Popcorn Pudding

Yum

You know how sometimes you see something in a magazine and it just makes you stop dead in your tracks?  Well that happened to me as I flipped through the most recent issue of Food and Wine.  Popcorn Pudding?  What!   Seriously???  I read through the rest of the magazine and put it away… though the thought of popcorn pudding lingered…. I just couldn’t resist… for any of you who know me….  I.  LOVE.  POPCORN.  So this was a no brainer no matter how hard I tried to resist.

Ingredients (as taken from Food and Wine with a little added explanation since I read it at least a dozen times and seemed to miss a key point!)

• 2 1/4 cups whole milk
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon popcorn kernals
• 3 large egg yolks
• 4 teaspoon cornstarch
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed
• 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Using the oil and popcorn, make the popcorn and set aside.  (I had made popcorn for us to eat the night before and set some aside for this recipe… about 2 cups of it)

In a large saucepan combine the milk, cream sugar and salt and bring to a boil over moderate heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar then remove from heat.

Take the popped popcorn and put it into the milk/cream mixture and cover.  What you’re doing here is letting it steep… like tea… after about 10 minutes you can strain it into…. the next bowl.

In a medium bowl cream the egg yolks and cornstarch and make sure all the lumps are mixed thoroughly.  Very slowly add the strained, still warm cream/milk mixture into the egg yolk and cornstarch mixture… making sure to whisk all along to avoid scrambled eggs.

Once all the mixture is together, place back into saucepan over medium heat and whisking frequently cook until it bubbles just a bit and is thickened.  It will thicken even more once refrigerated.   Scrape the mixture into either a bowl or into separate cups/bowls and then take plastic wrap and literally cover (touching!) the pudding and cool until it chilled.

Serve with popcorn as a garnish… YUMMY… Next time I’m going to do this in chocolate or caramel… its’ very good…