The cr~A"me de la cr~A"me of holiday party mixes

  • /

The Icon invites viewers to submit their favorite Christmas-New Year's holiday recipes. Here's the first installment.

Nelson Steiner's Party Mix
a.k.a "Nuts and Bolts"
The cr`eme de la cr`eme of holiday party mixes

1988 version

1/2 box Kix (13-ounce)
1/2 box Cheerios (10-ounce box)
1/2 box Corn Chex (12-ounce box)
1 box Wheat Chex (12-ounce box)
1 box Rice Chex (16-ounce box)
1 bag of oyster crackers (12-ounce bag)
1 box of cheese crackers
1 bag of pretzel nuggets (10-ounce bag)
1 pound of fancy mix nuts
1 pound of roasted peanuts
1 1/2 bottles of Worchestershire Sauce (10-ounce bottle)
3 oz. of garlic powder (not garlic salt)
1 1/4 lb. of margarine

Place cereal, pretzels, cheese crackers and nuts into a larger roaster. (For example: 16-quart roaster).

Melt one-half pound of margarine in a saucepan. Add the oyster crackers and stir until margarine is absorbed. Then add oyster crackers to cereal-pretzel-nut contents in roaster.

Melt three-fourth pound of margarine in a saucepan and add Worchestershire Sauce and garlic powder. Stir until powder is dissolved. Pour this liquid slowly over ingredients in the roaster and stir until absorbed.

Place in oven at 300 degrees. Bake for 2 to 2 1/2 hours. Stir thoroughly every 30 minutes.

When the mix is dry, place mix in the storage containers of your choice: coffee cans, or holiday tins.

Plan an entire afternoon for this project. These directions produce about 14 quarts.

Optional for storage for the next 12 months: When the mix is dry, place material into hot Mason jars and vacuum seal. The sealed mix stores for months.

Note about cost: My dad obtained this recipe from Marie Luginbuhl (who lived on the farm where Lynn Miller lives). He made it every December and gave it away as gifts.

True to form, he kept records of the cost. In 1950, the total ingredients cost $5.56. In 1988, the last year he made it, the ingredients cost $26.99. I'm interested to hear from viewers as to the cost in 2010.

Trust me, this is the best party mix you've ever tasted.

-Submitted by Fred Steiner