Some Snack Food History...!

Since we all seem to like some snack food from time to time, I thought a little history of one of the favorites might be in order.

This piece of trivia was actually new to me, so I figured it was worth sharing! The information actually came from Dan Lewis over at "Now I Know!"

Disneyland, the iconic theme park in Anaheim, California, officially opened its gates for the first time on July 17, 1955. The park quickly became a cultural touchstone around the world. In 1959, Nikita Khrushchev, the Soviet Premier, visited the United States and requested to visit the park; this request was famously denied. A few years later, the Shah of Iran visited the park and rode the Matterhorn roller coaster with Walt Disney himself. (There's even a video of the ride, replete with campy music, available here.) Disneyland bridged cultures in a way few others have.

Perhaps realizing the future value of an association with Disneyland, Charles Elmer Doolin, the founder and then-CEO of the Frito Company, sought to open a restaurant at the park just months after its opening. That restaurant, named "Casa de Fritos," strived to introduce Mexican cuisine (loosely defined) to a world of tourists (and to a lesser degree, locals) who typically did not have an opportunity to experience such food. The restaurant was probably more a marketing scheme than itself a moneymaker. Fritos-brand corn chips were the ubiquitous snack at the Casa -- according to a tribute site called "DaveLand" (which has many historic photos of the restaurant) there was even a "Fritos Kid" vending machine selling Fritos for a nickel. Doolin and company hoped that Casa de Fritos would introduce a new generation of consumers to their corn chips, and Fritos would be the one "Mexican" thing tourists would continue to purchase when they returned home from vacation.

As any Mexican restaurant would, Casa de Fritos sold tortillas. They did not make them on-site. Rather, they purchased them from a local food distributor named Alex Foods. It is a fool's errand to try and guess exactly the right number of tortillas needed for any given day, and one does not want to run out, so Casa de Fritos regularly purchased more than needed. According to OC Weekly, at one point in the 1960s, one of the Alex Foods salesmen saw the wasted tortillas at Casa de Fritos and suggested that the chefs cut them up and fry them, turning them into chips. The chefs took the salesman's advice, added some Mexican seasonings, and gave them to customers.

They were a hit. By the mid-1960s, Arch West, then Fritos' Vice President of Marketing, noticed the popularity of the chips and approached Alex Foods about making them at scale, intending to produce them as a regional snack food. West and his team came up with a name for the chip -- a Spanish word meaning "little golden things" -- and found that their successes as Casa de Fritos were not only replicated, but exceeded. In 1966, these chips -- which we now know as Doritos -- were a hit nationwide.

Today, Frito-Lay sells roughly $4 to $5 billion worth of Doritos each year.

Don't you just love food history? Only trouble is, this kind of history always makes me a little hungry! Now I need a snack!
Coffee on the patio this morning. Might need some shade, as the temps are going back toward the 90s!

Let's Eat Some "Fire Crackers"...!

I know that with company coming over, or if you are going to be the company somewhere else...having a quick and easy-to-make snack to have on hand or take with you can sure save you some time!

No one wants to spend the whole holiday season in the kitchen, so I have a really quick and easy answer for ya! I'm passing you the recipe here and let me tell you from experience, these are REALLY good!

I've made them and eaten them (still am, in fact) and they are now one of my favorite things to make and share! Try them out! I think you'll enjoy them, I really do!

Firecrackers

Things You'll Need:

* 1 box of saltine crackers
* 1 envelope of BUTTERMILK Ranch Dressing Mix (powder)
* 1 1/3 c. canola oil
* 1 Tblsp. crushed red pepper flakes
* Gallon size Ziploc bag

Empty all 4 sleeves of crackers into the Ziploc bag, being careful not to break or crush the crackers. If many of the crackers are broken, you may want to remove the smaller pieces.

In a 2-cup Pyrex measuring cup, pour the 1 1/3 c. canola oil (healthier and absorbs quickly into crackers). Whisk in the dressing mix and the crushed red pepper flakes. Mix well. Pour over the crackers in the bag. Seal the bag tightly so oil will not leak out while you toss the bag to coat the crackers with the seasoning mixture.

Turn the bag every 10 min. for one hour; this helps coat the crackers evenly. You may store these in the Ziploc bag or any airtight container.

* May use Ritz crackers as well.

* Great for the holidays.

* Wonderful for just snacking -- just the right amount of salt and spice.

* May add extra crushed red pepper if you really like it HOT!!!

I have to tell you, this is about as easy as you can get! Fast, tasty, and CHEAP! Cost is so little on these things, that you can afford to make a bunch of them without breaking the food budget! A lot of this stuff is probably already in your pantry!

The only thing I've found wrong with them...is that I can't stop eating on them! You need to make enough to allow for the "snack grabbers" like me! That's probably the hardest part!

Now, my friends, let's get some fresh coffee and sit in the kitchen for a bit! I've got some fresh cookies to go along with the drinks this morning!

Sorry, but I ate all the Firecrackers already!