The countdown is over — Oscar Night has arrived! The 82nd Annual Academy Awards is presenting its awards to the film industry tonight, and I finally have the excuse to make popcorn for dinner!

The very complete Go Oscar Web site should get you revved up with every last detail surrounding tonight's extravaganza. Will "Avatar" clean up the awards? What will "Brangelina" wear? What kind of popcorn should I make?

The special occasion Oscars insists on a special occasion popcorn. There are many yummy items you could toss with your popcorn — popping the kernels in bacon fat, then tossing the popcorn with crumbled bacon and cheese is my particular favorite.

Losing myself in big-screen drama is second only to eating good popcorn. I'm not talking about ubiquitous microwave popcorn. I'm talking about heating fat in a pan, adding dried corn kernels and shaking the pan yourself.

I did mention fat, didn't I? Yes, this popcorn is caloric. Yes, I'll never be able to fit into one of those red carpet gowns. But tonight is a special occasion. And I plan to burn massive amounts of calories while jiggling my arms and derriere, shaking my pot of corn to the rhythm of the popcorn popping!

Yield: Approx. 10 cups
Time: 15 minutes (not including time to fry the bacon)
Cost: Approx. $3

Ingredients

1/4 cup bacon fat (from about 3 to 4 pieces of fried bacon)
1/2 cup unpopped popping corn
1/2 cup finely chopped bacon (from about 3 to 4 pieces of fried bacon)
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese, jalapeno jack or blue cheese crumbles

Directions

1. Place bacon fat in a large pot.
2. Heat the fat and 1 kernel of popcorn until the fat is hot enough to make the kernel pop. Add the remaining popcorn and cook, covered and continuously shaking, until all the corn is popped. Transfer the popcorn to a large bowl.
3.Grate or toss the crumbled cheese and bacon into the popcorn. Season with freshly ground pepper. Serve with lots of napkins.