在经典的派对混搭上试试这些现代的花样吧

在经典的派对混搭上试试这些现代的花样吧

Remember party mix? That random assortment of corn/wheat/rice cereal, nuts, pretzels, Worcestershire sauce, butter and seasoned salt? Perhaps you know it by its more common branded name, Chex Mix, based on the cereal brand that actually "invented" it. Whatever you call it, the crunchy, salty mix knows no boundaries or state lines.

还记得方混合吗?玉米、小麦、大米、坚果、椒盐卷饼、伍斯特沙司、黄油和调味盐的随机搭配?也许你知道它更常见的品牌名称Chex Mix，它是根据“发明”它的麦片品牌命名的。不管你叫它什么，这种脆咸的混合物没有国界，也没有州界。

This is one extra guest you won't mind showing up unannounced at your party. (Photo: Pen Waggener [CC by 2.0]/Flickr)

I was first introduced to it by friends from Iowa, which made me think it was a wholesome snack from the heartland of America's Midwest. Turns out I wasn't exactly wrong — the history of Chex cereals begins with the Ruston Purina Company (yes, the same Purina as dog food) in St. Louis, Missouri. Along with pet food, they also produced animal feed (which they called "chow") and food for human consumption.

我第一次接触到它是来自爱荷华州的朋友，他们让我觉得这是一种来自美国中西部腹地的有益健康的小吃。事实证明我并没有完全错——Chex谷物食品的历史始于密苏里州圣路易斯的Ruston Purina公司(是的，和狗粮一样的Purina)。除了宠物食品，他们还生产动物饲料(他们称之为“食物”)和供人类食用的食物。

The original Chex cereal debuted in the late 1930s, but there's no recorded version of the party recipe until 1952, when it unceremoniously debuted on both the wheat and rice Chex cereal boxes. The original recipe called for a combination of both kinds of Chex and nuts, tossed in a margarine-Worcestershire salty garlic mix. Today, margarine has fallen out of fashion, so a good butter or quality olive oil will suit you just fine.

最早的Chex麦片出现在20世纪30年代末，但是直到1952年才有关于派对食谱的记载，当时它被随意地印在小麦和大米Chex麦片盒子上。最初的做法是把这两种奶酪和坚果混合在一起，加入人造奶油和伍斯特郡盐蒜味混合物。如今，人造黄油已经不再流行，所以优质的黄油或优质的橄榄油正适合你。

Recipe riffs

配方“即兴表演”

No matter what you throw in your mix, be sure to oven-bake it instead of microwaving it. (Photo: RONORMANJR/Shutterstock)

This is one recipe where you really can't go wrong, as long as you have enough oil or fat to coat the crunchies, and plenty of seasoning to back it up. To me, this makes it an excellent blank canvas for your own regional riffs.

这是一个你绝对不会出错的食谱，只要你有足够的油或脂肪覆盖脆饼，并有足够的调味料来支持它。对我来说，这使它成为一个优秀的空白画布，为您自己的区域即兴创作。

If you're in the Southwest, add some Hatch green chile powder to spice it up. For the Deep South? Add some candied pecans for extra nuttiness and that salty-sweet combination. Up north, throw in some dried blueberries or cranberries for a burst of fruit flavor. For a truly elevated take, consider this Bon Appétit recipe made with raw sesame seeds, ghee and white miso.

如果你在西南部，加一些绿色的辣椒粉来调味。去南方腹地?加入一些蜜饯山核桃来增加坚果的味道，这样你就能享受到咸甜结合的美味了。在北方，加入一些干蓝莓或小红莓来增加水果的味道。想要获得真正的提升，可以考虑一下这道由生芝麻、酥油和白味噌做成的开胃菜。

But if you prefer your snacks more on the sweet side, you're in luck. My same Midwestern friend bestowed upon me the recipe for puppy chow, which is a dangerous peanut butter-chocolate version of the classic mix. Puppy chow certainly won't win any beauty prizes — it got its name for a very good reason. Chunks of cereal covered in melted chocolate and powdered sugar don't make for a Pinterest-worthy dessert.

但如果你更喜欢甜食，那你就幸运了。我的中西部朋友给了我狗粮的配方，这是一种危险的花生酱巧克力混合的经典配方。小狗狗当然不会赢得任何美容奖项——它的名字有一个很好的理由。大块的麦片，上面覆盖着融化的巧克力和糖粉，不适合做pinterest值得关注的甜点。

Party staples

派对主食

What it lacks in good looks, it makes up for with salty-sweet crunchy delight. (Photo: Brent Hofacker/Shutterstock)

Unfortunately, none of these snacks could be accused of being healthy. Writes Carolyn Mortell in SeriousEats, "For the uninitiated, puppy chow is, like many Midwestern snack foods, a bunch of easy ingredients tossed in a bowl to create a pretty unhealthy whole that's much greater than the sum of its parts." That being said, if you want healthy party snacks, well, the raw vegetable crudités are on the other table.

不幸的是，这些零食都不健康。卡罗琳•莫蒂尔在《严肃的座位》中写道:“对于外行来说，小狗食品就像许多中西部快餐食品一样，是一堆简单的配料被扔进一个碗里，创造出一个相当不健康的整体，其影响远远大于各个部分之和。”也就是说，如果你想要健康的派对零食，那么，生蔬菜就在另一张桌子上。

Puppy chow might have even more of a cult following than party mix. Consider Naomi Tomky's ode to the chow in Taste, where she writes, "The puppy chow belt runs through the Dakotas, Iowa, Nebraska, and Wisconsin, fanning out into the surrounding areas. There it is at every potluck, picnic, and holiday party table." Her recipe is simple and time-tested, and honestly, I'm not sure it needs an update. Beyond investing in high-quality chocolate chips, you could try swapping out the peanut butter with an unexpected nut butter, or using coconut sugar instead of powdered sugar.

小狗狗可能比派对混血儿更受追捧。拿娜奥米·汤姆基的《品味中的松鸡》来说，她写道:“松鸡带穿过达科他州、爱荷华州、内布拉斯加州和威斯康星州，向周边地区扩散。”它出现在每一次聚餐、野餐和节日聚会的餐桌上。”她的食谱简单且久经考验，老实说，我不确定是否需要更新。除了投资高质量的巧克力片，你还可以尝试用一种意想不到的坚果酱代替花生酱，或者用椰子糖代替糖粉。

Turns out the name "puppy chow" didn't just come from its dog food-like appearance. Remember that the Purina company also called their animal feed "chow"? They came up with the branding after hearing what World War I soldiers called their rations. But past the name, its Midwestern origins are murky. Writes Tomky, "While plenty of people I spoke to tell stories of learning to make it at home or in Brownies and Girl Scouts, the one place repeated by most Midwesterners — from Wisconsin, the Dakotas, and Nebraska — seems to be middle school home-economics class."

原来“puppy chow”这个名字并不是来源于它像狗粮一样的外表。还记得Purina公司也称他们的动物饲料为“chow”吗?他们是在听到第一次世界大战士兵对他们的口粮的叫法后，想出这个品牌的。但除了这个名字，它的中西部起源还很模糊。Tomky写道，“虽然很多我交谈过的人都在家里或者在布朗尼和女童子军里学习如何成功，但大多数中西部人——来自威斯康辛州、达科他州和内布拉斯加州——反复提到的一个地方似乎是中学的家庭经济学课堂。”

No matter where the chow was first created, there is one rule to follow: "Don't eat it too fast because you inhale the powdered sugar, resulting in an awful choking cough." Through many late-night firsthand experiences, I can confirm this is true. And remember, it's not a snack to be sneakily eaten, as the powdered sugar will end up all over your clothes and hands and kitchen. This is one sweet treat that's meant to be shared.

不管松狮狗最初是在哪里出现的，都有一条规则要遵守:“不要吃得太快，因为你会吸入糖粉，导致严重的窒息性咳嗽。”通过许多深夜的第一手经验，我可以证实这是真的。记住，这不是一种可以偷偷吃的零食，因为糖粉会撒在你的衣服上、手上和厨房里。这是一种应该被分享的甜点。