Home and back to the grind

I haven't blogged in a while and not feeling super inspired but I'd better put a few thoughts down. It looks like we made it back from Walt DisneyWorld in one piece. Quite the drive! It's about 15 or 16 hours. We stayed the night in Tallahassee both coming and going. I had hotel points from all the traveling I've been doing for work so I was able to pay for two rooms (my parents and us) on the way there.

Every little bit helps! For those who have never been, WDW is very expensive. But it's not without justification. It is probably one of the best, if not THE best theme parks in the world. It's basically supply & demand and they can certainly demand the price. Depending on how much you're willing to spend, a week for a family of 4 can run you between $4,000 and 12,000 after you factor in travel, sleeping arrangements, entrance fees, food, etc. We stayed in the Contemporary which is the cheapest of the hotels on the monorail line. It's a very nice place to stay and SO convenient. In fact the monorail is probably one of our favorite things about the WDW experience.

Karen will Probably blog about our trip (she'd better), so I won't dig too deeply into the details, but we had a fabulous time. What I will say however is that we have decided at this point we're not addicted to WDW as are many of the people we know. We'll probably go again in 3 years or so for the kids, but our thoughts of returning for a wedding anniversary are souring; we'll probably go somewhere else.

Work has been very stressful as I've been given an assignment that is already fully underway (I'm taking over for someone who has to take a leave of absence). It's a role where I have little experience but the assignment is highly visible to the client and critical in terms of how they view my company's ability to delivery quality & value. It's a fairly short but intense assignment; I could feasibly be through by March, possibly stay on another year for the next release if things go well (I have doubts about my abilities but we'll see). My vacation days for the WDW trip had to be trimmed so I could visit the Netherlands to learn the job assignment from the person who is leaving. And I need to get right back to it, so I will not be taking any vacation days this coming week. I'm also not expecting much relaxation around Christmas and New Year's Day.

Anyway, the trip to WDW was much needed but not the relaxing experience it could have been due to the anxiety I'm feeling about doing a good job on this assignment. I haven't felt this much anxiety about work (or school) in many, many years; maybe never. I'm hoping things go well and it was worry for nothing. Wish me luck! :D

Puffs of Smack, Corn, Hot Air

Today I discovered I am not the only popcorn food snob in Katy, Texas. The 'other guy' is our friend Jordan Marcks. (See him HERE in his popcorn get-up.)

So I asked Jordan about his popcorn secrets and he was happy to share. I shared mine, which I was surprised were very different. Then, for the sucker punch I mentioned Toasted Cheerios, my wife's salty snack favorite.

Before I go too far, I have to tell you I'm a pretty heavy hitter when it comes to popcorn. I have roots going back to my younger days, at the feet of my Dad who made popcorn just about every Sunday. My Dad's popcorn was amazingly delicious... light popcorn with just the right amount of salt and oil. Dad's popcorn is very 'by the book' - 1/4 cup oil, 1 cup popcorn, into the Stir Crazy. After the popcorn pops, Dad's trick is to first salt the popped bowl of corn, then dump half into a bigger bowl, salt again, then dump the rest into the bigger bowl and salt a final time.



This was heaven until I discovered a few things in the mid-90's:

1. Butter. I always thought butter was something that went extinct in the 60's (kids, that was before I was born). Apparently it's not a myth and it did not become extinct. There is a thriving underground butter trade and I ran into it around the mid-90's.
2. It IS possible to improve upon mother's (and father's) cooking. This revelation alone is probably worth its own blog, but just go with me on this.
3. Systems Engineering. Over the 90's my study of this auspicious degree developed within me the need to "make it better"... this degree essentially challenges - nay, compels the follower to "make it better" (whatever "it" happens to be).
   

Identifying "Bad system design" has been my quest ever since. (Did you realize making popcorn can, in fact, be described as a process within a system?)

So here is my ultimate "Bring it on, Jordan!" popcorn:

1. Don your kitchen garb - whatever keeps you clean.
   
2. Place 2 Tbsp. butter in a small microwave-safe teacup or mug and place in the microwave.
3. Get out a large bowl and next to it place your Morton popcorn salt.
4. In a Stir Crazy electric popper (we're on our 4th popper; I'm open to suggestions), add 3 Tbsp peanut oil and 1 scant cup Orville Reddenbacher popcorn, cover and plug in.
   
5. Melt the butter for 20 seconds. You could do this at step 2 but I want it to be warmer so this is the habit I've gotten into. Set the microwave for 8 seconds but don't start it.
6. Grab the popper on both sides with some mittens or 'hot pads' and start to gently shake the popper, pushing away and pulling towards you in swift, gentle motions. This helps the popper evenly distribute heat over the kernels since the oil is really what distributes the heat, not the bottom of the heating unit. It also lessens the chance of burning and increases the number of popped kernels.

   Instead of hot pads, you might want to consider using a rag to wrap over the top of the contraption to prevent burning, or wearing a coat or long gloves, as the oil can and will splatter. (I usually use a rag but didn't in the pictures here so you could see what I was doing.)
   

7. When the first few kernels pop (it's just starting to get going), speed over to the microwave and press Start.
8. Bring the butter back to the popper and set aside.
   
9. Continue to shake the popper, until it's really going strong and a quarter to a third of the popcorn is popped.
10. Grab the butter, lift the top lid and dump the butter in. Quickly close the lid, then turn the teacup/mug upside down into the waiting bowl so the remaining butter will be captured. Mmmm...
    
11. Continue to shake the popper, a bit more vigorously now so that the butter will drip all around into the popping frenzy.
12. Because you used a high-smoke point oil and because there are no sugars, you're safe letting the popcorn pop a few seconds beyond the last kernel pops. In fact I probably wait longer but I enjoy the half-popped old maids and the nutty flavor left over by the cooking at the very end. This part is up to you.
13. When popping is finished, unplug the Stir Crazy and turn it upside-down, removing the heating unit. Salt quickly, dump half into the big bowl, salt again, dump the remainder, then salt again. Now, using your clever chef skills, give the popcorn many good tosses to shake it up and spread around all the salty, buttery goodness.
14. Enjoy!

Couple of notes: Don't skimp on the butter; it's delicious! I use peanut oil because it has a high smoke-point and is tasty. (Cinemas used to use cottonseed and peanut oil.) It's the high smoke point that keeps the flavor pure. I sometimes use Canola oil and it works just as well and is healthier. Popcorn salt is formulated with much smaller crystals, which results in more even popped kernel dusting. I'm sure there is a scientific term for this.

So, other than a secret jealousy for his popper (all metal, stove top style), and a curiosity for his different (and healthier) choice of ingredients, I left Jordan's house with a challenge in the air. He threw back the threat of "popcorn night showdown". Huh!

Am I scared? No, just hungry!