Last week I drank an entire pitcher of bloody marys.* Seriously, I don’t mean to toot my own horn, but this recipe is one of my best yet. I’ve never been a Mrs. T’s mix person (except when I’m on an airplane), but when I’ve made bloody marys in the past, I’ve always used bottled tomato juice. I think it’s a perfectly acceptable thing to do in the dead of winter, but certainly not in the middle of August. We’re not making farro salads with canned peaches or fruit crisps with frozen berries, are we? (*Gotcha Mom! I skipped the vodka and drank them virgin.)
But before we get to the recipe, here is a roundup of fun links from the Web this week. I hope you are enjoying these “Drinks & Links” posts! I really like writing them, and I love sharing things that I’ve found interesting or that have made me laugh. There is so much junk on the Internet, but there are little gems, too, if you know where to look.
Here we go…
It’s funny ’cause it’s true. So You Want to Write a Food Blog. “I know exactly who you are. You tried to read Eat, Pray, Love, but never got past the “Eat” section.” Ha!
I just can’t with these vloggers. Somebody make it stop.
Wednesday was World Elephant Day! (How did you not know?!?)
Have you ever heard of a sea wasp? Me neither. Fourteen Monsters of the Deep.
Stephen Colbert thinks women should be in charge of everything. “I believe gender is a spectrum, and I fall somewhere between Channing Tatum and Winnie the Pooh.”
I’ve been nerding out to this podcast.
How is it the end of summer and I haven’t had any s’mores yet? I’ve gotta get on that.
OK, let’s get back to those bloody marys.
When I was in my 20s, we used to go to a restaurant on the Lower East Side called Essex that was famous for it’s “three drinks with every entree” brunch special. The bloody marys were really small and I’m sure totally watered down, but still, I cannot fathom how I ever drank three of them in the morning and then managed to shop all afternoon have a productive day. As I mentioned before, these days, more often than not I leave the vodka out entirely.
If you are a fan of make-ahead brunch dishes (and who isn’t?), here is some good news: this fresh tomato bloody mary recipe get better with age. I made the mix on a Wednesday and it was really yummy, but by Sunday it was absolutely delicious. I think sitting in the fridge for a few days gave the Tabasco time to mellow out and blend with the other flavors. I like to make my bloody marys with lime juice, but this recipe will work with lemon juice too, if you prefer. I encourage you to get creative with your garnishes! Pickle spears, poached shrimp, olives, radishes, or hard boiled eggs would all be fun.
Fresh Tomato Bloody Mary
You will never go back to Mrs. T's again. The base for these bloody marys improves with age, so feel free to make it a few days in advance.
Servings 6
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 pounds ripe heirloom tomatoes about 5 or 6 large
- 1/3 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce Annie's brand is vegan
- 1 tablespoon horseradish
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon celery salt
- 2-4 teaspoons Tabasco sauce
- Ice
- Vodka
- Celery sticks
- Lime wedges
Instructions
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Combine the tomatoes, lime juice, Worcestershire sauce, horseradish, salt, pepper, and celery salt in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Pour into a pitcher and stir in Tabasco to taste. (Bloody marys can be prepared to this point up to 5 days ahead.)
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To serve, fill glasses with ice. Add one shot of vodka to each glass and top with bloody mary mixture. Garnish with celery sticks and lime wedges.
Liz @ Floating Kitchen says
Ok, so I don’t think I’ve ever made a bloody mary with fresh tomatoes and now I’m totally wondering why I haven’t! This sounds absolutely delicious. I could go for one right now!
lindsay says
i’m obsessed with horse radish, so sign me up! <3 it
pam says
What a gorgeous bloody mary! I would love it if you would link it up to Tipsy Tuesday at Grey is the New Black – a weekly cocktail linkup!
Adam says
Thanks for sharing, I really enjoyed this