the mehallo blog. beta.

I remember the first time I whipped up a batch of Chex Party Mix.

It was a quiet Friday night and we were watching this Love Boat/Charlie’s Angels airline knockoff called Flying High. It was the late 1970s and at the time the only way one could get a snack mix like this was to make their own.

Well, there was Doo Dads. An exception.

Today, there’s pre-bagged stuff everywhere. Chex makes a ‘traditional’ mix, though it doesn’t taste a thing like The Real Deal.

It has to come out of an oven. And I have my own version. Of course.

The Chex Party Mix recipe first appeared on boxes of Chex cereal in the 1950s. And by the 1970s, it was a mainstay party snack.

The original recipe was a tad different than what is found as ‘original’ on boxes today.

I like to adapt from both old and new, and amp up the flavors.

In the 1990s, I found The Secret of Thai Seasoning by El Lay restauranteur Tommy Tang. No longer available, it was a dry seasoning mix that came in a small bottle. It was also salt-free – and from memory, it was a mix of Thai red pepper, garlic powder, white pepper and something else.

Today I make my mix in large batches – with my best guess for the Thai seasoning. I start with the traditional flavors of butter, Worcestershire, seasoned salt – add far more than the original recipe calls for, drenching the ingredients before baking. The more seasonings the better.

Although prepping it this way, too much salt becomes a problem. Most of the ingredients have salt in them already, so I try to use low sodium ingredients whenever possible.

And  . . .  I also start with a prepackaged mix to add to the variety. Like Gardetto’s or Trader Joe’s incredible Honey, Pass The Snack Mix. Some of them come with great extra bite-sized bits. The more ingredients, of course, the better.

Healthy? Not really.

mehallo’s holiday chex mix

ingredients

Package or two of premade, store-bought snack mixes

Garlic powder
White pepper
Onion powder
Dried red pepper – I use a medium heat variety I found at an Indian market
Celery seed
Ground coriander seed

to make

Preheat over to 250°F.

Mix all the cereal and snack ingredients together and toss into multiple baking pans.

Place butter, most of the Worcestershire Sauce, about half the Seasoned Salt, paprika and some of the Butter Buds in a large bowl. Heat in the microwave until melted.

Pour microwaved ‘sauce’ over all the ingredients, coating as much as possible.

After, liberally sprinkle more of the Worcestershire Sauce, Butter Buds, Seasoned Salt, garlic powder, white pepper and onion powder until everything is coated. Sprinkle in red pepper, depending on how much heat you wish. Finish off with a few splashes of the celery seed and coriander.

Bake in oven for around an hour – until golden in color – stirring as necessary. Note that the Worcestershire may turn some of the pieces black, but they’re not actually burnt. Taste to check.

Cool on paper towels. Eat. Store in something airtight. Eat more.

Variants: I’ve tried a few other Chex-like cereals, with good and bad results. Oat squares were not bad, but a little too sweet. Kix and Cheerio’s are cool. Also try different nuts, as available. Or oyster crackers, Cheese Nips or anything small one can find on the snack aisle. Ground savory, herbes de Provence or five spice powder can take things to a whole other place.

On right, I’m still using my Philippe Starck for Target nesting containers

tags: culinary, recipe, thoughts // Comments Off on Mehallo’s Holiday Chex Mix