Less talk and more action, this blog has been a long time coming! I am always told that I should do something with my “talent” and sometimes that refers to my ability to string a few sentences together and more often than not it refers to my kitchen skills...
A day of new beginnings. A new blog, and my gorgeous other half planted a mini kitchen garden to add the fundamental base and inspiration for our spring and summer dining. There is something smug about offering up your family and friends a culinary delight which has been locally sourced from your back garden..nothing tastes better.
We had the Woods over last night, usually ends with a full recycling bin of “empites” (and on one occasion me with a trip to the osteopath). The hangover today was earned by my fair share of two bottles of champagne, two lovely bottles of french rouge and a half bottle of white wine..and then there was the best part of a bottle of sambucca.
So a good place to start would be my perfect hangover cure. This is not the kind of cure for a morning where you may have responsibilities, like your job or the care of a small child. But for me, a Sunday afternoon with no responsibility other than to deliver a post alcohol OTT evening, Sunday Roast.
I have spent years perfecting the perfect Bloody Mary and though many have winced at its ingredients, I am yet to meet a person who loves bloody marys to not love this one.
The Kitchen Fairy Bloody Mary
50ml good Vodka. My favourite is Grey Goose, though I tend to use a less expensive vodka as its always lost in the heat of this, but use a good quality vodka none the less as the acidity of the tomatoes will show up a poor quality vodka.
200ml Tomato Juice again the qulity does matter...
Half a teaspoon of Celery Salt
50ml Worcestershire sauce
6 drops of Tobasco Sauce
A teapsoon of Horseradish Sauce (this is the wince-factor ingredient but trust me!)
25ml sherry
A squeeze of lime
A stick of celery & wedge of lime for garnish
Black Pepper
Pour the vodka into a highball glass on ice. Add all the remaining ingredients (multiply for multiple bloody marys) into a large jug. I really do think this bloody mary formula is totally subjective and you may want to add more of one item and less of another and on different days this recipe will slightly vary for me too...however, this is pretty much as good as it gets! Stir well and pour onto the vodka. You can also use a cocktail shaker...
Finish with the garnish/stirring stick of celery and enjoy! Every ingredient above is vital to its success, so please try not to cut corners. I am an all or nothing kind of girl as I am sure will transpire on here. So, if you don’t have everything to hand for your emergency post alcohol indulgence, then stick to the Berocca and painkillers!
My hangover tends to disappear into the bottom of the glass...My other half thinks its a purely psychological cure, but I assure you there is no psychology or coincidence involved here, I assure you!
This enabled me to make a fabulous roast dinner today, accompanied by my infamous oven roof scraping yorkshire puddings. I will contemplate delivering the secret to my success of these amazing towers of eggy delight from my motherland, another time. It depends how nicely you ask...
I am not setting the tone by starting off with a cocktail, I could have mentioned the cakes I baked, or the feast I cooked last night for the Woods..but this will come. Let me know how the bloody mary works out for you. Whether its this week or some time in the future.
Monday, 12 April 2010
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Dear Kitchen Fairy,
ReplyDeleteLoved your first blog!
Strangely, I was still as shocked about the horseradish reading this as I was when I saw you make it.
I was in a pub in Hampstead the other day (called The Wells), ordered a Bloody Mary, and then watched intently as the barman made it. He put sherry in it (something I'd also not seen before you made yours) but then also added a splash of red wine - odd, I thought? It was very good though, even if it lacked celery salt etc.!
Your comments above also made me think - what would you say is a "good" tomato juice? I've tried making Bloody Marys at home before but always seem to get let down by the juice.
J
x
Hi James!
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment and thanks for following!
A good tomato juice is a pressed tomato juice and not the concentrated sort. I use Waitrose Tomato Juice for instance. Always check the tomato content is around 99%! At least 90% will be OK.
Let me know how it goes, I will be serving them at the next BBQ of which you will of course be invited!
KFxx
Dear Kitchenfairy - I too loved your first blog. I have been perfecting my Bloody Mary's for years and have found my favourite juice to be freshly made, either by using a juicer (remove the skin though), or push the tomato flesh through a sieve, so that the juice is practically clear. I find it makes it more of a summer drink, as I tend to associate bottled or carton juice with Winter hangovers!
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to the next instalment.
Dear Kitchen Fairy...How do you get salt from a celery? Loved the blog and am too looking forward to the next one..x
ReplyDeleteDear Cathie,
ReplyDeleteThank you for the wonderful suggestion of freshly pressed tomato juice..I guess I am looking at the hangover cure, where not even us fairies have the energy to press tomatoes ;-)
I am sure our fairy followers will give this a try for summer parties this year though! xx
Dear Sarah,
I am not sure it would be possible to extract Salt from Celery, perhaps a question for Heston Blumenthal?
However, the Celery Salt I am referring to can be found in most supermnarkets near the spices and salts, and consists of ground celery seeds mixed with salt. I hope this helps.
I have been caught up in the cloud chaos and working some non kitchen magic there - the latest offering will be coming soon! Sit tight fairyite!
Love, KF x
I have just read your latest blog and cant wait to try the pea mousse. When making a slightly larger quantity of ham hock terrine, I have found that the inclusion of a trotter really helps boost the flavour and final 'setting capabilities' of the terrine. I have also tried it using the pre-cooked hocks from Sainsbury's which cuts down the soaking time. As an extra garnish, I removed the skin of the hock and baked it in the oven. A variation of crackling and just as delicious!
ReplyDelete