Fresh Margaritas

Margarita on the rocks in a canning jar

I'm not a big drinker. I'm such a small drinker, in fact, that I can count on one hand how many times I drink each year and still have some fingers to spare. I've never actually gotten drunk either, and neither has my friend Christie, who gave me this recipe. A month or so ago we decided maybe we should set aside some time to try getting drunk for the first time. Well, once our date came around, neither of us really felt like getting drunk. From what we've seen of others' drunkenness, it was going to render us sick and not very useful for the day or so following the drunkenness, so we decided to just make some margaritas and drink them responsibly, enjoy one another's company, and continue with our lives of sobriety. 
Can you tell why my husband would just love for me to drink a little more? Yeah, I'm wound pretty tightly, but it works for me, and 22 years into marriage, I think it's safe to say it's working just fine for him too. 
Now, even though I didn't get drunk on these margaritas, I did make myself a little sick last night because in addition to ingesting about 1/3 of this recipe of margaritas, I also had a few brownies (see previous post from yesterday), and some homemade tortilla chips. I felt awful when I went to bed last night, and I have to say that I'm glad I didn't really go for the drunk thing because I think I'd still be feeling awful today. No, thank you. And the next time I make these margaritas, you can bet I will NOT be eating any brownies with them. These are the ways I make myself sick. Someday I'll learn.
So, thanks, Cook's Illustrated, and friend Christie, for a fabulous margaritas recipe. Cheers!

Fresh Margaritas
      --adapted from Cook's Illustrated

Ingredients:

• 4 teaspoons lime zest
• 1/2 cup lime juice (from 3 medium limes)
• 4 teaspoons lemon zest 
• 1/2 cup lemon juice (from 3 medium lemons)
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1 pinch table salt
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 1 cup crushed ice
• 1 cup 100% agave tequila
• 1 cup Triple Sec
• Cubed ice for serving

Instructions:
About 4 to 24 hours before serving, place lime and lemon zest and juices in a glass container with 1/4 sugar and salt. Cover and refrigerate.
When ready to mix up the margaritas, Strain the juice into a pitcher that will hold at least 1 quart (I opted for the Kerr canning jar and it worked beautifully--had a lid and everything). Add the additional 1 tablespoon sugar, orange juice, crushed ice, tequila, and Triple Sec. Stir or cover tightly and shake gently until ingredients are mixed.
Pour into serving glasses half-full of ice cubes.
Makes 4-6 servings

Lime and lemon zest

Zests, juices, sugar and a pinch of salt

After straining

Looks like this mixed margarita could easily travel in this thing.

Brownies with a Shiny Crust

Brownie with a Shiny Crust--and Walnuts

I've never been too concerned with my brownies having a shiny crust on them because I'm in the frosted brownie loving group.
 From time to time, I've heard people discuss how to get the shiny crust--something to do with dissolving the sugar in the butter or eggs--but it wasn't until I read the King Arthur Flour article "How to Make Brownies with Shiny Crust: the Surprising Secret Ingredient," that I really got curious about it. So today, since I "accidentally" purchased a 3-pound can of Ghirardelli Sweet Ground Chocolate, I decided to try out KAF's claim that chocolate chips are the secret to a shiny crust. What?! That's right: chocolate chips. I was skeptical even while I was prepping my ingredients, but then I went to my Gooey Brownies with Dove Chocolate Chunks recipe, which has Dove chocolate chunks baked into the top of the brownies, and what do you know? I noticed in my pics in that post that those brownies also have a shiny crust. Hmmm...very interesting.

You'll notice that I like to sprinkle the nuts on top of the brownie batter rather than mixing them in. This way, it's not only completely obvious to brownie eaters that they are getting a brownie with nuts, but the nuts also get a little toasty and crunchy up on top there. It just add a couple of other pleasnt dimensions to the brownie, in my opinion. It also allows me to make some brownies with and some brownies without nuts in the same batch. So many good reasons to do it this way.

Brownies with a Shiny Crust

Ingredients:

• 2 eggs @ room temp. 
• ½ cup sugar 
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract 
• ½ cup butter, melted & cooled 
• 1 cup Ghirardelli Sweet Ground Chocolate
• 2/3 cup King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. baking powder
• 18 Dove Dark Chocolate Promises, chopped into big chunks (or 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips)
• 1/4-1/2 cup coarsely chopped nuts (optional) 

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350°F. 
Prepare am 8x8" brownie pan by spraying lighlty with non-stick cooking spray and then lining with parchment paper. (This helps with removing brownies.)
Melt the butter in a microwave safe bowl, in the microwave, on 50% power for about 50-70 seconds. (I like to cover my bowl with the butter wrapper to prevent butter spatter.) If it's not melted after that amount of time on 50% power then put it back in on high for 12-20 seconds. Add the half cup of sugar and stir to incorporate.
In a small bowl, whisk together the ground chocolate, flour, salt, and baking powder. Set aside.
In a medium or large bowl, whisk the eggs until they just start to froth. Add the butter/sugar mixture and the vanilla and with a spoon, mix to incorporate. Add the dry ingredients and stir with a silicone/rubber spatula until dry ingredients are just incorporated. Mix in the Dove chocolate chunks. 
Spread batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle the top with nuts, if desired. Gently press the nuts into the batter with the palm of your hand.
Bake at 350 degrees for 25-29 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out relatively clean. (I might even let them go to about 32 minutes.) Allow to cool. Cut into squares. Makes 16-20 brownies.

Beef Wontons

Beef Wontons

Wontons are my mom's specialty (check out Mom's Wontons), but for some reason I just don't like eating them because the pork inside just doesn't seem right to me. I know, I'm a weirdo. I can't explain it. Anyway, when I decided to make won tons for my school staff's end of the year party, I wanted to make sure that my non-pork eating friends and I were able to enjoy them too. My husband's Aunt Willa makes these fabulous egg rolls with a peppery ground beef, carrot, and cabbage filling, so I figured that would make a great filling for wontons too. And it DOES. Thanks, Aunt Willa, for sharing the recipe with me. So these are it. I like a lot of pepper in mine, so I don't actually know the exact amount I put in. The amount stated below is an estimate. This filling tastes meaty, salty, and slightly sweet, with just enough veggies to give it some flavor and make you feel like you're eating something that might be good for you. I don't think these actually are good for your body, but I think they're great for your soul. They made several people happy the other night, including me. So there.


Beef Wontons

Ingredients:

• 1 pound ground beef (90/10)
• 1 cup carrots, shredded
• 1/2 cup onion, finely chopped
• 1 cup cabbage, shredded or thinly chopped
• 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons ground black pepper
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 package (60 count) wonton wrappers
• canola oil for frying

Instructions:
In a medium frying pan over medium heat, brown the ground beef. When nearly cooked through, add the carrots, onions, cabbage, pepper, sugar, salt, and soy sauce. Carefully stir to cook the veggies. When cabbage starts to wilt, turn the heat off and allow mixture to sit for about 15 minutes to cook a little more and cool slighlty.
Line a cooling rack with paper towels and set aside.
When mixture is cool enough to work with, place one won ton wrapper on a clean plate and wet two adjacent sides with water. Place about one scant tablespoon of filling in the middle of the square and carefully fold in half, creating a triangle shape. Seal the seams by pressing firmly with the sides of your hands/pinky fingers. Place a little dab of water on one of the longer pointy ends. Pick up the triangle with the central point facing downward and bring the two long points together at the top and cross them. Place the non-wet tip on top of the wet one and press to seal. (See below for video of how to fold wontons.) Repeat with remaining filling and wrappers. Set assembled but uncooked wontons on a wax paper lined baking sheet to wait.
Place about three inches of canola oil in a pot you use for frying. Heat oil over a medium heat until the temperature reaches about 360 degrees Fahrenheit, or a little piece of wonton wrapper placed in the oil fries and bubbles immediately when it's put in the hot oil.
When oil is ready, carefully place several wontons in the hot oil, being careful not to plop them in and burn yourself with splashing oil. I cook about 5-6 at a time. Turn wontons over (if they will let you) to make sure they brown all over. When wontons reach a nice golden brown color, remove them to the paper towel lined cooling rack. Allow won tons to cool for 5-10 minutes before attempting to eat.
Makes about 50-60 wontons.

Beef, carrot, and cabbage filling

Wontons ready to fry

Cheesy Deep Dish Pizza

Cheesy Deep Dish Pizza
Pepperoni and Roma Tomato 

This is about the third deep dish pizza recipe I've got here on this blog. The first is a simple recipe to be made in a large cast iron skillet. The second is a Chicago-Style Deep Dish Pizza, and this one is my most recent favorite. The recipe comes from a book titled Pasta & Pizza Presto. I think this dough recipe is the only recipe I've tried from this book, but it makes such a good crust, that I keep this book in my favorite recipe book collection on my kitchen counter.
I use this awesome pizzeria pan that my husband purchased for me one Christmas. It's a pan that was used in an actual pizza restaurant, so it came to me all dark and well-seasoned. That sounds sort of strange as I type it, but it's really a perfect deep dish pizza pan. It's 14 inches in diameter, so the resulting pizza is large enough to feed our whole family of four.
The crust of this pizza is thick and, well, crusty on the outside. It's soft, tender and chewy as well. It holds up to the pound of cheese on top, but I do like to eat mine with a knife and fork. I like putting a little bit of garlic salt on the bottom of the pan before putting in the dough just for an extra yummy layer of flavor, and for the bit of crust left at the end. So good. This is just a nice, simple, and delicious deep dish crust. I think you'll like it. 

Cheesy Deep Dish Pizza
       --adapted from Pasta & Pizza Presto

Deep Dish Pizza Dough Ingredients:

• 4 cups King Arthur Unbleached All Purpose Flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons instant yeast
• 1 1/3 cups warm water
• 4 tablespoons olive oil

Pizza Sauce Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 cup grated onion
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 to 1 teaspoon dried basil (depending on the tomatoes you buy)
• 2 medium garlic gloves, minced
• 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes (If they have basil already in them, only add 1/2 teaspoon dried basil)
• 2 teaspoons honey
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

Pizza:

• 1 batch of Deep Dish Pizza Dough
• 1 cup (approx.) Pizza Sauce
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1 pound mozzarella cheese, shredded
• pizza toppings

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a dough hook* mix the flour, salt, and yeast. Turn the mixer on low and add the water and olive oil. Knead dough on medium low speed for about 4-5 minutes. Remove hook and cover bowl with plastic wrap. Allow dough to rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour. Reattatch dough hook to mixer and knead dough for about a minute. Turn dough out onto a floured surface and cover with inverted bowl and allow dough to rest under the bowl for about 10 minutes.
*If you do not have a stand mixer, you can mix with a wooden spoon and then knead dough on a lightly floured surface for 8-10 minutes.

While dough rises, prepare the sauce.
In a skillet over medium heat, melt the 2 tablespoons butter. Then add the grated onion, oregano and basil. Cook over medium heat for about 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until liquid is evaporated and onions turn golden. Add minced garlic, stir, and allow to cook for about 30 seconds. Add tomatoes, honey, and red pepper flakes. Stir and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer for about 25-30 minutes, or until sauce is reduced to about 2 1/2 cups. Remove from heat and allow to cool a bit.

Add 2 tablespoons of canola oil (or other oil) to the bottom of a 14 inch deep dish pizza pan. With your fingers, spread oil all around the edges and bottom of the pan. Sprinkle with about 1/4 teaspoon garlic salt. Set aside.

Push, pull, and/or roll the dough out into a 14-inch circle. Place in the bottom of the pan and make sure the dough pretty much goes up to the edges of the pan. Spread the pizza sauce across the entire surface of the dough. Sprinkle the shredded mozzarella cheese. Top with your favorite pizza toppings (I used about 1/3 pound pepperoni and 2 diced roma tomatoes).

Bake at 425 degrees for about 20-30 minutes, or until edges of crust are golden brown and the cheese is very melted and toppings are cooked and browned. 

Remove from the oven and run a metal spatula all around the edge of the pan to loosen any stuck parts. Carefully use the spatula to move the pizza out of the pan and onto a cutting surface. Cut with a pizza cutter into slices and enjoy.

Makes 8 servings

Such a nice, chewy, tender crust.
That's a piece of burned pepperoni on top there.

Mini Carrot Cake Whoopie Pies

Mini Carrot Cake Whoopie Pie with Cream Cheese Frosting

This is my first attempt at these. It's a dry run for one of the whoopie pies I plan to make for my friend's wedding next month. I need to tweak it a little, but basically, they taste just like I wanted them to: tender little carrot cakes sandwiching smooth and sweet cream cheese frosting. It's two bites of deliciousness.
I don't even think I need to say anything else about them, except that they're just what I was going for. Whew!

Mini Carrot Cake Whoopie Pies with Cream Cheese Frosting

Cookie Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 1/4 cups shredded coconut
• 1 cup finely grated carrots
• 1/2 cup crushed pineapple, drained
• 1/4 cup pecans, finely chopped

Frosting Ingredients:

• 1 8 oz. package cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 pound (about 3 3/4 cups) powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract 

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. On the back of a sheet of parchment paper, trace 1 1/4 inch circles about 2 inches apart. Place parchment, drawing side down, on a baking sheet. Set aside.

Cream butter and sugars. Beat in the egg. Add flour, soda, salt, and cinnamon. Mix well. Add coconut, carrots, pineapple and nuts and mix just until incorporated. Transfer dough/batter to a large piping bag fitted with a large round tip. Squeeze about 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoon blobs of dough into each circle. I ended up squeezing enough so that the dough was within about 1/8 of the circle's edge.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 6-7 minutes, or until edges start to brown. Slide parchment onto a cooling rack and then remove cookies to the rack to cool completely. Be careful; the bottoms are a bit sticky.

For the frosting, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the butter and beat again until smooth. Add the vanilla and powdered sugar. Mix on low to start off with, so the powdered sugar doesn't explode out of the bowl. Once the sugar is incorporated, beat until thick and creamy.

After cookies have cooled completely, sandwich about 1 teaspoon or so of cream cheese frosting between two cookies.

Store, lightly covered, in the refrigerator, until ready to serve. Refrigerate leftovers as well.

Makes about 50 mini whoopie pies (I think)

Mini Vanilla Bean Whoopie Pies

(Mini) Vanilla Bean Whoopie Pie

I wanted to make a vanilla whoopie pie that tastes just like a vanilla cupcake, and I think I did it. The cookies are about the size of a Nilla Wafer cookie, but they're soft, like a cupcake. These are super sweet due to the buttercream frosting in the middle, but that's what I was going for. If you want something less sweet, you might want to consider filling these with Mascarpone Whipped Cream Frosting. I think that would taste fabulous. The main reason I did buttercream in these is because they're for a friend's wedding, and the groom requested white cupcakes with buttercream. So there you go. I'm hoping these work, but I figure I'm safe because it was the groom's request, not the bride's. Plus she's such an awesome person, he'll just be happy to be marrying her that day. Right?
At any rate, this is a solid vanilla cake tasting whoopie pie. Very sweet. Very vanilla. Very tasty.
The recipe directly below is a half recipe because I was just testing it out, and I think it makes a reasonable amount if you plan to take these to a potluck or something. I will post the full size recipe at the end of this post.

Vanilla Bean Whoopie Pies (half recipe)
     --adapted from King Arthur Flour

Ingredients:

Cookies

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 5 1/2 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
• 1/4 teaspoon lemon extract
• 1 large egg, room temperature
• 3/4 cup cake flour
• 3/4 cup King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 1/3 cup milk

Frosting

• 2 tablespoons butter, softened
• 2 tablespoons vegetable shortening, room temperature
• 1 to 1 1/4 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 tablespoon vanilla bean paste
• 1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons milk

Instructions:
Draw 1 1/4 inch circles, 2 inches apart, on the bottom of a piece of parchment paper and place on a baking sheet. Set aside.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Mix the flours in a small bowl and set aside. Cream together the sugar and butter until fluffy. Add baking powder, salt, vanilla bean paste, and almond and lemon extracts. Add the egg white and beat until incorporated. Then add the yolk and beat until incorporated. Add about 1/3 of the flour and mix until incorporated. Add 1/2 the milk and mix until incorporated. Repeat with remaining flour and milk. 
Place batter in a piping bag fitted with a large round tip. Squeeze the batter onto the parchment paper, filling each circle (see photo below). 
Bake at 400 degrees for about 4-5 minutes--just until puffed and set. Remove from oven and slide parchment paper with the cookies onto a wire cooling rack and allow to sit a few minutes to cool slightly. Use a spatula to move the cookies to a cooling rack to cool completely. Repeat with remaining batter.
While the last cookies bake, start making the frosting. Using a hand or stand mixer, cream together the butter and shortening. Add 1 cup of the sugar and carefully mix until combined. Add the vanilla and 1 tablespoon of the milk. Mix on high until creamy. Add additional powdered sugar (2 tablespoons at a time) or milk (a few drops at a time) to reach the desired consistency. Place in a piping bag, fitted with a round tip--or star tip, if that's what you prefer. 
Turn over half of the cookies so you can put the frosting in the middle. Squeeze about a tablespoon of frosting onto each turned over cookie and the top with the remaining cookies.
Makes about 28 mini whoopie pies.

You can barely see the penciled circles
on the back side of the parchment paper.

The cookie/cakes have no brown on top,
but a little bit on the bottom.

Vanilla Bean Whoopie Pies (full recipe)
     --adapted from King Arthur Flour

Ingredients:

Cookies

• 1 cup sugar
• 11 tablespoons butter, softened
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon extract
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups cake flour
• 1 1/2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 2/3 cup milk

Frosting

• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1/4 cup vegetable shortening, room temperature
• 2 to 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste
• 2-3 tablespoons milk

Instructions:
Draw 1 1/4 inch circles, 2 inches apart, on the bottom of a piece of parchment paper and place on a baking sheet. Set aside.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Mix the flours in a small bowl and set aside. Cream together the sugar and butter until fluffy. Add baking powder, salt, vanilla bean paste, and almond and lemon extracts. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating each until incorporated. Add about 1/3 of the flour and mix until incorporated. Add 1/2 the milk and mix until incorporated. Repeat with remaining flour and milk. 
Place batter in a piping bag fitted with a large round tip. Squeeze the batter onto the parchment paper, filling each circle (see photo below). 
Bake at 400 degrees for about 4-5 minutes--just until puffed and set. Remove from oven and slide parchment paper with the cookies onto a wire cooling rack and allow to sit a few minutes to cool slightly. Use a spatula to move the cookies to a cooling rack to cool completely. Repeat with remaining batter.
While the last cookies bake, start making the frosting. Using a hand or stand mixer, cream together the butter and shortening. Add 2 cups of the sugar and carefully mix until combined. Add the vanilla and 2 tablespoons of the milk. Mix on high until creamy. Add additional powdered sugar (2-3 tablespoons at a time) or milk (1/2 teaspoon at a time) to reach the desired consistency. Place in a piping bag, fitted with a round tip--or star tip, if that's what you prefer. 
Turn over half of the cookies so you can put the frosting in the middle. Squeeze about a tablespoon of frosting onto each turned over cookie and the top with the remaining cookies.
Makes about 56 mini whoopie pies.

Macadamia Coconut Granola

Macadamia Coconut Granola

Super Target recently had their nuts and trail mixes on sale, "buy one get one 50% off," so of course I had to stock up on macadamia nuts. I'm out of Dove Milk Chocolate Promises, though, so I had to figure out what to do with some of the nuts. The logical choice was to take my friend Christie's Cranberry Walnut Granola recipe and change it up with some macadamia nuts and coconut. Good call. Very good call. This granola may not be as healthy as the walnut/cranberry version, but it is just as tasty. The only reason I did not add the flax seed meal is that I didn't have any golden flax meal, and I didn't want to ruin the golden tones of this granola with the strange dark brown tone of the regular flax meal. Yeah, it sounds weird to me too as I type it.
This granola is pretty crunchy and flavorful. It's great with milk and it's also great with yogurt (I enjoyed some with AE Dairy Almond Creme Greek Yogurt). I think any way you like to eat granola, you'll like this one.


Macadamia Coconut Granola
    --Adapted from bonappetit.com

Ingredients:

• 4 tablespoons canola oil
• 3/4 cup brown sugar (packed)
• 2 large egg whites
• 1/4 scant teaspoon kosher salt*
• 3 cups old fashioned oats
• 1 cup macadamia nuts, coarsly chopped (I used lightly salted macadamias)
• 3/4 cup coconut flakes
• 1/4 cup light corn syrup

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
Brush a heavy rimmed baking sheet with 2 tablespoons canola oil.
Whisk 2 tablespoons canola oil, sugar, egg whites, and salt in a large bowl. Mix in the oats and macadmias. 
Spread mixture evenly on prepared pan. Bake 15 minutes at 350 degrees. Stir with a metal spatula and then bake 8 more minutes. Stir again. Sprinkle coconut over the top and drizzle with corn syrup. Bake until golden brown, about 7-8 more minutes. Stir to loosen and transfer to a clean baking sheet to cool completely. 
Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container. Serve as it is for a snack, or with milk as a cereal.
Makes about 6 cups

* My macadamia nuts were salted, so I reduced the salt in this recipe to 1/4 teaspoon. If you're using unsalted macadamia nuts, increase kosher salt to a scant 1/2 teaspoon.

Half Popped Popcorn

So I've been pretty obsessed with making half popped popcorn lately (see Al Dente Popcorn post), and this is what I think I was going for orignally. This half popped popcorn is super duper crunchy, almost like potato chips. They're cracked open and only puffed enough to soak up a little of the oil. Mmm. I still think it's healthier than potato chips though, beccause it's got fiber and all that. Plus I read an article recently that says popcorn is packed with antioxidants. So I shall continue eating this and other popcorns each morning with my grape juice smoothie...and I'll probably snack on it until I'm sick of it too. But in the meantime, I will be happy with my new obsession. Give it a try and you might just become obsessed too.

Half Popped Popcorn

Ingredients: 

• 1 cup unpopped popcorn kernels
• 2-3 tablespoons salt
• 1 to 1 1/2 cups water
• 1 splash vinegar

• canola oil
• 1/2 to 1 tablespoon butter
• salt to taste

Instructions:
Two days before... place unpopped kernels, 2-3 tablespoons salt, and the splash of vinegar in a plastic container that has a tight-fitting lid. Cover kernels with water about 1/2 inch over the top of the kernels. Secure lid and shake to mix. Allow kernels to sit in water at room temperature for two days, shaking once or twice a day.
When you're ready to pop the corn, place a medium sized heavy bottomed pot (that has a matching lid) over medium high heat. Add a couple of tablespoons of canola oil to the pot as it heats. While the pot heats, use a slotted spoon to remove about 1/2 cup of the soaked kernels. I rinsed mine in a colandar to remove most of the saltiness, but you don't have to rinse. Dry kernels on paper towels or a clean kitchen towel. They don't have to be completely dry, just mostly dry. Add kernels to the heated pot with oil (be careful, it may spit a little) and add enough oil so that it pools just a bit around the kernels, but they are not swimming in oil. Add 1/2 to 1 tablespoon butter. Cover the pot and shake until the butter is melted. It will take longer than usual for the kernels to begin popping. When they do start to pop, shake pot occasionally to make sure unpopped kernels go to the bottom. When popping subsides to once every 1 to 2 seconds, remove from heat and set lid ajar. Leave the lid ajar for a couple of minutes because a few kernels still may pop. When popping has finished, pour half popped popcorn into a bowl and salt to taste. Toss until popcorn is cool enough to eat. It tastes crunchiest when it's completely cool. 
Seal uneaten popcorn in a zip top bag or other airtight container. You can pop the rest of the popcorn, or wait until the next day.