I’d much rather savor savories than swoon on sweets. Given the choice, I’d pack potato chips into my piehole long before pie. And that’s why I love Bloody Marys.
There—in one frosty glass—almost all of my favorite food groups are represented. Salty? Yup, and that makes the brain release oxytocin, a hormone also triggered by sexual satisfaction. Spicy? In at least three ways if you count ground pepper and hot red pepper sauce as two and then add in horseradish for good measure. Something sour like lemon juice or pickle brine to make my lips pucker? You betcha! And then there’s the base. It’s tomato—at least most of the time—which is my favorite fruit juice.
If you pick your garnishes wisely you can include another important food: fat. A strip of crisp bacon laid across the top of a glass or a skewer of grilled sausage adds additional salt plus fat. And if you want to consider your garnishes healthy, the Bloody Mary and tuna fish salad are the two justifications for the existence of celery as a food.
There’s culinary artistry that goes into creating a world-class Bloody. You don’t just pour in two fingers of bourbon, add ice cubes, and top it with a splash of branch water. A great Bloody Mary has a distinctive flavor profile; there are layers upon layers of flavors that play off of each other and build to a crescendo of happiness. The drink is balanced like a masterful sauce.
Bloody Marys require a recipe. A description is hardly sufficient. Ratios don’t do the trick because there are too many ingredients for four-to-one to have any meaning. In fact, I’ll go so far as to assert that bad cooks can’t invent a great Bloody Mary.
Bloody Marys can elicit snickers in some circles because they’ve so often been identified as a remedy for a hangover. Hangover libations are nothing new; back in the Middle Ages they drank a raw egg mixed into beer with lots of black pepper. We could say that the Bloody Mary is a new kid on the block because tomatoes were considered poisonous until the eighteenth century.
There are many nutrients in a traditional Bloody Mary. Salt and spices replace lost electrolytes, while the vitamin C, vitamin B6, and lycopene ease the havoc that overindulgence has wrought on the body.
Then, of course, there’s a bit of alcohol. But there’s no consensus within the medical community if that brings help or harm to the situation. Many scientists believe you’re better off with the Virgin Mary.
My association with Bloody Marys is not as a curative, but rather as a festive beverage to share with convivial friends around a table. It’s the best drink to pair with many of my favorite foods, most of which are served in the morning or at midday.
A plate of eggs Benedict topped with a rich hollandaise sauce, crêpes stuffed with shrimp curry, or a Western omelet dotted with bits of ham, onion, and bell pepper go with a Bloody Mary the way rack of lamb pairs with an aged Bordeaux. It can’t be beaten. A mimosa or screwdriver just doesn’t compare.
A basket of tender and flaky biscuits right out of the oven begs for something spicy to perk the palate, or if it’s somewhat later in the day, you can’t beat a Bloody Mary as the perfect drink with herbed focaccia or a plate of deviled eggs.
This book starts with the classics, because, as with music, you really have to master those before you can move on to improvisational jazz. There are recipes for a wide spectrum of traditional Bloody Mary mixes, and there’s even a section on the best-tasting bottled versions. One of the trends today is flavored vodka, which is easy to make as a DIY project using real ingredients. You can infuse your booze with everything from citrus fruits to something as unexpected as smoky bacon, and you’ll learn how here.
What follows are two chapters of Bloody Mary recipes that may have certain ingredients recognizable from or related to a traditional Bloody Mary, but that take off in different directions. In Chapter 4 not all the drinks are even red—a few of them are crystal clear but still taste like a Bloody Mary. It’s not alchemy; it’s called careful straining. Interspersed with the drinks are easy-to-prepare recipes for bar snacks, because all sipping goes better with something to nosh.
The book concludes with a chapter on garnishes. Although the basic recipes have changed little in what is almost a century of sipping, the presentation of the drink has gone from minimalist to massive. Garnishes with the heft of Mount Rushmore of have replaced the traditional celery stick and lemon wedge: think gingery pickled carrots, maple bacon, and cubes of marinated ceviche.
Bloody Mary bars are quickly replacing ice cream sundae bars as a way to thrill guests at a get-together. Instead of bowls of sauces, crushed cookies, and chocolate sprinkles, partygoers can choose from five different types of pickles, flavored bacon, and cubes of salami and Swiss cheese. It’s like letting adults loose in a candy store to watch the enjoyment around the table. And why not? Bloody Marys are meant to be enjoyed, especially with a group of friends.
So give your Bloody Marys a boost!
Happy cooking!
Ellen Brown
Providence, Rhode Island