roll in a dozen or more toppings.  Chocolate sprinkles, mini marshmallows, and crushed candy bars are the favorites.
• Flash Frozen Ice Cream - more college students in line.
• Cotton Candy - big machine, fluff flying in the breeze, coating all the workers with sugary sweetness.
• Make Your Own Soap in a Loofa Slice - college students, microwave, drippy messy fun.

So? What have I been up to??  Lots of trips to the many colleges in Tampa Bay, Gainesville, and all around Orlando.  Most recently, I flew to Baltimore, rented a car, drove 2 hours to Frostburg, MD where I hosted about 300 students at the deco-ware table.  Stayed overnight, drove back to airport and went home.  I love traveling, so this was a ball to me.  Also, I work for another company that makes funnel cakes and  fried oreos (I plate them and sprinkle with powdered sugar, then hand out to hungry college students).  They also make photo mugs and ornaments, which I will learn how to do next week in Miami.

Popcorn Lessons

I sometimes work at the Winter Park Farmer's Market selling MultiGrain Rice Cakes. (check out CoCo B2B for video on the machine).  Free samples!  Delicious MultiGrain Rice Cakes - freshly made! All natural, no fat, no sugar, no cholesterol, less than one Weight Watchers point and only 15 to 20 calories each!  Free Samples!   I feel like a carnival barker:  Heya heya heya!  Step right up!!

This and the Kettle Korn booth are both owned by a lady that I work part time for, and so our booths are side by side.  Yesterday I sold a record number of bags of rice cakes and in all my free time while I watched the machine for logjams and as I hawked my product, I watched the guy next to me cook pot after pot of kettle korn in a huge copper cauldron.  My booth can be run solo (two is better when the machine is running), but the kettle corn is a four person job, and they move about like worker ants wearing long sleeves and sunglasses and cowboy hats.  The giddyup get up isn't a fashion statement, but for safety, as an errant kernel of sizzling sugar coated corn can put a hurt on a person.  Every now and again, one would come my way, but those few extra feet of air travel cooled it just enough to sting for a second but not burn.  

This is how it's done:
First a ladle or two of oil, then a giant cup of corn, give it a swirl, add sugar, stir stir stir as it pops, dump into pan, add salt.

I usually bring home a bag, but it was such a busy day, they ran out of product and I was left empty handed. Sigh.  Today as Mark and I watched the Tampa Bay Buccaneers lose to the Saints, I took a kitchen break and whipped up my own version of kettle korn.  Here is my recipe:

You will need-
mid-sized pot with lid
popcorn oil
popcorn
sugar
popcorn salt
big bowl
large spoon

Instructions-

• In a mid sized pot with lid over high heat, swirl enough butter flavored popcorn oil to mostly coat the bottom of the pot.
• Add 4 kernels of corn and cover.  Wait to hear four pops.
• Add 1/4 cup popcorn kernels, cover and swirl just a few seconds to moisten the corn.
• Immediately add 2 teaspoons sugar.
• Cover and shake pan over high heat until popping stops.
• Dump into big bowl and give a few shakes of fine popcorn salt (to taste).  Stir well with a large spoon.

I have a glass top stove and it worked fine.  In fact, I think shimmy-shaking the pan was much easier on the smooth surface.  David came in and liked it so much, I taught him how to make his own batch.