Tag Archive for: New York City

The Perfect Bloody Mary

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It is one of the all time great debates- how to make the perfect Bloody Mary.  Of course, this is all dependent on people’s tastes etc, but what I think makes the perfect Bloody Mary for me is what leads up to drinking it.  This past weekend we went to visit my sister in New York.  She and her family just got back from their year in Vietnam at the end of August.  We arrived Friday afternoon and hung out in Central Park at the play ground after the girls got out of school.  Corby and I then met up with some friends at Tao for dinner.  It is a delicious Pan Asian place with a 30 foot tall Buddha and koi pond- pretty spectacular.  My brother and his wife arrived Friday evening and we all met up at my sister’s for late night cocktails to celebrate all being together.  Saturday was the perfect early Fall day with crisp weather in the morning turning into a glorious day in the park.  Corby and I had a great run in Central Park around the reservoir and then went to meet up with everyone for brunch.  We ate at Sarabeth’s on Central Park South.  As anyone who has ever tried to eat brunch in New York City with 7 people, you can definitely expect a wait.  We were hoping it wouldn’t be longer than half an hour.  My sister went in to put our names on the list as we waited on the sidewalk and came back out with an incredulous look on her face.  They could seat us immediately.  It was nothing less than a miracle.  We were ushered to a back table by the window and sat down still stunned that we were actually sitting down. This all leads us to what I think is the makings for a perfect Bloody Mary.  And while, because of the circumstances, it didn’t even really matter what was in it, it was really something special- horseradish, worcestershire, tabasco, and practically a salad on top.  It was a thing of beauty- see the picture.  So my theory on the perfect Bloody Mary is not the ingredients but the lead up to the drink that makes it perfect.  However, here is my favorite recipe.

Bloody Mary’s

Ingredients:

300ml vodka
5cm piece of fresh horseradish
1l good tomato juice
2 tsp tabasco
2 tsp worcestershire sauce
1 tsp celery salt
1 lemon, cut into wedges
2 tbsp amontillado or cream sherry (cream is sweeter)
Celery, to serve (optional)

Directions:

Cut the horseradish into chunks and stuff them into the vodka. Seal and leave to infuse for a day, then strain and discard the horseradish.

Mix together the tomato juice, Tabasco, Worcestershire sauce and celery salt and briefly squeeze each lemon wedge into the jug, leaving some juice in each. Season well with black pepper, and check the spice level for your taste, adjusting if necessary. Drop the wedges into the jug and stir together well. Cover and chill for at least 30 minutes.

Pour the vodka and sherry into the jug and stir well with a celery stick. Seize the day and serve immediately.

Grilled Pumpkin Soup, Oyster Sliders and a Black and White Eclair

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I love New York.  I am so glad I do not live there anymore, but I really do love it.  We had such a fun weekend, and the weather, although not cold and Christmas spirit inspiring, was fantastic.  The food was even better.  We went to a lot of places, and I don’t think all of the walking we did was even close enough to cover the intake.  First stop was Mas (La Grillade)  http://www.maslagrillade.com which is a new restaurant down in the Greenwich Village that opened in September as a sister restaurant to Mas Farmhouse (www.masfarmhouse.com) which is just around the corner.   Here, the chef, James Beard Winner Galen Zamarra, “feels that the basic technique of cooking over an open fire is the best way to honor the inherent natural properties of food”. While I don’t really understand all that, the food was amazing!  I had a grilled romaine salad as a starter and then the grilled pumpkin soup with broiled goat cheese croutons, bluefoot mushrooms and chives and rosemary oil.  It was amazingly delicious and a wonderful evening with great friends.

Even though we live in Charleston and have fresh oysters practically in our backyard, Corby heard about the oyster sliders at The Dutch (http://thedutchnyc.com), so of course, we went to try them.  While I did not partake in the consuming of the oyster sliders, the restaurant had a great atmosphere and wonderful feel, and the look on Corby’s face while eating said slider- I am assuming they were pretty marvelous.

And last, but certainly not least, and probably my favorite of all was the Dominique Ansel Bakery (http://dominiqueansel.com/index.html) down in Soho we went to check out on Sunday morning.  We unfortunately shared a black and white eclair- I say unfortunately because I wanted it all for myself and then maybe three others to go with it.  It was the best eclair I have had in a very long time, and I feel like I am well versed in all things eclair as they are my favorite.

All in all, I feel like I got the best NYC experience.  We walked everywhere, tried several new restaurants, had amazing dinners and wine and saw lots of old friends, got delayed for almost two hours at Laguardia for no apparent reason, and got in late last night exhausted and happy to be home.  It was perfect.