Sunday, July 15, 2007

Keckler's Balsamic Mary

I have appropriated this from one of Keckler's Top Chef recaps. It will be one of the first alcoholic beverages once I'm allowed to have citrus, tomatoes & alcohol again. Feel free to make and describe in loving detail so that I may live vicariously through others in the meantime...
  • 2 ounces Hangar One Kaffir Lime Vodka (or vodka of your choice)
  • 1 lb ripe Heirloom tomatoes
  • 1 pinch celery salt
  • 1 pinch Kosher salt
  • 1/4 freshly ground black pepper
  • 3 dashes Chipotle Tabasco Sauce
  • 2 dashes Worcestershire Sauce
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 2 teaspoons grated fresh horseradish
  • 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
  • 3 boccaccini mozzarella balls, for garnish
  • Celery stalk, for garnish

Pierce the bottoms of each tomato with an "X" and bring a large amount of water to a boil. Toss the tomatoes in and leave them for thirty seconds. Pull the tomatoes out and shock them in a large bowl of ice water. Peel off the skins, cut out the stem, and cut the tomatoes into chunks. Puree the tomatoes in a blender and measure out six ounces. It's up to you if you want to strain the six ounces or not. It doesn't change the flavor, just the thickness of the end result. Store the rest of the juice in the fridge in an airtight container. (Brit note: If you don't have time to do this, or it's not the season for tomatoes, V-8 or any good tomato juice should substitute just fine.)

Combine all ingredients except the garnishes in a cocktail shaker with ice and stir. Fill a 16-oz glass halfway with ice and strain cocktail into glass. Garnish with three toothpick-speared boccaccini balls and the celery stalk.

If you can find it, you might want to use the newest in celery cocktail garnishes: the edible straw. The hollow celery -- a horticultural mash-up of ordinary celery and a wild hollow strain -- is called Dandy in the produce section of your nearest grocery store.

Now, the lycopene in tomatoes is supposed to lower cholesterol, but if that's not a problem for you, use a garnish unique to Bloody Marys in Minnesota: a Slim Jim.

To make this virgin, replace the vodka with the same amount of fresh squeezed lime juice.

Makes 1 drink.

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