Beurre Noisette Popcorn Balls, A Bubbly, and Other Popcorn and Wine Pairings #SundayFunday

Did you know that January is National Popcorn Month? Me neither, but when it came up in the list of food holidays, I knew that I wanted to host a popcorn party for the Sunday Funday writers.

Stacy of Food Lust People Love, Sue of Palatable Pastime, Rebekah of Making Miracles, Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm, and I coordinate this low-stress group; we only participate when we are inspired. As I mentioned, I am hosting this week.

The #SundayFunday Popcorn Party

• Beurre Noisette Popcorn Balls, A Bubbly, and Other Popcorn and Wine Pairings by Culinary Cam (you're here)

• Bourbon Popcorn Trio by Our Good Life

• Caramel Popcorn by Sneha's Recipe

• Nacho Cheese Popcorn Seasoning by Amy's Cooking Adventures

• Parmesan Thyme Popcorn with Browned Butter by Karen's Kitchen Stories

• Popcorn-Crusted Chicken Tenders by Food Lust People Love

• Popcorn Granola Bars by A Day in the Life on the Farm

• Sweet and Salty Popcorn Snack Mix by Making Miracles

Beurre Noisette Popcorn Balls + A Bubbly

Years ago a good friend made popcorn balls for our kids' Halloween festivities. I never did get the recipe from her, so I decided to give it a shot with a modified Rice Krispies treat process, making a beurre noisette first!

Beurre Noisette [bur nwah-zet] noun, French Cookery. Literally 'butter the color of a hazelnut.'

Brown butter is one of those magical ingredients that transforms the flavor of just about anything be it sweet or savory. Its nutty taste and aroma are out of this world. And it can add a creative twist to any recipe that includes butter.

Ingredients

• 6 Tablespoons butter

• 6 cups marshmallows

• 7 cups popcorn

Procedure

Place butter in a large pot and heat over low heat until melted. Continue to heat until the butter turns the color of a hazelnut. Stir in the marshmallows and heat until melted into a cohesive marshmallow fluff. Remove from heat, tip in the popcorn, and stir until the popcorn are uniformly covered and beginning to come together into a ball.

This next step will depend on how sensitive your hands are to heat. But I run my hands under ice cold water, then grab a bunch of the popcorn, gently forming it into a ball. Set aside.

Note: these are best served immediately. As they sit, the popcorn gets less crunchy. It's still fine, but the crispy, buttery, sweet treat is perfect with a glass of sparkling wine.

A Bubbly Pairing

I poured a non-vintage sparkling wine from Keush Winery in Armenia. The wine is made by Vahe Keushguerian who was born in Syria, raised in Beirut, and am immigrant to Italy during the Lebanese Civil War. In Italy he discovered his love of wine and eventually started his own winery in Tuscany. But he longed to return to his homeland and, in the mid 2000s, he moved to Armenia and began working to showcase Armenian indigenous grapes.

The Origins sparkling wine is a blend of 60% Voskehat and 40% Khatouni. The wine pours a pale yellow with pinpoint bubbles. The aroma was quite exotic with notes of flowers, herbs, bergamot, and ripe pears. On the palate the wine was bright with a balance of sweet tropical fruits and earthy spices.

It was a nice refreshing sip and cut through the sweetness of the popcorn balls.

Other Pairings

We always start our popcorn creations with Crimson Popping Corn from Rancho Gordo and good quality butter. We usually use Kerrygold, but I decided to try the Welsh Salted Butter from Trader Joe's this time. I don't own a microwave, so whenever we make popcorn, I pull out my air popper. It's quick and easy!

For these, I just used freshly popped corn, melted butter, and a sprinkle of toppings...

Flake Salt + Unoaked Chardonnay

The first pairing was popcorn, butter, and salt flakes with a crisp white wine from Carmel Valley. Simple pleasures!

Parmesan + Viognier

The second pairing was popcorn, butter, grated parmesan, and wild fennel pollen paired with a California Viognier. The sweetness of the Viognier, something akin to ripe apricots with a hint of jasmine, was countered by the salty earthiness of the aged cheese and herbaceousness of the fennel pollen.

Za'atar + Zinfandel

Not surprisingly, my favorite pairing was with a red wine, also from California. The spiciness of the popcorn matched the weightiness and spice of the wine. Cheers!

Za'atar is a Middle Eastern spice mixture that I always have on hand. It's a breeze to make and adds something fabulous to olive oil for dipping and - I've just discovered - sprinkled over buttered popcorn!

This makes about 5 tablespoons and you'll only use about 1 tablespoon for the popcorn, so keep it in a sealed jar for future use.

Za'atar Spice Blend

• 2 Tablespoons fresh thyme, pulled off the stem and minced

• 2 Tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted (I use both white and black sesame seeds)

• 2 teaspoons ground sumac

• 1/2 teaspoons flake salt

In batches, blend and crush the spices with a mortar and pestle. Leave some sesame seeds whole.

Popcorn

• 1/2 cup unpopped popcorn

• 2 to 3 Tablespoons salted butter, melted

• pinch of sea salt flakes

• 2 to 3 teaspoons za'atar spice blend

Pop your popcorn. Place half of the popcorn in a mixing bowl. Drizzle with half the melted butter. Spinkle with 1 to 1-1/2 teaspoons za'atar. Place in the second half of the popcorn. Drizzle with the remaining butter and remaining spices. Gently toss with a spatula to mix but taking care not to crush any of the popcorn. Serve alongside a glass of Zinfandel.

That's a wrap on my popcorn offering for this week's Sunday Funday. Next week the group will be back to share soup recipes. Stay tuned!