Karen’s Dirty Martini
There’s nothing like a great dirty martini after a great, yet long, work week. When Ronnie and I lived in the city, on Fridays before putting on “our night sweats” and settling down on the couch for a movie or Netflix standup, we would go by Sociale, in the South Loop for the sumac-crusted scallops and dirty martinis.
One day, we got it in our heads that we should learn how to make great dirty martinis ourselves. We went to Binny’s, got all the things we thought we needed, came home, mixed up, and instantly spit them out — gross.
As it turns out, they are harder to make than you would think. Which is why we turned to our friends, The Dawsons, who have perfected the art of the at-home dirty martini to teach us the ways of the Jedi. This is their recipe, Thank you Karen and Jim!
Prep time: 5 mins
Serves: 1
Downloadable recipe: here
What you’ll need
The Dirty
3 oz Vodka
Splash of Dry Vermouth
1/2 oz olive brine (Filthy brand is the best!)
Garnish
Blue cheese
Manzanilla Olives
How to Make
First, chill your glass
In the glass you’ll be drinking from, add ice and water. You will dump this out, but for now, we want to chill your glass as much as possible, so your dirty will be icy-f*cking-cold.
Now, it’s time to stuff your blue cheese olives (if you don’t feel like doing stuffed olives, that’s okay, but they really are great)
Use small manzanilla olives in brine stuffed with pimientos. Get as many olives as you need out of the brine (my rule is 2-3 per martini). Poke the bottom of each olive to pop out the red pimiento and discard (Karen says to use a chop stick). Using a small block of good blue cheese, pinch off bits of cheese and push into each olive. (***Pro tip: I worked with a bartender who put the blue cheese into a Ziplock bag and then mashed it between her hands to warm it and make it shapeless, then she cut off the corner of the Ziplock bag, and used that cut corner as her piping corner, she’d then “pipe” the blue cheese into the olives! Brilliant!). When your olives are stuffed, spear 2-3 on a toothpick per martini. Set aside!
Next, time to shake up your ‘tini
Put as many ice cubes as will fit into a shaker (I love this glass shaker with a strainer top and screw lid). Add vodka and brine. Shake vigorously for ~30 seconds. Then, when you want to be done shaking, shake some more…
Now, prep your glass
Pour a splash of vermouth into a martini glass and tip and twirl the glass to coat sides with vermouth and then discard extra liquid so just what clung to glass remains.
Finally, it’s time to enjoy!
Pour martini cocktail into prepared martini glass, garnish with an olive spear. Cheers the people around you, because you have an incredible drink in your hand, and you’re probably celebrating something epic.
How to Enjoy
Karen is one of those friends who is all things to everyone — she is an incredible mom, wife, friend, and for a very long time, was a badass nurse. She’s got great stories, great recipes, and great people. Karen is always down for an adventure, whether it’s boating, skiing, a live comedy show, a cooking class, or dancing the night away to live music, Karen is in. It doesn’t matter who she’s with, Karen will find the fun, and will drag you right into it with her… Begrudgingly, or not. If you’re making these dirty martini’s at home, I recommend sharing them with the friend that makes you laugh, makes you feel seen, is always a good time, and somehow among all other wonderful qualities, has incredible maternal instincts and will come over to hold your baby, if you simply need a break, and make that baby pass out pretty much instantly with her rocking technique.
This is an image from Karen’s kitchen. IMO she goes a little crazy on the olive count, but who am I to judge? :)
