Bloody Manny

PUBLISHED ON: 08.12.2010
I want to introduce Andy Wallack from the blog That Jew Can Cook www.thatjewcancook.com.  I am honored that he agreed to guest post for Tomatoes on the Vine.  If you have not had a chance to properly welcome Andy to the food blogosphere, please visit his website.   He has an amazing food blog that includes mouthwatering photos, cooking videos, and recipes.  Check out his blog post on his backyard pig roast www.thatjewcancook.com/?p=847 .  He is a fun guy and a talented cook.

Hi, my name is Andy and I am Velva’s online drinking buddy.  I met Velva through our mutual blogs and when she asked me to guest blog on her site, I thought it would be really apropos to serve up some Bloody Marys using some fresh tomatoes.

My cooking style is usually a little over the top, and my Bloody Mary should be called a “Yes”.   Does it have horseradish?  Yes.  Does it have olives?  Yes.  Does it have celery?  Yes.  Lemon?  Yes.  Hot Sauce?  Black Pepper?  Extra vodka?  Of course!

Before we get started, a little background on me.  I am Jewish and was raised in a very Italian neighborhood where I picked up a love of food and cooking.  Growing up, I usually got a ribbing from my friends when they hear I like to cook.  Us Jews are not widely known for our cooking prowess, but we are out there…I embraced the stereotype and named my site  “That Jew Can Cook” www.thatjewcancook.com.

Of course, my friends still haven’t stopped giving me grief, and last summer when drinking bloodies by the beach, my version was nicknamed the Bloody Manischewitz or Bloody Manny for short.

Bloody Marys are strange beasts.  A good one is sublime, and a bad one is usually good enough to get the job done.  For example, the worst Bloody Marys are served on airplanes, but on my last trip to Vegas we had half the plane buying rounds for each other.  After 3 or 4, they became the best Bloodies I can recall!  Too bad I don’t recall much after that.

A few notes about the tomato juice:  I recommend using a juicer and making your own tomato juice.  Previous to the juicer though, I went with V8.  It was thick and salty, and almost a perfect starting point to build your drink.  Using fresh tomatoes however, turns it into a summer pool drink instead of some hair of the dog recovery tonic.  Just look at how bright it is in the pictures.
There are a lot of differences using fresh juice, and not everyone in my posse have bought into this “gourmet crap”.  Fresh juice is much lighter and little more acidic than the canned juice, so it needs to be balanced with some extra salt and vodka.
So, if you have a juicer, grab yourself a handful of tomatoes and juice away.  Any tomato will do, I’ve done it with cherry tomatoes, beefsteaks, and special this week for Velva, “tomatoes on the vine“.
As far as vodka, use the good stuff please and don’t get me started on Absolut.  Absolut is crap in my opinion.  An especially pleasing vodka for this application is Bacon Vodka (I think they spell it Bakon).  Pig makes everything better.  Always remember ” The power of the pig”.  If you don’t have bacon vodka handy, you could always stir in a bacon strip or some rendered pancetta.  By the way if you haven’t guessed, I don’t keep kosher.
Here is the basic formula for the Bloody Manny.  I am reticent to call it a recipe, as it is too darn adjustable based on your tastes.
  • Use fresh tomato juice.  You can use V8 or that canned stuff too, but not for me thanks.  If you make the juice fresh, use some extra salt and keep tasting it.  If you don’t go with any bacon (vodka or a cooked strip), then smoked sea salt is a nice way to get a similar effect.  Put it on the rim and you can charge a few bucks more.
  • Since you have decided to follow my advice and make the juice fresh, you might as well juice up an extra celery stick and some of the olives.  Just because you can.
  • Horseradish.  Making it fresh is usually beyond my time commitment, plus you run the risk of blowing out your sinuses.  I add a heaping tablespoon.
  • Add a few splashes of your favorite hot sauce(s).  I go for El Yucateco green habanero, whoa Nelly!
  • Bacon Vodka, or my old standby Ketel One.  Make sure you use more for each subsequent round of drinks.
  • Green olives with pimento.  Drinks are one of the few occasions I don’t go with Kalamata or Sicilian olives.
  • A few splashes of worcestershire sauce
  • Lemon wedge
  • Black pepper
  • Celery

Ahhhh.

  • What a fantastic post; Andy is really talented but so are you Velva. I have to say that Bloody Manny is full of ingredients that almost makes ait a meal. I just might have to try that; I know my husband woudl be thrilled.And he uses real pure tomato juice; that's cool.Rita

  • Oh this looks delicious! I agree with Sage, it is a meal in a glass. Now I'm heading over to Andy's website to see if he really \”can cook\”!!Best,Bonnie

  • Superb first click.Awesome, delicious and so moreish drink ♥

  • Bacon vodka? I think I love you, Andy! I'll be checking you out!

  • Hey Manny! Nice to meet ya.Bloody Mary's are my absolute favorite!

  • Good heaven, isn't this looks fabulous and healthy! Thanks for sharing such wonderful recipe. Enjoy your day.Cheers, kristy

  • Great post, and a fabulous looking drink! Thanks for sharing :o)

  • OMG. How do I love thee… Let me count the ways… Forget it. EVERYTHING! Bloody Mary. The name for it. Insistence on good vodka (right on! I don't know why some bartenders give me the look when I ask for Chopin AND cranberry juice. Dude, I can really taste the difference! So back off!) BACON vodka (do you know you can make your own??!! I did it once and it was good!) The olives (I have a giant jar from Costco!) The attitude of Just Blend that Shit in because we can! I need to shut up now. It's 9 am and I swear I am sober.

  • splendido questo post!!complimenti!ciao!

  • so mouthwatering and beautiful!

  • If fresh tomato juice requires, \”…some extra salt and vodka,\” I'm in.

  • Beautiful! And I don't even like bloody marys! Hubby loves them though. Bacon vodka is new to me- I'll have to do a little research. 🙂 Thanks!

  • I have never heard of bacon vodka? It sounds interesting enough for me to try. The photos look very enticing!

  • This post was a pleasure to read. Can't wait to check out Andy's site. Thanks for introducing us to him Velva!

  • Nice to meet you Andy. Looking forward to visiting your blog. Your drink looks refreshing and delicious. I have several friends who are Jewish and none of them cook…lol

  • Your drink looks delicious. I haven't made homemade tomato juice in years (even though we had a glut of home-grown maters last year). You have inspired me to think about making some this year. As I recall it was super easy to make and my hubby loved it; and now I'm wondering why I haven't been making it. Thanks for the inspiration and the luscious looking drink.

  • Gorgeous photos and this post makes me want to get all into a juice-making frenzy! How is it bacon vodka had escaped my attention until now? Thanks for introducing us to your friend, Velva! Must go check out his blog – especially that pig roast post – right now!

  • the photos are beautiful…looks really nice

  • Such a gorgeous drink! I love the look of that salt on the rim. I can imagine the fresh squeezed tomato juice made this crazy good!

  • Thanks so much for coming to visit me! Got a love a fellow food lover … now following … :)foodfloozie.blogspot.com

  • Pleased to make your acquaintance! What a specail post – hilarious and v interesting 🙂 I love a Bloody Mary.

  • Oh my gosh. I want one now and it's way past bedtime.Great idea to use fresh tomatoes since I have them coming out my ears right now. And I agree that a quality vodka must be used. However, I'm with you on airplane bloody marys…. they get the job done.I'm liking this Bloody Manny recipe and saving it for when I get together with MY drinking buddy….LOL

  • That is the most gorgeous Bloody Mary, er, MANNY I've ever seen. 🙂

  • My husband likes Bloody Marys with enough horseradish that the celery stands straight up in the middle of the glass.This one looks so yummy that I may have to try it, even though I'm usually a \”just a glass of wine for me\” person. Besides–your Bloody Manny looks downright healthy. A girl can't get too many vitamins, right?

  • A wonderful and refreshing Bloody Mary! I'll have one with lots of Tabasco, please.Cheers,Rosa

  • A fabulous cocktail! Thank you for introducing Andy to us!

  • Your shot of that drink against the pool is fabulous! Worth being featured in Gourmet mag if it was still around! Now I realize I have been missing out on a good bloody mary! Darn

  • That is a gorgeous bloody mary – beautiful photos

  • Oh yum!! I love Bloody Mary's so this is right up my alley… And I NEED to get my hands on some bacon vodka!!Sues

  • looks great and your right great photography Rebecca

  • I wanted to thank everybody for your wonderful comments, and for stopping by my site. I'm glad you enjoyed it (but not as much as I did while drinking 1 or 7 of them!).I especially wanted to thank Velva for being so gracious as to offer me a shot at writing something fun for you!Hope to see you soon, and happy drinking!Andy

  • Hey Andy, your'e too funny and honest-that's refreshing. I would never normally say something like this, but I grew up in a predominantly Jewish neighborhood and we kind of felt like our very lovely Jewish neighbors didn't cook very well. It's strange though, b/c some traditional Jewish foods are awesome. I just never saw them grace the table at my friends' houses-more microwave and mainstream yucky stuff seemed to be what was eaten…Anyway, your Bloody Mary looks awesome, and I believe that you can cook (smile)!p.s. My Cauldron Boy is Jewish, and he makes fun of Jewish people for their food too. So i don't think I'm being a bigot or anything. Gosh, I hope not!Great post, Velva…

  • Oops, I mean 'Bloody Manny'!

  • Andy – Stella – you two make a good pair! What a great recipe, beautiful beautiful photos and the recipe is to die for… horseradish – and bacon vodka??/ Never heard of that – but I want some. I might just special order it. What is the label? We have Ceaser here. The Clamato juice is also a deadly combination with vodka… and the spices.:)Valerie

  • @Val,Someone reminded me about clamato, and that sounds like something I need to try soon. The brand of vodka is Bakon, which is probably crappy vodka (below Absolut grade) tarted up with some bacon. I may have to make my own one day starting with the good stuff, I hear its not too hard.I believe my Jewish Wedding Soup episode (is it 3?) may feature me doing a shot of it towards the end…@Stella,Some Jewish food is pretty darn good, but there are a lot of cultures with a serious edge. In general food just didn't seem as big a deal to my family as it did my friends families. I am sure this has something to do with the passion to continuously evolve the art. No worries about bigotry, especially if you've seen some of the comments I had to moderate out….BTW cool name, my grandmother's name was Stella!–Andy

  • I am so excited to add your blog to my read list – this drink sounds so good, I'm fiending for it now. And your photos are fantastic. Can't wait to read more.

  • what a great guest post…I love your writing style and I love that cocktail!! You have a new friend!

  • There is nothing like a fully decked out bloody mary for me. This one looks fantastic and I love having all these new ideas for additions!

  • For too long I do not see tomatoes so beautiful, I must find some beautiful way.

  • Great post, Andy! How many tomatoes do you have to juice for one drink? The photos are great, good job.

  • @LaDiva,I used about half of the tomatoes in the picture, so I would say 6 medium size ones. I think a pint of grape tomatoes makes about a glass or two at best…@Lori,Many have reminded me of clamato…I need to give that a shot one of these days. Don't know how well it will play with others though 🙂

  • Look so yummy and refreshing!!Cheers,Lia.

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