Salted Caramel Spuds and Popcorn

I was so inspired by all the dishes prepared at the Spuds and Dairy Culinary Cup that I decided to make my own. It’s a simple potato and dairy snack that you can easily prepare at home. It may not be as fancy as the ones in the competition, but my kids loved it and I hope you’ll love it too!

Ingredients:

For the salted caramel syrup
* ½ cup milk (look for the seal of freshness Real California Milk) – I used California Sunshine Homogenized Milk which I bought in S&R
* 2 tbsp butter
* ¼ tsp iodized salt
* 1 cup sugar (you can use white, brown, muscovado)

1 cup unsalted popcorn seeds
Crisscut frozen potatoes (check the label and make sure they’re potatoes from the U.S. for top quality frozen potatoes) – I used LambWeston Waffle Cut Fries which I bought in SM Hypermarket
Roasted almonds (optional)

Procedures:

To make the salted caramel syrup:
1. In a heavy-bottomed pan or sauce pan, cook the sugar (without water) in medium heat. Watch it closely as sugar burns easily.
2. When 60% of sugar is dissolved and boiling, add the butter and whisk using a spatula until it fully dissolves.
3. While still on medium heat, add the milk gradually. Be careful because the caramel might form bubbles and expand. If that happens, remove from heat and wait for the bubbles to recede and continue cooking
4. Add the salt.
5. Lower the heat and simmer until the caramel thickens.
6. Remove from heat when the caramel thickens. It will get thicker as it cools down.