Cathy’s Bloody Mary*
*Excerpted from REAL CAJUN: Rustic Home Cooking From Donald Link’s Louisiana
Donald Link with Paula Disbrowe. Photographs by Chris Granger, Clarkson Potter Publishers
This is my mother-in-law’s famous (at least in our family) rendition of the classic. I find too often that this drink is too bland for my taste, but this version has plenty of kick. (Cathy thinks Tabasco is essential.) Fiery drinks are a staple for weekend brunches and football mornings.
Makes 1 Generous Drink
2 ounces (4 tablespoons) vodka
1 cup tomato juice
½ cup Clamato juice
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
¾ teaspoon Tabasco
1/8 teaspoon celery seeds
1 teaspoon grated horseradish
Pinch of celery salt
Ground black pepper to taste
Juice of 1 lemon wedge
Pickled okra, for garnish
Celery stalk, for garnish
Fill a 16-ounce glass with ice cubes and add all the ingredients except okra and celery and stir well. Garnish with pickled okra and celery stalk.
His favorite dish for a large crowd?
Chicken Sauce Piquant, which starts with the “holy trinity” of chopped celery, onion and green peppers, and is then rounded up with Cajun seasonings like cayenne, paprika and Tabasco sauce—then the chicken is stewed down with tomatoes until it falls off the bone. It can be served over rice. This is his favorite dish for a crowd: he says your only limitation is the size of your pot.
He recommends having it with your favorite beer or, of course, his mother-in-law’s famous Bloody Mary. His favorite dessert? Satsuma Buttermilk Pie.
About Donald Link:
Donald Link has won the James Beard Best Southern Chef & Best New Restaurant to Anthony Bourdain’s Gold Clog. His restaurant Cochon, was named by Gourmet magazine as one of the top 50 restaurants in the U.S. The New York Times voted Cochon as the 3rd best new restaurant. After Hurricane Katrina, the only thing Donald was able to salvage from the wreckage of his home was a single trusty cast iron skillet. It is on this skillet that Cochon was born. Temporarily homeless, Donald and his family decamped to SW Louisiana, where he grew up and where much of his family still resides. Here he was reunited with his love of true Cajun cooking - as it is done at home, and has been done for generations. This is the food that has put Cochon on the map, and made Donald one of the most talked chefs in the country.
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