The Engineering Mama: Tony's Chex Mix

Sunday, December 2, 2012

Tony's Chex Mix

I've finally cracked the code! And like most things, it was under my nose the whole time. What am I talking about?? Ok, let me back up a little.

It all started last year at a Christmas party in Louisiana. Like any polite party-goer, I grabbed a handful of the host's Chex mix as we were chatting in her kitchen. Then... "Ohmygosh! What's in this?! It's amazing!" She looked at me like I was crazy. "It's the recipe from the back of the box," she calmly replies. But I know better. I've made the recipe from the back of the box hundreds, if not thousands, of times, and this mix has a kick. I'm thinking she must have added a few splashes of hot sauce, or wing sauce...or maybe it's a secret Cajun recipe that can't be shared. Whatever the case, I decide I MUST recreate this party mix.

After much googling and several failed batches later, I still can't crack the code. But then, in the middle of the night it occurs to me and it's obvious how she made it. She used the recipe from the back of the box! I just had to think like an LSU fan instead of a buckeye. In LA "seasoned salt" isn't Lawrys. It's Tonys! Duh.

I'm not even sure if you can buy Tony Chachere's in Ohio, so for those of you who don't know, it's slightly spicy seasoned salt (maybe seasoned salt with paprika or chili powder??) I'm not exactly sure what you're supposed to put it on, but in LA you put it on anything and everything (a lot of restaurants have it out on the table, at work it was on top of the community microwave, you get the idea). It's basically hot sauce in a salt shaker. Well, I made a batch of Chex Mix using Tony's instead of Lawrys and Voila! It was the missing piece of the puzzle!! It's not melt-your-face-off hot, just perfectly delicious!!