Happy Birthday to me! Today I turn 32, so I thought it would be appropriate to share a cocktail with you guys in celebration. Especially one that incorporates so many of the things I love!
I’d never been a fan of Bloody Marys for the most part. Probably because they’d always been made with pre-fabricated mixes that just aren’t very good to start with. But once I mixed my own at home, I understood how awesome they could be.
Simple ingredients – tomato juice, fresh lemon, vodka or gin. But the garnishes, that’s where you can go crazy and have fun! A celery stalk is essential, and also some sort of pickled vegetable – I went with dilly beans. But, where I really go overboard is by topping with a handful of jumbo lump crab meat.
Some might find it strange, but certainly not here on the Shore. The sweet crab meat sits perfectly perched on top of the savory Bloody Mary. It can be enjoyed before the cocktail, or let to steep in the tomato juice and absorb the delicious tomato flavor. With the addition of the crab, it’s really almost a meal as well.
This would be perfect for an evening (or morning!) in the hectic Holiday future – Christmas or New Years Eve, perhaps? Something decadent and really special to celebrate this special time of year. Totes worth the splurge on the crab meat!
Chesapeake Bloody Mary
1 cup tomato juice
1/3 cup vodka or gin
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 lemon, juiced
1/2 tsp Old Bay or other seafood seasoning
few dashes hot sauce
2 celery stalks
lemon wedges
Dilly beans or pickled okra
1/4 cup jumbo lump crab meat
ice
Fill two tall glasses with ice. Set aside.
Combine tomato juice, vodka or gin, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, Old Bay, and hot sauce in a carafe. Stir or swirl to combine. Pour into ice-filled glasses.
Garnish drinks with a stalk of celery, a lemon wedge, a few dilly beans or pickled okra, and a small handful of the crab meat right on top.
Sprinkle with additional Old Bay, if desired.
