bloody mary.
When I was a kid, I sometimes saw adults drink them and thought 'eeewwww---gross.' How could they drink tomato juice with ground pepper, spicy white stuff and a celery sticking out the top? Cold!?!?! I was no fan of tomatoes as a child, though somehow I managed to like canned tomato soup: with piles of oyster crackers (for the record: NOW my tomato soup needs to be... well, not canned). But cold tomato juice with all those nasty flavorings?
I am still working up the nerve to love tomato juice. With all of its trimmings. So much so, that I actually had Barefoot Contessa's cookbook cracked open to Bloody Mary's while the universe collided and an email dropped into my inbox offering V8 spicy tomato juice (Thanks V8!). The gods were speaking: it was time.
So I bought horseradish and chopped celery, grabbed the pepper mill out of my holster and poured vodka into spicy tomato juice. Drinkable. I am thinking: acquired taste. And likely, a bartender who has a 'sense' of the drink. This was my first attempt. It takes lots of sampling for me to wade through various brands, recipes and ratios. It takes time to develop an understanding of what is good---and what is not. Though, once I have cozied up to a drink, I like to play around then perfect my own (though you run the risk of being unimpressed when you order them at a restaurant). Which is the case with my made-at-home margarita and side car, mojito and limoncello so much so that it is hard to order those 'out' and be as impressed. My version is just the way I like it.
Bloody Mary's are next, but I have only just been introduced. Next I will browse the web for recipes, absorb people's comments and recipe ratings, blow through blog lists and cookbooks and search out the latest and greatest of bloody-mary-making-bartenders. Then soon, I will come up with a version I love, with ratios I prefer. Here is the beginning of my hunt:
- 10 things to do with Bloody Mary Mix... really? Bring it! From thektchn.
- I am a HUGE fan of make-it-from scratch. We all know homemade jam, sidecars and red sauce is just: BETTER. So naturally my head was bobbing up and down---as if agreeing with Former Chef---when I read about this from-scratch Bloody Mary mix. I feel a gift-giving idea coming on...
- This blog was a very fun find; I have great admiration for those with good wit. Refreshing. And no doubt so is Foodie NY's take on the Bloody Mary: Rosemary, Ginger & Smoked Paprika. Ballsy. Brilliant. Informative.
- Um yes, we love the name of this blog: Fork This. And then the 'Bloody Mary post' read: "I'm the person at brunch who waits for someone else to order a bloody mary first. Not because I want to see who the drinkers are, but because I want to try before I buy. Bad ones are pretty darn bad." I agree. Once you learn what you like, and know a good one when you see it... well, you turn your nose up a bit sooner. BUT you also appreciate a good bartender when you meet one.
