Greek Salad Bloody Mary

Heat oil in a small saucepan over medium until very hot. Add garlic and red pepper flakes—they should sizzle and become fragrant quickly. Stir with a wooden spoon about 2 minutes, adjusting heat to maintain a gentle sizzle, until garlic just begins to brown. Remove from heat and strain the oil through a fine mesh strainer into a glass liquid measuring cup or small bowl. Place oil in the fridge to cool.

Pulse all the remaining Bloody Mary ingredients (except oil and vodka) in a blender on low, until smooth. With blender running (on low speed) carefully drizzle in oil until emulsified. Use immediately or refrigerate until needed.

To serve, moisten the rim of each glass with a lemon slice (or water-dampened paper towel), then roll the rim in celery salt (spread salt evenly on a plate). Shake one fourth of the mix (or half, if you have a large shaker) with 1½ ounces of vodka and a handful of ice until cold (shaker will be frosty).

Place a large cucumber spear and plenty of ice in each glass. Strain shaken drink over ice. Garnish with feta-stuffed Kalamata olives (below) on a skewer (or feta cubes and Kalamata olives) and other garnishes of your choosing.

For the feta-stuffed olives:
Use soft feta, or let cheese stand at room temperature for one hour before using. Mix feta with dried oregano and ground black pepper. Drain olives on paper towels. Pipe feta mixture into olives using a sturdy plastic bag with the corner snipped off or a small pastry tip attached (writing tip). Or, push some of the mixture into one end of a disposable straw, wipe off the outside, then insert straw into opening of olive and squeeze feta mixture out of the straw.

Notes:
1. Both the drink mix and stuffed olives can be prepared a few days in advance.
2. To make without alcohol, serve chilled tomato juice mixture over ice, with garnishes.
3. To make it gluten-free, use gluten-free vodka or tequila.
4. To make it vegan, omit feta. Optionally, include cooked chickpeas on skewer as garnish.