Foodie Friday- The Perfect Bloody Mary

Bloody Mary...the quintessential Saturday breakfast in a cup. Being in LA means I've got lots of options when it comes to...well....just about anything, including bloody marys (don't worry, we pay for it with horrible traffic and the outrageous cost of living)!   I'll take mine extra spicy with extra garnishes!  I've been to several places where they have an actual menu for their bloody marys.  One of my favorite places to exercise my right to choose is The Fig in Santa Monica.  They serve a 'secret' bloody mary, a tomato-watermelon mary, a bacon bloody mary, and even a foie gras bloody mary for the more adventurous sippers.  

If you prefer to sip your bloody mary in your PJ's on a lazy Saturday, try this classic recipe:

Classic Bloody Mary

• 48 oz Tomato Juice
• 2 ounces of vodka
• 3 Lemons, Juiced
• 2 tablespoons Pickling Juice
• 2 tablespoons Olive Brine(which is simply the juice in the jar of store bought olives)
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
• 2 tablespoons Hot Sauce (Tabasco is perfect)
• 1/2 cup prepared Horseradish
• 3 teaspoons ground Pepper
• 2 teaspoons Celery Salt
• instead of a salt rim, try a crushed black pepper rim!

Want to add a little extra kick to your cup?  Try this Bloody Maria recipe:

Extra-Spicy Bloody Maria

2 ounces chile infused tequila

4 ounces tomato juice

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated horseradish

3 dashes Worcestershire sauce

3 dashes hot sauce (such as Tabasco)

1/2 teaspoon pickled jalapeño juice

Pinch kosher salt

Pinch freshly ground black pepper

Generous squeeze of fresh lemon juice

Pinch celery seeds

1 medium pickled jalapeño

Now on to the good stuff...the garnishes.  They say, 'you can never have too much of a good thing'...and I bet they were talking about bloody mary garnishes.  Don't you agree? Some of my favorite garnishes include bacon, pickles, celery, carrots, stuffed olives, jalapenos, cucumbers, beef jerky sticks, pickled brussel sprouts, and of course chopped green chile.  Add a few of these to your drink and ta-dah, you've got yourself a sippable piece of food art.

Happy Sipping!