~ Stan's "Hail Mary, I'm Born Again" Bloody Mary ~

Stanford Cook is one of our best friends.  He is also the official toastmaster for our Penn State tailgate group.  He also happens to make the best Bloody Mary I have ever had the pleasure to drink!  Back in the days when I single-handedly cooked the main course for our tailgate group, 40-50 people strong for each and every home game, Stan would bring pitchers of his Bloodys for everyone the morning of the game.  Besides his own, superb, blend/mixture of ingredients, Stan shared his "big secret" for their great taste with me:  "I mix 'em up on a Thursday night.  It gives 'em two days to pull it all together."  This is the 'Absolut' God's truth! 

The only change that ever got made to Stan's original recipe came in January of 1983.  Joe and I traveled to New Orleans with Joe's brother Tom and wife Kathy, for the Sugar Bowl, where our Penn State Nittany Lions were playing the Georgia Bulldogs.  We vacationed on Bourbon Street for 6 days, staying at the very stately and classy Fairmont Hotel.  Every morning we started our day at their Sazerac Bar*, where their handsome bartender had eight Bloody Mary's waiting for us four, promptly at 10:00AM, every morning before we headed out onto Bourbon Street! 

Joe, Tom, Kathy and I agreed that while we did like Stan's Bloody Mary mixture better, we liked their refreshing use of fresh lime juice better than Stan's use of fresh lemon juice.  Upon our arrival back to tailgate headquarters in State College, we reported our findings to Stan.  Stan agreed to, "give it a try."  The very next Saturday, Stan made it official as he decreed, "from this day forth, our tailgate group is so ordered to use lime juice in their Bloody Mary's instead of lemon juice!!!" 

1  46-ounce can tomato juice

12  ounces very good vodka, pepper-flavored or lime-flavored 

3  ounces fresh lime juice, or organic bottled concentrate

2  ounces Worcestershire sauce

1  tablespoon cayenne pepper sauce, your favorite brand, more or less, to taste

1 1/2 teaspoons celery seed

1 1/2 teaspoons dried marjoram leaves

8  each:  celery stalks or sticks and lime slices, for garnish 

* The Sazerac Bar:  Originally the Sazarac House, founded in 1870   by Thomas Handy, is the home of the very famous Sazerac Cocktail, believed to be, "the first cocktail, period."

(You can count on me for a post in the near future regarding this rye-, bitters- and Absinthe-based drink!)

The bar moved to the Roosevelt Hotel in 1949, where The Sazerac Bar and Restaurant still stand.  The Roosevelt became the Fairmont, and as of the summer of 2009, was renovated and reopened as the Roosevelt once again... sweet!

"WE ARE... PENN STATE!!!" 

Stan's "Hail Mary, I'm Born Again" Bloody Mary:  Recipe yields, 2-quarts or 8, 8-ounce Miracles.

Special Equipment List:  2-quart pitcher; large spoon or stirrer stick; cutting board; paring knife; 1 handsome bartender (but any man will do).

Cook's Note:  Taste's best if prepared 1-2 days in advance of serving chilled over ice.

"We are all in this food world together." ~ Melanie Preschutti

(Recipe, Commentary and Photos courtesy of Melanie's Kitchen/Copyright 2010)