National Bloody Mary Day | Bloody Mary Garnish
Happy New Year! Welcome to 2014 and the first day of my National Food Holiday Challenge! In case you are just tuning in, I have imposed a challenge on myself. I’m all about celebrations and so I wanted to celebrate food every day of the year. Every single day is a national food holiday (sometimes there are 2 or more on one day). I’m not sure how each “holiday” got its start, but I don’t need to know. You want me to celebrate spaghetti? I’m all for it. You want to celebrate oatmeal cookies? I’m on board.
This challenge is going to be a hard one, but I’m ready for it. For every single national food holiday, I’m making a new recipe (either an original or adapted from and inspired by others, which will be noted) and then sharing the dish with all of you. For every single food holiday, which ends up being over 400 for the year. Is it going to be hard? Absolutely. But, why not try?
So, to start the year off right, how perfect is it that National Bloody Mary Day is today. Enjoy day one of the National Food Holiday Challenge and I hope you’ll come back tomorrow for National Cream Puff Day. 🙂
I’ve never made a Bloody Mary in my life until now. I haven’t made it at home and I haven’t made it at any brunch bar. I’ve tried Bloody Marys that my friends have made and it’s always taken me a couple of seconds to swallow my sip because the taste is just not okay. Blech.
A couple of months ago I visited Piquant in Tampa’s Hyde Park as a stop on a Tampa Bloggers Brunch Tour I was a part of with a couple of other ladies. Although we were able to pick a number of items from the menu to try, we were each also given a Bloody Mary to enjoy.
Well, imagine my initial disappointment. I was nervous that here I was at one of my favorite restaurants ever and I would have to politely finish this Bloody Mary that I was certain I’d hate just like the ones before it. I would have preferred a mimosa.
BUT, I can honestly say this day provided me with one of the great food shocks of my life thus far. This Bloody Mary was…dare I say it…tasty! I now realize that there is a Bloody Mary out there for everyone and Piquant’s is mine. Of course there is tomato juice and vodka, but there is also a balsamic and Cajun seasoned rim and lots of spices. It’s spicy, makes my lips tingle, and is perfect.
For National Bloody Mary Day, there was no other option for me than to enlist Piquant’s help. The owners and chefs, Rosana Rivera and Ricardo Castro, are some of the most generous and wonderful people in the world, and jumped on board when I asked for their help in this food adventure.
Dip the rim
Pour the mixture
Place the garnish (edible Bloody Mary)
Yes, that’s right. Piquant has an edible Bloody Mary in the celery stalk’s groove. I don’t understand how it’s done and I prefer to not know so I can be wowed each time.
Ta-Da!
While I can’t share Piquant’s exact recipe (that’s proprietary info, y’all), Piquant has wonderful garnish that I’m happy to describe the process and provide the recipe for. I’ve been told by Bloody Mary aficionados that a garnish can make or break this drink.
I’m so incredibly grateful to Piquant for allowing me into their bar area, teaching me how to make this drink, and allowing me to share their garnish recipe with all of you. If you are a Tampa resident or visitor, be sure to visit Piquant!
- [b]Pickled Grape Tomatos:[/b]
- Cherry tomatoes
- 1.5 cups apple cider vinegar
- 1.5 cups filtered water
- 2 tbsp salt
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 4-8 garlic cloves, sliced
- A pinch of coriander
- 4-6 peppercorns
- [b]Bloody Mary Drink[/b]
- 2 tbsp Balsamic Glaze
- 1 tbsp Sriracha Salt
- Cajun seasonings
- Bloody Mary mix (vodka, tomato juice, other spices)
- Celery stalk
- Cocktail olive
- Pepper stuffed with Chorizo Cantimpalo, cut into small squares
- In a small pot, combine the ingredients. Bring the mixture to a boil for 3-5 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature.
- Poke 2-3 holes through your tomatoes with a skewer. (This allows the brine to seep in.) Place the tomatoes in a sterilized jar.
- Pour the brine into your jars over the tomatoes. It’s enough for 3-4 pints.
- Cover the jar with a sterilized lid and screw the ring on. Put in the refrigerator and let them sit for at least 24 hours.
- Pour the balsamic glaze onto a small plate. Combine the salt and Cajun seasonings and place onto another small plate. Rub the lip of a pint glass in the balsamic glaze. Roll the outer edge in combined salt until fully coated. Fill with ice and set aside.
- Prepare juice by combining all Bloody Mary ingredients you have, including tomato juice (can include pepper, paprika, Worcestershire, etc), but not the vodka.
- Pour vodka into shaker and add approximately 10 ounces of prepared juice. Shake gently.
- Strain into prepared glass. Garnish with celery stalk, olive, pepper, and pickled grape tomato.
DID YOU KNOW: The Bloody Mary cocktail is the most popular breakfast drink and is supposedly named after Queen Mary I of England (Mary Tudor) because of her execution of Protestants. It’s often called the world’s most complex cocktail.
Tomorrow: National Cream Puff Day
so fun! I’ve never made one either… Inspired now :o) Emily
I’m glad!!
Day 1, and I’m loving this series! The best Bloody Mary I have ever had was at Kelly’s,in Dunedin. Though, I’ve still never been to Piquant, so now I must try theirs!
Oh my sweet, dear friend Nichole. We are going to Piquant. I will text you to come up with a date. This is just crazy talk that you haven’t been.
Awesome post!!! I’m so excited to see what you post this year 🙂
Thank you, Megan! I had my favorite Bloody Mary lovers in mind – you and Les. 🙂
This is a great post. Love the idea of everyday a National “holiday” theme. This is a big challenge, but I have to say I’m in for tomorrow’s National “cream puff” day.
Pinning and sharing from Daily Blog Boost.
Joanne
Thank you, Joanne, and welcome! This is a big challenge, but I’m all for it! Although, I wish there were more time in the day and wonder how I’ll succeed while balancing 2 jobs. 😛
See you tomorrow!
ohhh… I think I will have to live vicariously through you for the next year 🙂 Cream Puffs… omg!
Hahaha, welcome!!
I’m also disappointed by most Bloody Marys. There’s a good one in Winston-Salem at Mozelle’s and now you’ll have to come up here and try it!
Yes, I would love to try another one out and see what I think!
I can’t wait to follow along on your challenge journey- how fun! (Pinned!)
xx Kait
Thanks, Kait, and welcome!
You know, I’ve never had a Bloody Mary because they just look, well, blegh…I’m a mimosa girl, too. However, if another mimosa girl can be wooed by a Bloody Mary then I may have to give them a try!
Thanks for sharing on the Daily Blog Boost today! Pinning! 🙂
– Brooke –
I’m still a mimosa girl, but I’m warming to the idea of a Bloody Mary. You can too! 🙂
Holy cow, what an ambitious project! I’m sure you’re up to it. You’ve already got my attention with your Bloody Marys (or is that Maries?). Definitely not my favorite cocktail, but I’d give this one a try. 🙂 Stopping by from DBB. Happy New Year!
I think it’s Bloody Marys…? Maybe? Hahaha. If I can find a bloody mary enjoyable, so can you! 🙂
Can I just say that the last pic of you on this post is absolutely adorable?! And that bloody mary is just divine…too bad they didn’t give ya the drink recipe….butttt you are right, it’s all about the garnish and their garnish is incredible. I could do for one of these right now…
Aw, thanks, Leslie! Like I told Megan, you two are the Bloody Mary experts and lovers so I knew you’d tune in and get excited for this day haha.
Oh my gosh, I’ve gone through pretty much the same experience with bloody mary’s (and had plans to write nearly an identical blog post, but haven’t gotten around to my bloody recipe yet). I was always nervous that I would never truly be an adult until I could enjoy a bloody mary. But they are just so….savory. And when they’re bad, they’re really bad. I finally had a really great, REALLY SPICY one, and that eased me into them. And oddly, I had it in the evening, which was a little easier to stomach than an early morning drink. Cheers… Read more »
We are totally on the same page here. I felt like for so early in the morning, there was way too much going on and it was like a meal in itself. When I would go to brunch with friends, I was envious of the beautiful Bloody Mary drinks they would create with all of the available garnishes. Now that this restaurant has opened my eyes, maybe I can like this drink from other places. We’ll see!
Yes! It IS a meal in itself. And actually, funny story (again). So, I started to realize I liked *some* bloody marys with the really spicy one. But I REALLY loved them when my friends and I took a trip to New Orleans for New Year’s last year. Not going to sugarcoat it – we drank for like 5 days straight, and really didn’t eat many proper meals. Zero vegetables. One morning, I got a bloody mary (hoping I would be able to choke it down), and I ended up drinking it in like 5 seconds, and eating ALL of… Read more »
Hahaha, that’s so great!
Deja vu! Best of luck in completing this challenge. It was a great sense of personal pride to accomplish the same myself last year, but you’re upping the ante by creating recipes and celebrating every food holiday. Can’t wait to see how this turns out!
BTW, I love a good Bloody Mary and am on a personal quest to find the best in my hometown. It’s dirty work, but somebody’s gotta do it.
Haha, hi, Mark! Thanks for stopping by to see how it’s going! It’s been difficult, rewarding, fun, and busy all at the same time, but with each day I feel a higher sense of accomplishment. It’s like…Am I really doing this? Yes, yes I am, and I feel like I’m in a dream. LOL
[…] is the Chef at Piquant Hyde Park in Tampa. When I was there for National Bloody Mary Day we chatted about National Milk Day and my thought of making a flan for this food holiday. I then […]