Saturday and Sunday mornings are reserved for brunch with friends, where it’s acceptable to drink copious amounts of disguised alcoholic drinks and eat sweet carbs like there’s no tomorrow. Bloody Mary’s are considered a brunch necessity and may even be ranked above the traditional mimosa. Whether it’s a brunch favorite, a hangover cure or just an excuse to sneak some alcohol into veggie consumption, Bloody Mary’s are on the rise in popularity. So why only consume this fan favorite during brunch? This recipe is for all you Bloody Mary fans out there so that you can get your Bloody Mary fix any day, any time.
Cold weather usually calls for either soup or booze to keep you cozy. We’ve made the perfect pairing with this Bloody Mary Soup recipe. It will be sure to warm you up with just a few bites! On top of that, we’ll show you how to step up your soup game with a grilled cheese skewer. Try this soup with a kick — it’s sure to be a crowd pleaser.
Is it a drink, an appetizer or even an entree? Perhaps it’s all three in one!
Ingredients:
- 2 cans of crushed tomato
- 2.5 cups of chicken broth
- 1.5 cup tomato juice
- 1 onion
- 2 celery stalks, diced
- 3 garlic cloves, peeled
- 3 Tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
- 2 Tablespoons Tabasco
- 3 Tablespoons honey mustard
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1 Tablespoon creamy horseradish
- ½ lime
- ½ lemon
- celery salt to taste
- pepper to taste
- vodka based on preference
Instructions:
- Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a nonstick pan
- Dice celery, onion and garlic, and saute in heated pan until tender.
- Pour the 2 cans of crushed tomato into the blender.
- Transfer the sauteed onion, celery and garlic from the pan into the blender.
- Add the Worcestershire, Tabasco, creamy horseradish, honey mustard and celery salt/pepper into the blender.
- Mix the blender for about 1-2 minutes until everything is smooth. There shouldn’t be any chunks!
- Turn on your slow cooker and add your tomato juice and chicken broth.
- Add the contents from the blender into the slow cooker.
- Add a squeeze of lemon and lime.
- Set your slow cooker on high for 3 hours.
Dice up your onion, celery stalks and cloves of onion. It will be sauteed and blended, so don’t worry about perfect knife skills.
Heat olive oil in a pan and add the onion, celery and garlic. Saute until the onions are translucent and the celery is soft. Your stomach may start to grumble at the smell of these ingredients. And we’re only on the second step!
Add the two cans of crushed tomato into the blender. I used a Vitamix, but any high performing blender will work.
Transfer the sauteed mix from the pan to the blender. Then add the Worcestershire, Tabasco, creamy horseradish, honey mustard and salt/pepper into the blender. You’ll be able to taste the soup mix once it’s in the slow cooker to see if you want to turn up the spice factor.
Now it’s time to mix it up! Depending on the blender you use, it could take anywhere from 30 seconds to two minutes for the mixture to be completely smooth and soup-like.
Turn your slow cooker on high and add in your chicken broth, tomato juice, blender contents and some citrus squeeze. Stir it up and give it a quick taste. If you feel that it needs anything (besides the vodka — that comes later), feel free to add it now before it starts to cook together. Set your slow cooker for three hours on high.
Now that you’ve got some time to kill, let’s start on those mini grilled cheese skewers!
Ingredients:
- grilled cheese
- 1 ½-inch round cookie cutter
- turkey bacon
- green pitted olives
- pepperoncinis
- cornichons
- swizzle sticks
Instructions:
- Make your favorite grilled cheese. I’d recommend a simple version so it’s easy to cut into small circles.
- Fry up some turkey bacon (or real bacon, if that’s what you prefer).
- Use the cookie cutter on the grilled cheese to make mini circular grilled cheeses. Start at the edge of the crust and work your way around to get as many full circles as you can.
- Start loading up your skewer with olives, grilled cheese rounds, pepperoncinis, bacon and cornichons.
- Run a lime across the rim of the glass so that the chili powder will stick.
- Dip the rim of the glass in the chili powder to coat. Tap it to get rid of any excess powder.
- Once your soup is done in the slow cooker, add your vodka and stir.
- Use a ladle to add soup to each of the bowls. Only fill it up ¾ to allow yourself enough space to add your skewer.
- Place the skewer on top of the bowl and arrange the skewer ingredients so that it sits nicely on the glass.
- Add a ½ stalk of celery and enjoy!
Fry up your go-to grilled cheese sandwich. I went traditional and used butter, cheddar and sourdough bread. Feel free to switch up your bread and cheese to your preference — I just recommend keeping it fairly simple so that it’s easy to cut into small circles.
While your grilled cheeses are cooling, fry up some bacon. Personally I am not a bacon fan and went with a lean turkey bacon :) Looks just as good, right?!
Use the round cookie cutter to make mini grilled cheese rounds. Start at the edge of the crust and work inward. Try to get as many as you can with each grilled cheese.
Don’t worry — there will be leftover crust for you to snack on! Nom nom nom.
Grab your skewers and start to stack your fixings. I started and ended with an olive and used the bacon, grilled cheese, pepperoncinis and cornichons in the middle. Once all of your skewers are completed, you’re ready for the best part — adding the vodka!
Right before you’re about to dish out the soup, add your desired amount of vodka. I added two ounces, but if you’re looking to bump up the booze factor, add more. No judgements here!
Run a lime quarter around the edge of your glass bowl so that the chili powder will stick.
Dip the edge of your bowl into the chili powder to coat and tap the edge to get any excess off. Cut down a celery stalk to fit your glass. Glassware is prepped, so now you’re ready to fill it up with the good stuff!
Use a ladle or a large spoon to dish the soup from the slow cooker into the glass bowl!
Do this carefully so you don’t mess up your beautiful chili-rimmed glass.
Voila! Now you’re ready for the grilled cheese skewers! Is your mouth watering yet?
Place your grilled cheese skewers across your soup glasses. You might need to rearrange a few items on the skewers so that they fit nicely on the glasses.
Grab a spoon; it’s time to dig in!
Cheers! Breakfast, lunch, dinner and a drink? I vote yes!
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Recipe Development and Food Styling: Ashley Perlman
Photography: Kurt Andre
