Let's get this party started

Nigella says that her party popcorn is a thrifty recipe. Not many ingredients are needed and of those that are, only very small quantities are called for in this recipe. Popcorn's not expensive and you get lots of it for your money. So, yes, I suppose she's right. Although I find it difficult associating the word thrifty with anything connected to the divine Domestic Goddess...

As much as I like popcorn, there are a few drawbacks to eating it. It gets stuck between your teeth for days after you've eaten it (and yes, I do floss). And if you eat it at the cinema with melted butter poured over the top, then you end up with grease stains on your clothes. That's why I decline the offer of butter whenever I eat it at the cinema - that and the conversation I once overhead in the queue for popcorn during which the young woman in the popcorn kiosk told the guy in front of me that it wasn't really butter but margarine (pronounced mar-ja-rin in Canada) that they used. Urgh. (It's always important to get the balance between thrifty and taste right.) But if you wanted to make Nigella's party popcorn even more thriftily then you could substitute margarine for the butter in the recipe.

If you do decide to try this recipe - and it's well worth it as it's quick to make and tastes very good - then here are a few tips (plus photos)...

On the YouTube clip (the one in which the Domestic Goddess is looking glam in a LBD and natty cardigan), Nigella says that all you need to do once you've melted the butter and mixed in the spices is to pour the mixture over the popcorn and stir. I think she's opted for this method so as not to ruin her party look. It won't really work, as given the ratio of spice mixture to popcorn you will coat only about a fifth of the popcorn. What you need to do is what Nigella suggests in her recipe book, and that's take a big paper bag (although plastic will do if you don't have a paper bag), put the popcorn in it, dribble the spice mixture over, and then close the top of the bag up and shake - and shake, and shake. I think Nigella suggests three shakes, but again, she's taken the leisurely approach to party popcorn here because if you want to ensure that as many of the popped kernels as possible are covered, then you need to shake x about 10. And then get dressed for the party.