More Ketchup, Please

David Burtka’s Favorite Pasta Sauce & Why He Makes Bacon Popcorn With His Kids

Life is a popcorn party.

July 11, 2019

Welcome to “More Ketchup, Please,” our newest series that’s spilling the beans on all the different ways we cook for, and with, our kids. We've got some great guests stopping by, to get schooled by their little ones on how to perfect family favorites. The more (cooks) the merrier? We think so.


Actor and chef David Burtka knows exactly how to throw a great party (as evidenced by his new book Life Is a Party: Deliciously Doable Recipes to Make Every Day a Celebration). One of his secrets for hosting? Involving the whole family. As Burtka says, “Parties should be for everyone, and not just the adults.” Which is why his kids usually make an appearance.

Gideon and Harper, Burtkas’s 8-year-old twins with husband Neil Patrick Harris, are regular sous-chefs in the kitchen, whether it’s to whisk batter, pick herbs—or lick egg beaters. While they each have a trademark recipe, it’s their combined forces that have produced the real winners. Like the sweet and salty popcorn with mini meringues, a genius spin on Kettle Corn—so popular it’s now part of the Burtka-Harris family folklore, second only to Burtka’s legendary Bolognese (watch the video for that story).

In this week’s episode, Burtka and the twins bring their cooking skills to our kitchen, to make not one but three kinds of popcorn—mini meringue, curry butter, and drumroll, please…bacon fat with bacon bits. Because let’s face it, everything tastes better with bacon.

Join The Conversation

Top Comment:
“I'm sure the popcorn is great, but good lord, HOW ADORABLE IS THIS FAMILY??? ”
— Lucien
Comment

“It’s a popcorn bar!” says Burtka. And if that isn’t a heck of a crowd-pleaser, we don’t know what is.


The Burtka-Harris Popcorn Bar

What’s your favorite recipe to cook with your kids? Tell us in the comments below.


Team Popcorn

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Arati Menon

Written by: Arati Menon

Arati grew up hanging off the petticoat-tails of three generations of Indian matriarchs who used food to speak their language of love—and she finds herself instinctually following suit. Life has taken her all across the world, but she carries with her a menagerie of inherited home and kitchen objects that serve as her anchor. Formerly at GQ and Architectural Digest, she's now based in Brooklyn.

1 Comment

Lucien July 11, 2019
I'm sure the popcorn is great, but good lord, HOW ADORABLE IS THIS FAMILY???