Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

Many years ago, my husband asked his cousin for his personal recipe for a Bloody Mary because it was the best we had ever tasted. He sent us his recipe on the email and I've been making my version of it ever since.

His had key lime juice, Angostura Bloody Mary seasoning (a liquid like their bitters) and both V-8 juice and Clamato juice in it. I ran out of Clamata awhile back so I've been using V-8 and Sacramento Tomato Juice and they have been really good.

I switch off the hot sauces and try different ones each time. He uses a local one down in FL that we can't get up here without ordering through the internet so I use different favorite ones. I have a whole collection of hot sauces (over 80 bottles at this point) so I try a different one every time.

Absolut Peppar vodka and plain tomato juice. The vodka adds all the spice needed.

Thanx to all for the Bloody recipes. I haven't had a good one since I quit cruising! RCCL used to have the best ones ever (but I'm sure they came from a "mix"). I'll have to try each one here and find the best. Thanx again!

I, too like Svedka as a reasonably-priced but respectable vodka. The big one goes for $18 at the local Costco. (Or you can pay Jewel $25, if that makes you feel good.)

In this vein, did others see the article in the "Weekend" section of the WSJ that described how many of the makers of premium-priced, designer vodkas produced their pricey masterpieces? They start with a RR tank car or tank-truck load of industrial-grade beverage alcohol (97 proof) from Archer-Daniels-Midland and cut that with some kind of fancy water (melted iceberg ice, anyone?) an arty-farty label, a tricky name, and a price to impress the fashion-conscious.

You know who you are.

I'm gonna try some of the suggestions here, including the horseradish, the Sriracha, the aquavit, the cilantro, the celery salt, and the Clamato.

Maybe not all at once, though.

This is my favorite grilled sandwich!

I used to eat them at Astro's, in Los Angeles. (The one on Santa Monica Blvd.) They do not use Swiss cheese, but as I cannot eat it anyway, that was fine. I ordered them with their unbelievable onion rings...large, homemade, and served in a generous portion.

To make them at home, I'd go to Canter's deli on Fairfax, and get the rye bread from their bakery section, (It wasn't always easy to find a good rye, once upon a time, at least where I was.) and then pretty much make them as instructed above. Mmmmm! :)

For those who mentioned bison, I switched to it several years ago, and buy the meat from a local ranch. I don't care for the pre-ground, so have been grinding all of my own meat since the 80's, and don't find the bison we eat too dry to form into patties which hold together. I use sirloin steaks/roasts the most often, and use a heavy-duty food processor with the metal blade. Perhaps you would have better luck grinding your own, too?

Patty melts are on the menu for Friday....I can barely wait! :)

Bloody Mary's are my Saturday gameday staple. I follow a similar recipe, but I include dashes of both lemon and lime juice, go heavy on the horseradish, several dashes of Cholula (so not a Tobasco fan) and a few dashes of celery salt and cayenne, because I like mine extra super spicy. I garnish with a celery stalk, of course, but some olives as well. Oh, and heck no to using V-8 - gross. Real tomato juice all the way.

@NorrinRazael--Only because when you're using a shaker, its easier to just go from one glass to the other than it is to stir it. It just takes one time from glass to glass to do the job. And I emphasize the matter because so few bartenders do it this way that I either have to specifically ask them to do it, or spill all over when I order one. And it's especially difficult when the thing is garnished all to hell.

I used to get one whenever I stopped at a HoJo's (used to be plentiful along the nation's highways). I've also had some good ones in local NYC diners. But the best are the ones I make at home! Yum.

Yes, there is nothing to add. they are perfection as-is. I do like to dip mine in ketchup however, dipping as I eat. But since the NYTimes expose on commercially ground meat, I will only eat ground meat I grind myself, so good-bye road-burgers of any kind.

The best part of a bloody mary is how versatile the basics are. Tomato juice, liquor, seasoning, and spice. in any combo, with some swap outs, and garnishes it's a drink for all occasions.

I make these a lot. My last one was tomato juice, lime, vodka, celery seed, Worcestershire sauce, tabasco, and a beefstick.

I've made it swapping out the worcestershire for clam juice and the beef stick for shrimp. Or swapping tabasco for horseradish and gardinera. There's just so much you can do.

MAN, only this site can make me salivate while i'm home on a saturday night w/ a nasy little stomach bug...i LOVE gin. someone said cilantro - never had it, but me wanty. i live in williamsburg brooklyn and a spot right down the ave from me called Enid's makes theres with a long toothpick full of differnet kinds of wonderful little pickles and olives. WONDERFUL. anything else pickled a bonus. in fact, two long toothpicks full of a variety of pickles. this a fantasy right?! another place called double down saloon on ave A in the east village makes theirs with bacon vodka, and a SLIM JIM swizzle stick. i will also steal the slim jim idea and include it in mine, instead! so that is: gin, cilantro, spicy and horeseradishy/blackpepery, pickle explosion, and a meat stick. a-thank-ayou.

Ooo. Bloody mary with cilantro sounds wonderful! I love a bloody mary with oysters - not in the drink, as a dish to eat with the bloody mary, I mean.

Coincidentally, I had my first patty melt last night at IHOP. I don't recall hearing of them before, but perhaps this article got into my subconscious. I didn't notice it with my full conscious until today. And by the way, it was really delicious. Can't imagine how I missed it all these years.

Bouchon For 2 - Mel
Twitter: BouchonFor2
URL: BouchonFor2.com
Twitters about: Beloved Recipes, Delicious Photos, Culinary Misadventures around Vancouver.