You Say Tomato…I Say Bloody Mary
There is nothing like a little tomato soup to soothe the soul even if it is cold, over ice with a celery stalk and vodka.
Warren’s Lobster House Bloody Mary
I may have mentioned in previous posts how I truly feel as though I won the lottery of neighbors and neighborhoods when we moved into our new home. I understand that not everyone feels this way in every neighborhood, but if you are fortunate enough to find yourself in one such neighborhood, then celebrations are in order.
Speaking of celebrations; one of the things I love the most about my neighborhood is the way my neighbors are always celebrating one another and looking for reasons to get together. It could be a beautiful sunset that draws us out, or birthday, holiday, or for no other reason than “just because”.
One of our “just because” celebrations happened one evening when one of my friends from out of town was staying the weekend and we decided to have a ladies night, pajama party. I had a beautiful Bloody Mary mix that my sister had brought me from Stonewall Kitchen in Maine begging to be made. A few months prior I had seen a post on Pinterest about infusing vodka with vegetables, onions and jalapenos, making a great base for a spectacular Bloody Mary. Having tried my hand at infusing the vodka coupled with the Bloody Mary Mixer my sister had gifted me, the PJ party was off to a great start. Add in good friends, and good food and you have a celebration!
My family is from New England and we spend a considerable amount of time back east, particularly in the fall. While the origination of the Bloody Mary is widely disputed, it seems that New York City may be the birth place of the first Bloody Mary. The nature of the drink screams east coast/ New England, with its hearty comfort food like quality. One of the best mixes I have found comes from
Stonewall Kitchen in Maine; they have a few to chose from, however you can not go wrong with the original “Bloody Mary Mixer”. They also offer a Cucumber Dill, and Peppadew and Siracha. If you ever find yourself in or near York Maine, you MUST stop in to Stonewall Kitchen and sample their wares. I promise you will not be disappointed. They have a farm to table café inside their flagship store which is definitely worth checking out. The good news is you do not need go all the way to New England to find Stonewall kitchen’s Bloody Mary mixers, jams, jellies and more. The good news is, you do not need to go all the way to Maine to sample Stonewall Kitchens many offerings. A number of the local grocery stores carry a variety of Stonewall Kitchen items, especially some of the higher end stores like Whole Foods, Gelson’s, and Pavillions.
I love a good Bloody Mary, especially when it is more like a meal, than a drink. I have sampled my fair share of Bloody Mary’s, some were better than others. There was only one I didn’t like, that’s because it had a fishy taste, maybe there was anchovy paste in the mix. Since I am not a fan of anything fishy that just did not work for me; but to each their own.
There is a little bar in town called the Red Fox Lounge; it is a local bar, far from fancy but they make a mean Bloody Mary. It is pretty simple and straight forward, it is like a 3 to 1….3 parts Vodka and 1 part mix, consider yourself warned. As for me, if I am going to make a cocktail, it should have a little more to offer in the way of garnish. I found a bacon rim salt on Amazon, that really complimented the Stonewall Kitchen mix. For all of the other garnish; I simply walked the cocktail through my pantry and added everything except the celery stalk.
I would love to hear how you like your Bloody Mary.
PJ/ Bloody Mary party
