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
- 5Â thyme sprigs
- 5Â bay leaves
- 1/2 tsp szechaun peppercorns (a friend of mine brought back for me from China)
- 1 tsp pickling spice
- 12 Â 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!!
Kelley says
Looks gooooooood girl! Yeah for asparagus and ramps!
Kimberli's Kitchen says
Yummy yummy yummy!!! I’ve only found ramps in the market once this season… must search harder!
Besty, stop on by to pick up your Versatile Blogger Award at http://kimberliskitchen.blogspot.com/2011/05/i-won-versatile-blogger-award.html
Happy Sunday!
Brett says
I tried one of these yesterday. Good stuff. Looks like I’m going to be pickling asparagus this week in preparation for the weekend.
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