Fresh Tart

As we head into holiday entertaining and craziness, don't forget about popcorn! I am NOT talking about microwave popcorn, I'm talking about the real deal, popped in a pan, which takes about 5 minutes to make and tastes 50 million times - maybe 100 million times - better. When you're done, you have a bowlful of fragrant crunchiness ready to be tarted up for a party (or plopped in front of the TV with a glass of wine aka dinner).

When I was a kid, we were butter-and-salt purists, preferring plenty of both. Don't get me wrong - browned butter with sea salt to this day makes up 80% of my popcorn consumption. I make it for my son's friends, I set it out at our pool for swim parties, I make a batch after a night out with the girls. But it's great fun, and almost as easy, to play around a bit with creative flavor combinations, which are both addictive and gorgeous, and tend to blow guests away for very little effort.

Recipe(s) for Pumpkin Seed/Brown Butter/Crispy Sage, Bacon/Caraway Seed/Bay Leaf, and Curry Powder/Honey/Lime Zest popcorn (and other ideas too) at TC Taste/Minnesota Monthly Magazine.

These homemade crackers couldn't be easier or faster to make.  Who knew that nothing but seeds, water, and salt could make such a lovely, crisp cracker?  These have an intense and rich sesame taste, which I love, and which is particularly delicious with savory and cheese spreads.

I'm particularly enjoying them with cottage cheese for a late-afternoon snack.

I found the recipe on Mark's Daily Apple via Girl Gone Primal, who also provides a recipe for shrimp pâté to serve with the crackers, mmm.  I'll be bringing these around for various upcoming holiday parties, oh yes.

Sunflower Sesame Crackers
From Mark's Daily Apple via Girl Gone Primal

Note: Girl Gone Primal provides directions for soaking the seeds first if you're so inclined.

1 c. raw sunflower seeds
1 c. raw sesame seeds
1 tsp. coarse salt plus more for sprinkling
3-4 Tbsp. water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  In a food processor, process the sunflower seeds for 2-4 minutes or until very finely ground and flour-like.

Add the sesame seeds and pulse a few times, then slowly add the water (note: start with 3 Tbsp. of water, add more if necessary) until seed flour comes together in a thick dough.

Between two pieces of parchment paper, roll out the dough to 1/8" thick (cracker thickness).  Remove the upper piece of parchment.  Lightly score the dough into desired cracker shapes.  Sprinkle lightly with coarse salt (and/or other herbs/seasonings).

Bake until golden and crisp, about 15-20 minutes.  Allow to cool thoroughly before gently breaking into pieces along score lines.  Store in an air-tight container.