I’ve been on a popcorn binge lately.

It started with an unassuming lunch at the Waterfront Hotel in Fell’s Point, which is not actually a hotel but a restaurant. I love their “Build-Your-Own” burgers and was ready to blurt out my order when the waitress sidled up to the table and listed the specials for the day.

“It’s lunch so it’s 20% off the bill and we have a great butternut squash soup with a side of popcorn.”

It was about 2 degrees that day so a cup of warm, creamy soup was exactly what I needed. The popcorn dusted with their signature barbecue rub was almost an afterthought when the indulgent soup showed up, but the light kernels made for a great crouton. And the soup kept the idea of popcorn in my head long after my spoon scraped the bottom of the bowl. That night I tried to replicate the soup for dinner and bought some popcorn kernels from the bulk bin. The soup wasn’t a total fail but I’ll probably need a few more taste tests from Waterfront before it pops up here. The popcorn on the other hand, easier than I thought. Even though a recipe for popcorn is nothing more than heat, oil and popcorn kernels, I had never thought to make my own. Instead of a barbecue rub, I tossed the popcorn in butter and shredded parm and devoured the bowl for dinner.

The popcorn spree continued when I saw that basically every person on the internet was making Bon Appetit’s Buffalo Wing Popcorn. I’m not usually for “Buffalo” things but having successfully made popcorn once I decided to tackle this spicy caramel corn. You probably know where this is going, buttery popcorn is one thing but of course I burned a bunch of the caramel corn and didn’t add enough heat because I’m a wiiiiimmmpppp. It didn’t matter because the only popcorn that really matters is “Black Pop.”

You see, my sister and I speak in extensive shorthand. We have nicknames for everything and everyone. We probably have a nickname for you so don’t even ask. Shout out to Gloria and Xavier! But Black Pop is one of the more delicious nicknames. You know it better as Smartfood Popcorn, the white cheddar popcorn in the black bag. The only thing I love more in the snackfood aisle is “Blue Doritos,” Cool Ranch Doritos. I should probably have better nicknames than package coloring. I never buy Smartfood popcorn because I will demolish the bag in one sitting. Shoveling handfuls into my mouth unable to stop, even when I know I have almost killed the bag.

In theory, it should be easy to duplicate the bagged popcorn. Just add butter and cheese to popcorn. But when I went that route the butter sogged some kernels and didn’t reach others, and the cheese clumped and fell to the bottom of the bowl. To enrich the butter that is tossed with popcorn, I melted in some Boursin cheese. In addition to Smartfood popcorn and Blue Doritos, Boursin is basically crack to me. Crack you can slather on crusty bread, spread on a white pizza and turn into a buttery sauce for popcorn.

I don’t know any dish that isn’t improved by this magical cheese. I love you so much, Boursin. It’s mild and adds heft to the butter sauce and adds a cheesy flavor but doesn’t overpower the parmesan shower that I add. The melted butter and Boursin is folded into the hot popcorn and then spread across a parchment lined sheet pan. A flurry of parmesan tops the popcorn before the pan is slipped into a warm oven for a few minutes. The oven trip melts the cheese and keeps the butter sauce from making the popcorn soggy. Start to finish you’re looking at a half hour from kernel to parmesan popcorn but it is better than what will pop in the microwave in minutes. There is still a place in my heart for Smartfood but I will unapologetically devour this homemade parmesan popcron. I’ll share it with my sister while we’re talking about you, Gloria and Xavier.