Bloody
Marys Repurposed…From Bottoms Up to Bowls Up
 |
| Bloody Marys Mama Caruso Style |
I
love leftovers. In fact, when I put together a meal I am always planning and plotting
the leftover potential – which is really important since I don’t know how to
cook for less than 10-15 people – even though my family currently consists of
three people. If you were to come to my home on most days, you would find some
of the most elaborate and fantastic leftovers just waiting for me to pull out
of the fridge. I love leftovers.
Some
of my favorites include cold meatloaf, cold anything from Thanksgiving, cold pizza,
cold spaghetti sandwiches and today, I had the most incredible cold corned
beef. My husband gave me a cast iron Dutch oven last year and while I have
cooked many delicious meals in it, none have been as great as the corned beef
brisket I made in there a few days ago. Usually I cook the corned beef brisket
in a crock pot, but I was rushed and thought I would try it in the Dutch oven. I have never tasted a better corned beef, it
was amazing…but even better was the leftover options. I had to say goodbye to
the final bite today…sadly.
I
can’t remember a time in my life when I didn’t LOVE leftovers. Now about a year
ago when I started hearing the term “repurposed” when referring to leftovers, I
was really offended because I don’t want anyone to touch my leftovers – I want
to savor them in their original, pristine state. Period. I don’t want my leftovers transformed,
elevated, reconstructed, deconstructed, or repurposed. I want my leftovers cold
and abundant…that is until just a few weeks ago.
I
belong to a book group that operates under the theme of “we read to eat” which
means that we cook a meal each month that resonates with the theme of the book.
It is a great concept and has served us well for over eight years. We select
books based on the eating possibilities which are what got us to the book “The
Lobster Chronicles” many years ago. While the book was not my favorite, the
lobster fest that we had hosted at my house was so popular it became an annual
tradition for our January meeting. This year we picked a book from a culture
that is known for its bland food traditions and just overrode our “rules” and
served lobster in lieu of the book’s theme.
Cooking
for me is a lot about the presentation and I decided to serve a large bowl of
Bloody Mary mix with large skewers of veggies for those who wanted something
festive and an alternative to the Boston-based beer I was serving. I made the
bowl of Bloody Mary mix without alcohol or ice so that I could make it ahead of
time, allow the veggies to marinate a little and let my guests do their own
mixing with their choice of alcohol or no alcohol, selecting veggies to add to
their glasses. Fun, festive, flexible and interactive – something that you
certainly want to offer at any dinner party.
The
Bloody Marys were a hit! However, as I mentioned before, I usually make enough
for fifteen people, we only had six, so I had a huge bowl of Bloody Mary mix
and veggies to deal with for leftovers…which actually excited me on the first
day…and the second…and then I realized I was going to throw away some really
really great tasting food if I didn’t think of something to do with these
leftovers…and quick! At that moment REPURPOSE hit me in the inspiration. I took
all of the veggies off of the skewers, dropped them into the bowl, took out my
immersion blender and voila as if by magic my leftover Bloody Mary mix was
repurposed as a super delicious gazpacho. I added a little seasoning and my
family enjoyed large bowls of a truly repurposed leftover for dinner. From
bottoms up to bowls up – I can embrace this kind of repurposing. What is your
favorite leftover food? And, what repurposing experiences have you had? Would
love to hear about them and share them from my table to yours and back again…Mama
Caruso
Bloody
Mary Bowl Recipe Mama Caruso Style:
Mix
all of the ingredients in a large bowl and increase amounts for your own taste
1 liter of Mr. & Mrs. T Original
Bloody Mary Mix
1 liter of Mr. & Mrs. Spicy
Bloody Mary Mix
2 - 5.5 ounce cans of V8 juice
2 - 5.5 ounce cans of V8 Spicy Hot
2 lemons squeezed into the bowl
1 tablespoon of Worcestershire Sauce
3-4 dashes of hot sauce
1 -2 teaspoons of freshly ground
pepper
The
Veggies:
6-8 green onions, washed and cleaned
of wilted or damaged greens
6-8 celery stalks cut in half
lengthwise
3-4 cucumbers peeled, quartered and cut
lengthwise
Stand
the veggies upright in the bowl in the mix
Skewers:
Using
8-12 inch skewers
Alternate black olives, green
olives, pepperocinis
Alternate pickled mushrooms, green,
yellow or red bell peppers cut into 8ths,
1/3 of
a bread and butter pickle spear
Put a small lemon or lime wedge on
either sides of the veggies to hold
everything in
place, lemons and limes also add color and a nice punch of
flavor too.
Stand
the skewers upright so that the veggies and pickles are in the mix in the bowl.
Sprinkle
fresh ground pepper over everything
Feel
free to use your imagination, add other veggies and pickles to taste.
Make
ahead of time, keep in the fridge until ready to serve, serve with a ladle into
glasses large enough to hold one or two of the skewers, some ice, the mix and
some vodka if desired.
To
Repurpose:
Take the veggies off of all of the
skewers and put in mix.
Add any veggies desired to balance
out the mix
Pulse the immersion blender, or
pulse in a food processor to a thick consistency
for a soup with some texture, or liquefy for more of a
smooth texture.
Sprinkle ground pepper on top
Serve cold with popcorn or croutons
on top.
From my table to yours...Mama Caruso
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