Kettle Corn

So a few weeks ago I went to the Salem Art Fair as I have done for probably the last 10 years or so. My wife being quite the snack fiend soon found the kettle corn stand and promptly asked for my wallet. For some reason, until recently, kettle corn wasn't my cup of tea so naturally I was a little reluctant to pay $4 for a small bag of corn covered in salt and sugar. Being hungry can sometimes make you weak, and well my wife had my wallet. First couple of kernels in my mouth were so so but then I couldn't stop, one after another until half the bag was gone. Simply put I found that kettle corn is the crack of the snack world. Too bad kettle corn always costs so much when you go to the fair I mean it's only corn and sugar right? Right, well almost, there are a couple other ingredients but honestly it shouldn't cost you more than 5o cents to make this stuff. I know I know this is an easy recipe, I didn't say all my food advice would be challenging, but I thought this could be a good easy one to start with.

Ingredients
1/2 cup popcorn
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
salt to taste

In a pot with a lid (emphasize the lid) heat vegetable oil on med to med-high heat. Add the popcorn to the hot oil and let the kernels sizzle for approximately 1 minute. The key is to not cook the kernels too long or you will have popcorn flying at you when it starts popping (we haven't put the lid on yet). After you have "sizzled" the kernels for a minute or so sprinkle the white sugar on top of the kernels. NOW PUT THE LID ON !!! Hot sugar and flying popcorn do not mix well with skin, believe me I have blisters to prove it. Shake the pot periodically until you hear popping and continue to do so until popping decreases to a few pops every 10 seconds. Take the pot off the heat and add the amount of salt that you prefer. I use a wooden spoon to mix around the popcorn to get a nice even coating of salt and also to help cool the liquid hot magma of sugar. Remember hot sugar and skin don't mix so please let the kettle corn cool unless your into that sort of thing. That's it, enjoy!!