Another Snowy Day, Bloody Marys & Infused Vodka

Snow on snow on snow!
So, we’re stuck in the house on another snowy day.  This time coming to us from Winter Storm Linus at a rate of 1 - 2 inches an hour.  It’s not so bad though.  I like the board game playing, reading and movie marathons that come from a day like this.

One of my favorite snow day lunches is grilled cheese and tomato soup.  But wouldn’t you know it, we don’t have any tomato soup in the pantry, nor do we have the ingredients I need to whip some up.  So today I’ll make do with Bloody Marys. Hey, it’s not like we’re going anywhere anyway, right?

A completely home crafted Bloody Mary is great! Fresh (or summer canned) tomatoes blended with horseradish, hot sauce, lemon and all the right spices is not too difficult and great to customize.  However, that’s not what I’m doing today.  I don’t have all the necessary ingredients (namely tomatoes), but I do have a bottle of Christie’s New England’s Best Bloody Mary Mix.



Source


Even when I’m using store bought mix, I like to kick up my cocktails with some homemade liqueurs and infusions. (See my recipe below) They’re simple to make and, with a bit of pre-planning, not too time consuming to make.  The actual prep takes about 10 minutes, but then there’s the waiting.  


How To Make Your Own Celery Infused Vodka

Most infusions take at least a month to make so I usually make them in batches when I have the ingredients on hand and keep them handy in the pantry.



INGREDIENTS

1 - 1 ½ cups chopped celery, stalks and leaves
2 tablespoons celery seed
Vodka or Grain Alcohol, like Everclear
*I can’t get Everclear where I live so I buy inexpensive vodka.
I’m not convinced vodka quality makes the difference here.

1. Put celery in a pint sized mason jar with lid.  Pour vodka over celery to cover by about an inch.
2. Let stand in a cool, dark place for 2 weeks, shaking the infusion every other day or so.  The celery will lose most of it’s color in this time.

3. Strain liquid into a clean mason jar.
4. Add the celery seeds to the reserved vodka.
5. Repeat steps 2 and 3.


I made my infused vodka using this method.  I would guess you could add the celery and the seeds together with similar results.  The flavor tends to mellow with time.  I make mine ahead of time, so it’s always ready to go when it’s Bloody Mary time.

Not Quite Basic Bloody Mary (makes 1)

½ ounce black pepper infused vodka 1 ounce celery infused vodka ½ ounce plain vodka (or 2 ounces total) 5 ounces bloody mary mix 2 dashes of worcestershire sauce 1 teaspoon prepared horseradish black pepper to taste lime wedge Combine all ingredients with a couple ice cubes in a cocktail shaker. Shake, shake, shake! Strain over ice and garnish with lime and celery (or not).

Cheers!

.. Laura ..



One Comment

  1. Oh wow!! I'm not a huge lover of bloody marys, but I'm saving this recipe for parties we host :) And stay warm, friend!

    ReplyDelete

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