Sunday Funday Bloody Mary Bar

Today I FINALLY made time to see one of my good high school friends that I've been playing, "We should hang out some time," with for the last 6-12 months, feeling threatened by her imminent departure.  Turns out she's not leaving anymore (a selfish, "YAY!" for me), and we got to enjoy some Bloody Marys in the Texas sunshine before it gets unbearably hot.  It was the start to a pretty awesome Sunday Funday.


I'd been on the prowl for a make-your-own Bloody Mary bar for months, as I don't particularly like the bland, tomato soup tasting Bloody Marys you get in most bars (and there's always the anchovy risk in unknown pre-mixes), but I do love a good peppery, spicy, cleans-your-clock Bloody Mary that is closer to drinking salsa than anything else.  You know what they say - if you want something done right...spend forever searching for a make-your-own Bloody Mary bar!


While the set-up at Uncle Billy's was ultimately disappointing (a smallish tray with three bottles of pre-mix - thankfully one without Worcestershire sauce that contained anchovies - some olives, pickled green beans, and several bottles of hot sauce), I think I managed a pretty good drink.  I had severe heartburn by the end of the first one, so I obviously did something right!

I think I did a pretty great job on the garnishes as well - my drinks never come looking this good!

Breakfast of Champions Bloody Mary

(What I make at home, not what I had at Uncle Billy's, unfortunately.)

Ingredients

• Mr. & Mrs. T's Bold & Spicy Bloody Mary Mix
• Splash of vegetarian Worcestershire sauce (I use Annie's)
• Splash to glug of Stubb's Wicked Chicken Wing Sauce
• Splash of jalapeño or olive juice
• Several cranks from the black pepper grinder
• Several shakes of celery seed
• Several shakes of celery salt (up the celery seed instead if you want to cut the sodium)
• Squeeze of lemon or lime
• Olives, lime wedges, celery stick, or pickle spear to garnish

Preparation (very complicated)

1. Put some ice in a glass.
2. Fill 2/3 of the way with the Bloody Mary mix.
3. Shake, splash, crank, and squeeze the rest of the ingredients into the glass.
4. Stir with a celery stick or pickle spear.
5. Enjoy!

Oh, you can add vodka if you want as well, haha!  I drink this (sans vodka) on mornings where I don't have time to make breakfast and I stick a green straw in it.  I can still remember my new boss' face the first time he saw me walk in with one of these.  Was it shock?  Nope.  Pure jealousy!

As an aside, check out your local Ross, TJ/TK Maxx, Marshall's, or HomeGoods store for an awesome array of well-priced mixers and drink fixin's (no, that's not possessive, it's a plural southern drawl :).  You'd be shocked by how many $2 or $3 bottles of really interesting stuff they have.  Plus, there's usually a great selection of fancy salts and sugars (for the rim of your glass) on the cheap as well!