I'm at Round Top this week helping out my mom who has a booth here.  It's such a fun place full of antiques and artisans.  It never fails, it's always super hot outside and we usually find ourselves with a mimosa popsicle or a cold beer before noon (because that's just what you do here), and I got to thinking that a bloody mary would be delicious too!   So this time I'm making my own and serving them up for our thirsty Thursday, before noon, cocktail of choice.  Say hello to my Bloody delicious Mary's and you need them in your life sooner than later!

My favorite thing ever is when a restaurant has a bloody mary bar for brunch.  You get to control the spiciness, the vegetation to garnish with, and it's just fun. There is no reason to buy a pre-made bloody mary mix when it's easy to mix up your own!  Listen, I have totally bought the pre-made bottle and doctored it up, which is fine in a pinch, but if you have two extra minutes you will see that it's worth mixing from scratch.

I think the key to a good bloody mary is the amount of horseradish and having all things pickled served with your drink.  I think that might be my favorite part, munching on celery and olives while you sip...it's delightful. I have concocted the perfectly spicy, tomatoey, bloody mary that you can serve up at your tailgate this weekend or with your weekend brunch.

The thing about it is, you can adjust the recipe to make it your favorite bloody mary recipe.  Take out an ingredient, add one in.  There are no rules, just drinking...before noon and it being acceptable. Cheers!

Ingredients:

• 2 Cups Low Sodium Spicy Tomato Juice

• 2 Tbsp. Horseradish (Prepared or Freshly Grated)

• 1 Tsp. Hot Sauce

• 1/2 Tsp. Salt

• 1/2 Tsp. Pepper

• 1/2 Tsp. Steak Seasoning, like McCormick's (I know it sounds weird, but it's delicious)

• 1 Tsp. Pickle Juice (you can used pickled okra juice too)

• 1 Tsp. Olive Juice

• 1 Tbsp. Worcestershire Sauce

• Juice from one Lemon

• Juice from one Lime

• 1/4-1/2 Cup Vodka (depending on preference)

• Vegetation of your choice for topping

Directions:

• In a pitcher, mix all ingredients together and stir or shake well.

• Fill glasses with ice and pour bloody mary mixture over top.

• Garnish with all the toppings including celery, olives, pickled green beans or okra, lemon, and lime.

Note: You can also doctor up store bough Bloody Mary Mix using the same spices etc.

Cheers to the weekend approaching and to bloody delicious mary's.