Salty and Sweet

I'm such a sucker for salted caramel. A complete and utter sucker. Which is strange - I really can walk away from most sweets, but there's something about the flavor combination of salted caramel that gets me every time. So, I resurrected a super-simple caramel popcorn recipe that I've literally been making since I was a kid, and finished it off with a decidedly 2008 flourish: gray fleur de sel. It's caramel popcorn - all grown up! You can blame me if you get addicted as well, but don't say I didn't warn you!

Salted Caramel Popcorn

• 1 cube of butter (1/2 cup)
  
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 cup corn syrup
• 1 14-ounce can of sweetened condensed milk
• Course gray sea salt (French fleur de sel is my go-to)
  

Combine all caramel ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, stirring to melt and blend all ingredients together. Reduce heat to low and continue a slow boil; stir constantly to avoid the caramel from burning. Caramel is done when it reaches the soft ball candy stage (approximately 5 minutes at slow boil). While still hot, pour caramel over a big bowl of popcorn, mixing well to coat. Sprinkle liberally with the sea salt, again, mixing well for even coverage throughout the batch.