Lifelong Ambition
By Mitch Berg
When I was a kid, one of the best things about the holidays was that Mom would make Chex Party Mix.
Bear with me, here.
For whatever reason, Mom made a bunch of batches of CxPM with a lot of extra Worcestershire sauce. This extra sauce baked into a hard, salty coating around the Chex, making it extra delicious in a way that stuck with me for the past thirty-odd years.
It occurred to me whilst walking through the Worcestershire sauce aisle the other day; “I’m a grownup. I can not only make my own Chex Party Mix – but I can try to re-create Mom’s old recipe. Maybe improve on it!”
So I did. Bought the Chex, the nuts, the pretzels, the garlic salt, and the economy-sized Worcestershire Sauce bottle with the no-splash spout. And I went to work. I added extra Worcestershire sauce. I bumped up the garlic. I let it bake a skosh longer.
And the results?
Totally worth the wait.
That’s my family tradition.
That is all.
December 17th, 2008 at 8:46 am
There is nothing — NOTHING — that can’t be improved with extra Worcestershire sauce.
December 17th, 2008 at 8:54 am
Even worcestershire sauce is improved by adding worcestershire sauce to it.
December 17th, 2008 at 9:05 am
My stepmother made this, too. She ceased being an evil stepmother the minute she wheeled out the Chex Mix. Hers had enough Worcestershire sauce to coat Fridley. Yum.
December 17th, 2008 at 10:05 am
try Tony Chachere’s creole seasoning in place of the seasoning salt for a little kick. : )
December 17th, 2008 at 10:23 am
The only thing better would be to remove all the bits that weren’t Chex squares.
In addition to the peanuts & pretzels, my grandma also used Cheerios. Our family tradititon is to turn a vat of Chex mix into a vat of pretzels, peanuts & Cheerios.
December 17th, 2008 at 10:25 am
Mm. Creole seasoning. Me like.
Might…just…try.
December 17th, 2008 at 11:25 am
Current residents of Fridley were wondering where our friendly coating of Worcestershire sauce went to. Now the truth is revealed. 😉
December 17th, 2008 at 11:43 am
I actually marinaded the mixed nuts in the worcestershire/garlic/butter mixture for a bit before mixing the whole thing together. Mondo yum.
December 17th, 2008 at 12:11 pm
An excellent family tradition. Originally my mom used to include Cheerios (and for some reason Kix) in the Chex Mix and we would string the Cheerios onto the pretzels sticks like little mini-ka-bobs. Good times.
And I agree, adding extra Worcestershire sauce and garlic is almost* always an improvement.
(I prefer not to have either in fruit salad but maybe that’s just me)
December 17th, 2008 at 12:24 pm
Just the thing to serve at Inauguration parties.
Hope. Change. Chex.
December 17th, 2008 at 12:30 pm
This is a Chicago crowd, AC, so it’s spelled ‘checks’. Surprised you didn’t see that comin’.
December 17th, 2008 at 12:39 pm
I’ve got a “Tex Chex” version that uses hot sauce, corn nuts and Ritz-bits mini-cheese & crackers with the other ingredients. Hot and addicting!
December 17th, 2008 at 2:41 pm
My Aunt Anne Wozniak used to make it with spices from the old country… Wait for it… Czech Chex!
December 17th, 2008 at 2:52 pm
My great-uncle Stosh Przudzinski* used to put sour cream and pickles on his spicy sliced-cornflour fritters. That’s right, Pole-enta.
Oh, wait – I bet you were serious…
* No, of course I made that up.
December 17th, 2008 at 4:51 pm
If you like creole and cajun cooking, another option along the same lines as creole seasoning, a few drops of Tabasco sauce mixed in with the Worcester sauce….
Anyone tried that seasoning created by Emeril Lagasse on Chex mix?
Looking forward tonight to a spicy Jambalaya made with a great andouille sausage…