Bloody Marys

Your basic Bloody Mary is 6 ounces of tomato juice, 1 ounce of vodka and a lemon or lime wedge over ice...with maybe a stick of celery to stir and/or one of those dopey cocktail umbrellas. A Virgin Mary is the same critter without the vodka. Not the most inspiring concoction but handy for people who want to get loaded but hate the taste of booze....or for breakfast the morning after.

On Christmas Day, when the In-Laws come to visit, I get elected to make a punch bowl of Bloody Marys...and since the adults generally object to the kiddies getting crocked, I make the mix and serve the vodka on the side. This actually works out pretty well since the mix is a nice drink all by itself and the adults can spike it to their own degree of lethality. Without the booze it makes a nice breakfast drink too...'specially when you are dieting and need to keep the calorie count down.

The mix is very strong because it's designed to be cut with vodka and served over ice. I drink it straight because I love hot spicy stuff but you can always tone it down by adding a bit more tomato juice.

Ingredients

Note: This is the basic recipe. Depending on the size of the crowd (and the punch bowl) just add cans of tomato juice and multiply the ingredients accordingly. A normal sized punch bowl will hold a three can batch and serve around 15 people.

1 32 oz can of (good) tomato juice.
Juice of two fresh lemons
1 fresh lemon for garnish
2 heaping Tbsp Horseradish (new jar)
1 Tbsp Durkee's Louisiana Hot Sauce
1 Tbsp of really hot Habanero Sauce
(or another Tbsp of Durkee's)
(Substitute Cayenne Pepper Powder
if you don't have the sauces)
1 Tsp garlic powder
1 Tsp Italian Seasoning
2 or 3 grinds of fresh black pepper
Celery Sticks for stirrers
Salt to taste
Cheap Vodka
(unless you are trying to impress somebody)

Preparation

Mix all the ingredients except the vodka in a punch bowl, stir well and let sit for a few minutes to blend the flavors. Adjust the seasonings. This will vary depending on the brand of tomato juice and how fresh the spices and lemons are. It should be very strong and make your head sweat and your mouth pucker. Remember that you're going to be cutting this with ice and maybe vodka if you are a normal person and not like me. If it's going to be more than 10 or 15 minutes to serving time, cover with plastic wrap (push it down so it floats on the surface). Tomato juice doesn't like long exposure to air.

Delivery

Place the bowl on the serving table with punch glasses and ladle, a bucket of ice cubes and the jug of Vodka. Sprinkle the top with a little chopped fresh parsley or chives if you have them. Float half a dozen very thin lemon slices on top.

Put a couple of ice cubes in a punch glass, add a shot of vodka (if you are of legal age and not driving near me later) and top with a ladle of mix. Add a celery stick to stir. Now you can open your presents.