It's the kick in your Bloody Mary, a Passover Seder plate staple, and roast beef's very best friend. For this contest, feel free to use prepared or fresh horseradish; go classic or find new ways to make the most of its peppery spunk.
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The ingredient line-up: rosemary skewers, sirloin, creme fraiche, Dijon mustard, basil, garlic, prepared horseradish, lemon zest, pimentòn, thyme and Worcestershire sauce.
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Oui, Chef's marinade calls for a few big dollops of Dijon -- no holding back here.
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Preppin' side-by-side.
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The marinade ingredients all together -- it looked like some cool, otherworldly puddle.
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After we whisked together the marinade, it emulsified much like a thick vinaigrette.
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Amanda diligently zests a lemon. But what, exactly, is Merrill doing?
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The horseradish cream -- lots of fresh lemon zest!
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And lots of horseradish. (We used the full 3 tablespoons.)
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Amanda's handy meat pounder did double-duty in this recipe as both garlic and pink peppercorn smasher.
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So pretty!
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Oui, Chef recommends putting the steak in the freezer before attempting to slice it into 1/8-inch planks. And use a very sharp knife.
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Once the steak was sliced, we "painted" on the marinade with a brush.
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Amanda makes sure the rosemary skewers will fit in our pan (we didn't have a grill pan, so we used cast iron).
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Wrapping a whole basil leaf inside each meat roll is a nice touch.
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Notice that Amanda is now solo -- that's because Merrill cut her finger while wrestling with a fresh horseradish root a few minutes earlier.
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Wrapping the rosemary leaves in foil keeps them from singing in the pan.
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Amanda cheerfully soldiers on alone. (Meanwhile, Merrill is drinking a Bloody Mary as she ices her finger in the background.)
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Just a few minutes in the hot pan, and the steak is caramelized and juicy.
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If these don't wow your guests, we don't know what will!
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A feisty set of ingredients: grated horseradish, prepared horseradish, Tabasco, Worcestershire, lemon, celery seed, dried chile, V8, black peppercorns, Old Bay.
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Horseradish, up close and personal.
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Sort of looks like Beaker from The Muppets, right?
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Watch out, Merrill! Public service announcement: Be careful when you cut through a big, unwieldy hunk of horseradish. Merrill is seconds away from clipping her finger.
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Merrill (who we will hereafter refer to as Bloody Merrill) will be okay. Good thing Amanda is here to get her a drink!
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Amanda sets to work, alone. Rinsing the vicious horseradish stump is a good start.
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What really makes this Bloody Mary kick is the infused vodka -- layers of heat come from black peppercorns, dried chiles and ...
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... a healthy, sinus-clearing dose of coarsely grated horseradish. Yum!
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This innocent-looking stuff will prick your eyes and nose -- but oh, is it worth it!
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Top it all off with vodka, a neutral spirit ready and willing to take up spicy flavors.
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It starts off looking like this...
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...12 hours later, it looks like this -- a heady brew (clearly, we did this the night before our shoot.)
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Now the mixer: NWB cleverly has you pour seasonings directly into a V8 bottle as a makeshift cocktail shaker. First up: Worcestershire!
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Tabasco!
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More horseradish! (The prepared kind -- this gives the drink texture, tang and more kick).
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A model cocktail shaker. [Bloody Merrill: "Yo barkeep! Where's that drink I ordered?"]
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We like that each glass gets a custom amount of booze (Amanda made this one strong).
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Almost there....
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Shake in some celery seeds and Old Bay and -- this is of utmost importance -- don't forget a generous squeeze of lemon.
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Bottoms up!
