Cajun Popcorn — Something to Pass Around While We Wait for Spring

Three weeks. The book launches March 15th and I am oscillating between confidence and terror, which is, I believe, the correct emotional state for a woman about to publish her dead mother's recipes for public consumption. The confidence: the book is good. The terror: what if nobody buys it? What if nobody comes to the reading? What if I cry while making cornbread in front of strangers? (That last one is not a "what if." That's a certainty. I will cry. The question is whether I can cry and keep stirring, and the answer is yes, because I've been crying and stirring since 2017.)

Andre called from LA. He wants to fly in for the book launch. ANDRE. My brother who misses half the family events and makes up for it with comedy and guilt. He said, "I'm coming. I'm not missing this." I said, "You missed Easter 2016." He said, "I'm not missing THIS." The emphasis on "this" was the acknowledgment: the book is different. The book is Mama. Andre shows up for Mama. Always.

Set the Table spring session enrollment: fifty-five girls. The growth continues. Diamond is now a full-time employee of the nonprofit — the first Set the Table graduate to be hired. She runs the East Point location with the quiet authority of a twenty-one-year-old woman who was taught to cook by a woman who was taught to cook by a woman who was taught to cook, and the chain is the program and the program is the chain.

Made Mama's oxtail stew — the slow-cooked, fall-off-the-bone, gravy-so-thick-you-could-mortar-bricks version that takes four hours and fills the house with a smell that could raise the dead. A celebration of getting through February. A declaration that spring is coming. Curtis ate it in his chair by the kitchen window and the magnolia tree was bare outside and the stew was warm inside and the contrast was winter: cold outside, love inside, and the stew holding the space between.

The oxtail stew is the anchor — that’s Mama’s territory and it belongs to a four-hour Sunday — but the book launch is three weeks out and Andre is flying in and fifty-five girls are cooking in East Point and something about all of that nervous, beautiful energy needed a recipe I could make fast and pass around, something with heat and crunch and just enough Cajun soul to feel like a cousin to everything else on this table. This Cajun popcorn is that recipe: loud enough to match the mood, simple enough to make while your mind is somewhere else, and gone in ten minutes when the right people are in the room.

Cajun Popcorn

Prep Time: 5 minutes | Cook Time: 10 minutes | Total Time: 15 minutes | Servings: 6

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup popcorn kernels (or 2 bags plain microwave popcorn)
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (adjust to taste)
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil (if popping on the stove)

Instructions

1. Make the Cajun seasoning blend. In a small bowl, combine smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne, dried oregano, dried thyme, salt, black pepper, and white pepper. Stir until evenly mixed and set aside.
2. Pop the popcorn. Heat vegetable oil in a large heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Add 2 or 3 test kernels; when they pop, add the remaining kernels in a single layer. Cover with a lid slightly ajar to release steam. Shake the pot gently every 30 seconds until popping slows to about 2 seconds between pops, roughly 4–5 minutes. Remove from heat immediately. (For microwave popcorn, pop according to package directions, then transfer to a large bowl.)
3. Season while hot. Transfer popcorn to a very large bowl. Drizzle the melted butter over the popcorn evenly, then sprinkle the Cajun seasoning blend over the top. Toss thoroughly with a large spoon or your hands to coat every kernel.
4. Taste and adjust. Taste a handful and add a pinch more cayenne or salt as needed. Toss once more.
5. Serve immediately. Spread onto a sheet pan lined with parchment if you want it to cool slightly and crisp up, or serve straight from the bowl while still warm. Best eaten the day it’s made.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 145 | Protein: 2g | Fat: 9g | Carbs: 15g | Fiber: 3g | Sodium: 210mg