Blowing the top – In the snack department, nothing is less expensive than real, homemade popcorn.

In the snack department, nothing is less expensive than real, homemade popcorn—the kind you make on the stovetop in a lidded Dutch oven with a few tablespoons of oil. But once you begin preparing it like this, you’ll realize that homemade popcorn’s virtues go well beyond its thrift. It runs circles around anything you microwave or buy in a bag.

The proportion of oil to kernels to use is about 3 tablespoons of canola or peanut oil to one-half cup of kernels. Place the two ingredients in a large pot over medium-high heat. When the first kernel sounds, put the lid on quickly and begin to gently shake the pot. Adjust the heat to low and continue to shake the pot so that the popcorn doesn’t burn. After a few minutes, it will be ready to eat—and more importantly, ready to absorb your favorite toppings—from salt and melted butter to homemade caramel sauce to grated Asiago to garlic rosemary oil.

Below is one of my favorites that I modified from a recipe by Jane Kirby and Kay Chun.

Sweet-Spicy Popcorn with Nuts

8 cups fresh, homemade popcorn
4 cups unsalted nuts, preferably a mixture of your choosing(pecans, almonds, pistachios, cashews)
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. paprika
1 ˝ cups sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
˝ cup butter
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 250. Combine the popcorn, nuts, cumin, chili powder, cinnamon and paprika and scatter evenly on cookie trays. Place in oven to warm through while you prepare the sauce. Combine sugar, corn syrup and butter in a saucepan over medium high heat. Do not stir, but allow to cook for about 10 minutes. Dribble a few drops of the mixture into cold water. If it forms stiff threads it is ready. Remove from heat, and stir in vanilla. Remove tray and pour sauce over popcorn nut mixture. Allow to cool, then break into small pieces, toss in a bowl and serve.