Garrett Gourmet Popcorn

The other day a few co-workers were walking around with little bowls of what looked like a cheddar cheese and caramel popcorn mix. I saw a few go back for seconds and then thirds. So I made my way over to this giant blue tin of popcorn and scooped myself a little bowl. Holy crap, batman! This was popcorn heaven! I had no idea such a simple snack could be prepared so well. "Rich" is the best word to describe this stuff because you can only eat a few handfuls before you start feeling full. Like Double-Double at In N Out Burger full. This popcorn was good.

Garrett's popcorn started in Chicago in 1949 and has since been featured on Oprah's list of "My Favorite Things." They've made popcorn into an art form.They use only the "highest quality ingredients" and never incorporated fat or oils into the popping process. They use their own privately grown blend of kernals and real cheddar cheese and homemade caramel. No artificial powder here!

Garrett comes in three main flavors: CaramelCrisp, CheeseCorn, and Butter flavored. They also have a few others. The cheese and caramel popcorn mix is incredible. Seriously, I could eat an entire tin myself...over the course of a month or so. So good. 

I was so excited to order a tin for myself, but unfortunately I saw the price and changed my mind. It's funny, a quote on their website says, "We know our popcorn costs more...but it is worth it. We're sure you'll agree."

Um, no. It is $135 plus shipping for a 6 gallon tin of this stuff! No, you heard me right. $135 for popcorn! Seriously?.....SERIOUSLY??

Garrett, you broke my heart.

My favorite sandwich...

I am a sandwich person. I LOVE them. Every kind.

The ham sandwich: classic, simple, maybe a bit overdone. But let me show you how to make the BEST ham sandwich ever.

The first and key ingredient to the best ham sandwich is a leftover spiral ham, preferably from an amazing Sunday dinner. Don't ask me why that matters, it just does. That thin stuff from the grocery store that comes in a Tupperware case will not do. You have to use spiral ham. 

Take the delicious ham and fry it in a pan with just a little nob of butter. You could fry the ham without butter, but I've found that it adds a little bit of much needed moisture to the meat. Plus, you can never have too much butter. All you're really doing is warming the ham up because it's obviously already cooked, but take advantage of putting some sear on the slices while you're at it. A little burnt ends never hurt anybody. 

You'll want to use buttered wheat toast for your bread (more butter, i know). Don't put too much ham on the sandwich, just a couple of slices, enough to cover the length of the bread and maybe a little extra. Proportions are important. I don't think a lot of sandwich places really understand that. There's either too much bread, or too much meat, or too much mayonnaise. I feel like if you specialize in sandwiches you should understand that, right? I once had a sandwich at a notable Provo bakery and they put a freaking pound of meat on my sandwich and half a can of mayo. More is not always better.

Finally, you'll want a proportionate amount of plain yellow mustard as a condiment. Now you may be thinking that putting butter on the bread and then mustard may sound weird, but it's not. Trust me. I can't explain it, it goes together so well. You get the butteryness of the bread, the tangy mustard, and the spicyness of the ham. It's incredible! I'm not much of a leftover guy, but this is one of my favorites.

It's laughable how easy this is. I know what you're thinking, "That's it, three steps?" I know, I know. Maybe this isn't even "blog worthy" but I've been eating a lot of these sandwiches this week and I had to share the joy my heart has been experiencing. 

I learned this sandwich from my dad. Growing up he would make this for me on Sunday nights long after a delicious Sunday dinner. It was the type of sandwich we would eat while watching a football game or MacGyver or something.

I'm certain part of my love for this sandwich comes from just sharing it with my dad, but part of it is because this is pretty much a perfect sandwich. Give it a try.

Invest in Some Knives

I did a post on knives a few months ago, and I thought this quick video was a great follow-up. A great set of knives changes everything in the kitchen. It's a great investment and you only need 3 or 4 key knives. 

Check it out!

Every once in a while I've gotta have some hole-in-the-wall Mexican food and my place of choice is Beto's.

It's nothing fancy, but that's exactly why it's so good. It's simple. It's fast. It's authentic.

Try the bacon breakfast burrito. Amazing!