Drink Inventor

The presentation of this version of a Bloody Mary cocktail, with the granita and more elaborate garnish, is an interesting switch up from the classic cocktail.  Plus the recipe is quite easy, and just requires a little extra time for the granita mixture to freeze.

Bloody Mary Granita

Serves: 4  Prep: 15 min, plus about 3 hours for freezing

Ingredients

• 3 cups tomato juice
• 1 tsp Worchestshire sauce
• 1 tsp horseradish
• 1 tsp hot sauce
• 3 Tbl finely chopped fresh parsley
• freshly ground pepper
• 1/2 tsp celery salt
• 1 Tbl olive juice
• 1 lemon, halved
• 6 oz vodka

Garnish Ingredients

• 8 pimento-stuffed green olives
• 1 stalk celery, cut into 8 pieces for the garnish
• skewers for the garnish
• 1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice for rimming glass
• 1 tsp sweet paprika for rimming glass
• 1/2 tsp celery salt for rimming glass

Directions: For the cocktail, combine the tomato juice, Worchestershire sauce, horseradish, hot sauce, parsley, 1 tsp pepper and 1/2 tsp celery salt in a large bowl and whisk to mix thoroughly.  Juice half the lemon.  Add this lemon juice plus the olive juice to the mixture.

Transfer 1 cup of mixture to a bowl and stir in the vodka.  Cover and freeze until ready to serve – this mixture will not solidify because of the vodka.  Pour the remaining tomato juice mixture into a 9×9 pan, cover and freeze for at least 3 hours, stirring with a fork when the mixture starts to set around the edges, from about 30 min to 1 hour, stirring occasionally to break up the ice crystals and form the granita.  Continue to freeze without stirring for about 2 more hours.

When ready to serve the Bloody Mary Granitas, take the 9×9 pan out of the freezer and let stand until soft enough to scrape, about 20 minutes.  Scrape the mixture again with a fork to create the granita texture, which is similar to a fine crushed ice.

To make the garnish, slice the remaining lemon half into 8 wedges.  Thread 2 pieces of celery, 2 olives and 2 lemon wedges onto 4 skewers, alternating.  Mix the paprika and celery salt together on a saucer.  Pour a bit of lemon juice on a saucer, and use it to moisten the rim of 4 glasses, then spin in the paprika/celery salt seasoning to coat the rim.

Spoon the granita mixture into the glasses, then carefully pour about 2 Tbls of the vodka mixture into each glass.   Garnish with the skewers, and serve with a straw and spoon.

This recipe originally appeared in Food Network Magazine.

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