Seasonal Potluck: Pickled Asparagus and Homemade Bloody Mary Mix

It’s happy hour Friday for Seasonal Potluck! When Kelley and I decided on asparagus for the month of May, we were definitely concerned about not being able to make cocktails with a vegetable. Well, Lo and behold, you can! Anyone who has read this blog for any amount of time knows that I LOVE bloody marys! I would say I probably consume at least one per week on average. I also love to pickle stuff so it was only natural that asparagus got the Betsy treatment. I read an article about pickling asparagus and ramps together (a ramp looks like a green onion but tastes like garlic). I thought this sounded like a great mix for a bloody mary so I went out and got some.

I’ve done long term pickling and short term pickling before. This time I opted for the quick, 48 hour pickle so I could enjoy these cocktails ASAP!

Pickled Ramps and Asparagus recipe adapted from Cooking Light

• 2 cups white wine vinegar
• 2 cups dry white wine
• 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons salt
• 1 tablespoon mustard seeds
• 1 tablespoon crushed red pepper
• 5 thyme sprigs
• 5 bay leaves

• 1/2 tsp szechaun peppercorns (a friend of mine brought back for me from China)
• 1 tsp pickling spice

• 12  ramps
• 1 bunch asparagus, trimmed and cut into 3-inch pieces

1. Combine first 10 ingredients in a large saucepan over medium-high heat; bring to a boil. Remove and discard roots and outer leaves from ramps; rinse and drain ramps. Pat ramps dry; cut white bulb ends into 3-inch pieces. Reserve greens for another use. Add ramps to vinegar mixture; cook 2 minutes. Place asparagus in a large bowl. Pour hot vinegar mixture over asparagus; cool completely. Cover and chill 2 days.

Then it was time to make the bloody mary mix. I have made a gajillion bloody mary’s in my life, although I have never made a mix. It turned out to be easier than I thought. It’s pretty much everything I would add to a bloody mary anyway. I started to like bloody mary’s when I was in college and was bartending. One of my fellow bartenders convinced me that the key to a good bloody mary is a splash of guinness. He was right. Too bad I didn’t have any guinness today! I also prefer my bloody’s to be half Clamato, but today I mixed it up and went with vegetable juice (not tomato)

Bloody Mary Mix recipe

1 64 oz bottle 100% vegetable juice

3 T spicy brown mustard

3 T worcestershire sauce

2 T sriracha or other hot sauce

2 t. prepared horseradish

1 t. minced garlic

1 t. celery salt

1 t. ground black pepper

juice of one lemon

1 t. lime juice

1/2 t. chipotle chili powder (optional)

Whisk together all ingredients

Yum! The other keys to a good bloody mary is vodka (duh),an Old Bay rim (learned that one while vacationing in Maryland one year) and lots of pickled veggies (celery is so overrated)! Obviously, I did ramps and asparagus, but I’ve also done pickled green beans, pickled jalapenos, pickled okra, and pickled serranos (for The Hubs)

Have a GREAT weekend everyone! Be sure to link your asparagus recipes to our Seasonal Potluck link party, and tell your friends!!