"bloody mary" news and stories

Pour yourself a good Bloody this weekend, with a little help from "Top Chef" judge (and KitchenDaily expert) Gail Simmons. Never one to shy away from a little heat, Gail gives her cocktail a healthy dose of horseradish, and adds pickled onions and green beans for an extra shot of tart flavor. It's almost Saturday-brunch time. Get mixing.

Recipe for Gail Simmon's Spicy Bloody Mary with Pickled Vegetables

Happy Bloody Mary Day!

You may have woken up with a headache after celebrating the New Year last night (and, consequently, National Champagne Day).

But the queen of all hangover drinks, the Bloody Mary should amend things properly! The tomato juice snaps the body back into shape by providing a variety of vitamins and nutrients to combat the damages of excessive alcohol consumption, and with the addition of Worcerstershire sauce, Tabasco and other seasonings, it's just a delicious quaff. Substitute tequila for a Bloody Maria, or if you prefer the drink without liquor, a Virgin Mary (or "Contrary Mary") is equally potable.

The saucy elixir dates back to 1921, when bartender Fernand Petiot served its originator at Harry's Bar in Paris, before moving to the United States and creating a spicier version with the addition of Tabasco in 1933 at the Regis Bar in New York. And thus the brunchtime hair of the dog was born. Cheers!

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The worst hangover I ever had was on a cruise ship that had docked overnight in Bordeaux on its way up the Atlantic coast to Normandy. Instead of meeting my friend for breakfast as planned, I staggered off the ship at 11 to die on the streets of France's second-largest city. (The last thing I remember from the night before was singing La Vie En Rose -- in French --to a captivated audience in the Silver Wind's karaoke lounge.) Unable to carry on, I leaned up against a glass phone booth, and in a weird twist of fate, found myself staring straight inside at my French friend, who was in the process of trying to call me. I explained what had happened, and he wasted no time in saying, "Honey, you need grease," before he whisked me off to La Tupina for oil-soaked rotisserie chicken and thick-cut fries. I not only lived to tell this story but went on to sing Piaf in the lounge again that night -- this time, Je Ne Regrette Rien.

If you're about to have one of the worst hangovers of your life, you'd better bone up on the following sure-fire cures. Understand, though, that this is simply my folk wisdom culled from decades of experience. As for pills and vitamins, I know nothing of those things. I believe hangovers are cured with a combination of food, drink and exercise. But mostly food:

Eat something. My friend was right. Have a burger or something fried. But get something full of cholesterol into your stomach, pronto.
Try this Recipe: Marcus Samuelsson's Chorizo Slider Burger

Eat something at a restaurant with a sympathetic chef. At Donatella, in Manhattan's Meatpacking district, Donatella Arpia serves a hangover pizza for weekend brunch that combines sausage, lardo, mozzarella and pecorino. Yes, Ms. Arpaia understands that, in addition to grease, cheese and bread are the next best hope for a cure.

Go heavy on the salt and spice. Michael Ginor, of Lola, in Great Neck, NY, suggests the traditional Thai dish Pad Kee Mao (Drunken Noodles) to get you up to snuff again. If you can't make it to his Long Island restaurant, you can try whipping up this recipe (courtesy of the New York Times) at home. (Good luck doing this with a hangover; maybe have it ready to go the night before.)
Try these recipes: Thai Spicy Peanut Sauce with Poached Chicken ; Pad Thai

Whether you're having guests for brunch or just nursing a hangover alone, the Bloody Mary is without a doubt the quintessential brunch drink. What we know today as the Bloody Mary actually started off as a simple tomato juice and vodka drink without all the seasonings. Try mixing up equal parts vodka (gin and aquavit also work well) and tomato water as a nod to the Mary's origins without all the trash. If you're pressed for time, tomato water can be as simple as opening a can of tomatoes and draining off the liquid or taking fresh tomato purée and straining the liquid through a fine sieve. Mix the vodka and tomato water over ice in your Boston shaker, pouring the mixture from glass to metal tin until chilled and thoroughly mixed (or shake if you don't mind a little foaminess). Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. If you can't resist adding more, perhaps rim the edge with smoked salt, celery salt, or a chunky salt-and-pepper mix and add a lemon wheel for garnish.

If coffee is the only way to start your day, you must try a cocktail that goes by a variety of names -- Espresso Martini, Vodka Espresso, and Pharmaceutical Stimulant. Supposedly it was created by a bartender in London after a customer asked him for a cocktail that would wake 'em up and screw 'em up.

Recipes after the jump...

Each Thursday, we round up a selection of scrumptious links from our friends over at YumSugar. Here's what they've got cooking this week:

• State Fairs should be called Fried Fairs -- test your local festival knowledge.
• Lamb Jam, mint not required.
• Why stop at one bloody mary? Build a whole bar!
• Summer is sweeter with corn.
• German potato salad's got nothing on these fingerlings.
• Are Ben & Jerry conning us during National Ice Cream Month?
• Zucchini crostini -- say that five times fast!