My dad grew up on a farm and popping corn was one of their crops, so we had bags with ears of corn. Still remember getting raw hands from husking and de-kerneling . We used a popper that had a flat round top with a plastic cover with air holes. Put the oil down, put the corn on, cover and you were good to go. I think there was a metal wire that circled to stir the kernels.
These days I use the stovetop, big pot, oil, kernels, cover and it never fails. Many different ways of topping it but I'll do butter and olive oil mix with some Cajun seasoning mixed in; sometimes I'll do butter/oil and parmesan on top. Sometimes straight butter. If I want something super rich, I'll go butter and shred some sharp cheddar over the top.
