You are here: Home » Blog
February 28th, 2011
JIM SHIRLEY • THE FISH HOUSE
 Alligator Point Clams by Fish House chef Jim Shirley. (Bruce Graner/bgraner@pnj.com)
Pensacola is oyster country, by far the number-one bivalve requested in this neck of the woods. And for good reason, too; they are all around us. Pasco Gibson of Milton’s Nichols Seafood has great East Bay oysters, and Apalachicola — just down the coast — is world-famous for theirs.
But if you travel a few miles east, you roll into Alligator Point, where aqua farmers produce some of the tastiest clams you’ve ever had! Florida is not yet known for clams, but the littlenecks from Alligator Point are spot on, which may change that perspective. It’s worth a trip to Joe Patti or Maria’s to grab a bag for a quick sauté. Better pop a bottle of Allan Scott Sauvignon Blanc to clear the palate. 
Tags: Atlas Oyster House, Chef Jim Shirley, Cooking Tips, Fish House, Jackson's Steak House, local restaurants, Pensacola, Southern Cooking, Things to do
 1 Comment »
February 25th, 2011
WILLIAM MORSE • THE FISH HOUSE • FEBRUARY 23, 2011
 The Hurricane as served at the Fish House. (Bruce Graner/GoPensacola.com) Mardi Gras, a French term meaning Fat Tuesday, is the last day of the Festival of Carnival, a worldwide celebration of the end of winter and the beginning of spring. Carnival has been around for centuries and occurs each year from Jan. 6 until midnight the day before Ash Wednesday, which marks the arrival of the fasting days of Lent.
Because the French once governed places such as Pensacola, Mobile, and — most famously — New Orleans, the French tradition of celebrating Carnival remained and evolved.
Over the years, Carnival has been shortened to Mardi Gras and has been stretched out to a celebration of weeks filled with big parties, parades, and drinking and eating to excess.
One of the most recognizable cocktails of this celebration is the Hurricane, a very strong rum punch that is said to have been created by Pat O’Brien, a well-known tavern owner in New Orleans. According to one story, before Prohibition’s end in 1933, O’Brien had a speakeasy with the password “Storm’s abrewin’.”
After Prohibition was repealed, Pat opened a legitimate bar. For a while, Southern rum-runners, faced with a glut of post-Prohibition rum, wouldn’t sell him a case of whiskey unless he bought 12 cases of rum. Looking to get rid of the huge surplus, he created a rum-laden punch, put it into lantern-shaped glasses, named it the Hurricane in honor of the speakeasy’s password, and sold the powerful drink to sailors.
Tags: America, Atlas Oyster House, Cocktails, Cooking Tips, fruity drinks, hurricane, local restaurants, Mardi Gras, Pensacola, Pensacola Beach, restaurant, Southern Cooking, Things to do
Comments »
February 23rd, 2011
MELISSA MARTIN • SPECIAL TO THE NEWS JOURNAL
 Hosting a paint party is a fun way to fill the blank walls in your house with some original art created by your friends. (Special to the News Journal) One part canvas, two parts vodka.
The only thing you need for this party idea is a group of good friends, a few blank canvases, paints and brushes and, of course, a bottle of Van Gogh Vodka.
A paint party is the perfect way to fill the blank walls in your house with some original art created by your friends. This party is simple, fun and can be done for a variety occasions including showers, birthday parties and girls’ nights in.
Setting up such an event is easy. First, you need to find the best room in your house to gather your guests so they will each have enough space to work in. I use the dining room in my house, and simply cover the table with a drop cloth to protect the finish.
Once you have your room picked out, the next step is to set out the supplies. Place brushes, an 8-by-8-inch canvas and small paper cups filled with water at each station. Provide each guest with a paper plate to collect color paint samples to use for their projects. I suggest using acrylic paint. It’s thick enough not to run, and it dries fast, so you can paint over any mistakes. Paint and other supplies can be picked up from Bobe’s Hobby House, a local craft store at 5719 North W Street.
Now that your guests have all the materials they need, you can set the mood for inspiration. I recommend putting on some of your favorite music while sipping the sophisticated Van Gogh Espresso Vodka. For those who are not coffee drinkers, Van Gogh Vodka comes in many other flavors, such as Dutch caramel, raspberry and vanilla.
The last time I hosted girls’ night in, I decided to theme it around a paint party. Most girls’ nights we stay in, cook dinner and watch “American Idol” while we chat about our week. This time, we Tivoed “Idol” to try something different.
Once the girls came over, we made our cocktails and began stroking the brushes across the canvases. Although none of us are up-and-coming artists, sometimes — as in life — it’s funny … even though you don’t have exact directions to where you’re going, you find yourself ending up exactly where you want to be.
After the paintings are finished, display them for everyone to see. On this particular night, we had decided to invite our significant others to come over after the painting session. The guys joined us for cocktails and hors d’oeuvres while we unveiled our works of art.
When selecting your menu, be sure to incorporate simple finger-food items like the ones they serve in big gallery openings. A few fancy and delicious appetizers will set the mood for your at-home gallery. Choose imported cheeses and meats, small crisps with salmon mousse or anything that fits on a napkin that you can pick up and go. The perfect place to find some of these items, if you want to avoid the hassle of doing it yourself, is Wine World Wine Bar, 16 Palafox Place. This place has a huge variety of specialty cheeses and meats, and if you time it right, you can sample some fine vino from around the world.
After the party is over, you are left with fond memories and great stories to tell. As time passes, noticing the art on your walls will remind you of your friends and how much fun it was to branch out and do something different — and it may also inspire a repeat get-together.
Until next time, friends, party on!
Tags: America, Chef Jim Shirley, Cocktails, Fish House, Happy Hour, local business, Melissa Martin, party planning, Pensacola, Things to do
Comments »
February 16th, 2011
The Grits Girl explores the Who, What and Huh? — of quick and easy desserts.
Recently the grits girl spread her social wings and decided to join a garden club. This particular garden club is really more of a drinking and eating club for ladies. The grits girl likes this because she basically has killed every living plant in her charge. Laughing, eating, telling jokes and sipping a little wine is where she really excels.
Garden club meetings take place monthly. Members are supposed to make something to eat and bring the dish with them to the meeting to share with the other members. This month will be the grits girl’s first meeting, so she’d like to impress the group by making something fantastic. She has decided to make Bittersweet Bourbon-Pecan Truffles. This recipe is very easy and sounds very Southern and garden-club-like to the grits girl.
Bittersweet Bourbon-Pecan Truffles
¾ cup heavy whipping cream
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate (finely chopped)
3 tablespoons Jack Daniel’s whiskey
2 cups toasted pecans (finely chopped)
Tags: quick and easy dessert
1 Comment »
February 9th, 2011
Matthieu Rodriguez • Special to The Pensacola News Journal • FEBRUARY 9, 2011
 The Flaming Heart by Matthieu Rodriguez of Atlas Oyster House. (Katie King/kking@pnj.com) Tequila, the precursor of many great times and consequent hangovers, has seen a resurgence. This is largely because of modern distillation processes, carefully managed aging techniques and inspection and exportation regulations that have been introduced by the Mexican government in order to ensure quality tequila and prevent counterfeiting of this blue agave product.
Like Champagne, tequila can only be made in certain parts of the world to receive the “tequila” classification. This area is relegated to Jalisco, a Mexican state that borders the Pacific Ocean, and certain areas of four other states. Roasting the hearts of slow-maturing blue agave, then pressing out the sugary liquid for distillation, is a centuries-old process that travels back to early Aztec civilizations. In fact, tequila is recognized as North America’s first distilled spirit.
There are several different styles and profiles of tequila; however, for this recipe, we use only Milagro Select Barrel Reserve Silver. This silver tequila is triple distilled and finished in French white-oak barrels. This mellows the tequila to an amiable presence perfect for sipping or mixing.
When you mix tequila, you must be careful to not lose the identity of the drink by overpowering it with other flavors. Rather than mask the tequila flavor, we are going to accent it by adding Licor 43, a bright-yellow Spanish liqueur. Licor 43 is made from citrus and a variety of other fruit juices and infused with vanilla. The number of ingredients totals 43, hence the name. We are going to use pineapple juice as an additional flavor that will help blend the two aforementioned products. One of my favorite “secret ingredients” for a special cocktail is egg white. Egg whites add a third dimension to a drink: texture. Generally speaking, this key ingredient to several classic cocktails is usually lost with modern adaptations.
The Flaming Heart 11„2 Ounces Milagro Select Barrel Reserve Silver Tequila 1„4 Ounce Licor 43 1 Ounce Pineapple Juice 1„2 Ounce Pasteurized Egg Whites 3 Dashes Tabasco Green Pepper Sauce
Mix the first four ingredients in a shaker tin. Shake well with ice for 10 seconds. This will allow the mixture to blend without being bruised by the ice.
Add ice to a short rocks glass and empty the shaker over the contents. You’ll have a delicious-looking, tasty cocktail.
To add a little kick to your creation, top it off with three splashes of Tabasco Green Pepper Sauce. Hope you enjoy. Stay thirsty!
Atlas Oyster House, 600 S. Barracks St., Pensacola. 437-1961, or visit atlas.goodgrits.com.
Tags: America, Atlas Oyster House, Cocktails, Cooking Tips, Happy Hour, local business, party planning, Pensacola, Recipes, Southern Cooking, Things to do
Comments »
February 8th, 2011
 Save room for dessert! A trio of mini cupcakes is this holiday's special dessert. Beginning February 11, 2011, at 5:00 p.m., The Fish House and The Atlas Oyster House restaurants will offer a selection of chocolate-inspired chef’s creations, which will be available through Valentine’s Day, February 14, 2011.
Recently, Chef Jim Shirley was asked to cook on Fox television’s “Studio 10” morning show. People are always taken aback when they hear that there is a recipe called Chocolate Shrimp. They wonder if they are going to like it –– they almost always do!
Chocolate shrimp will be our appetizer selection and is one of our most requested recipes. So popular that we put it in our cookbook, “Good Grits: Southern Boy Cooks.” It is also Chef Jim’s contribution to our Valentine’s Specials. When we were thinking of what to offer for Valentine’s Day, we decided to offer specials created around chocolate. People are surprised to learn that chocolate doesn’t always mean sweet. The cocoa bean is often used in South American cuisine as a spice. It has a flavor similar to coffee and is quite wonderful to cook with.
Chef Billy Ballou has created two entrées: Espresso-Rubbed Tuna —Espresso-rubbed tuna steak with roasted Peruvian potatoes and golden beets, finished with white chocolate and raspberry “caviar” and pomegranate syrup
Brazilian Lover’s Filet — Grilled filet over white chocolate whipped Yukon mashers with grilled sweet gem finished with a dark chocolate-infused beef jus
The specials will also feature a dessert created by our award-winning pastry chef, Trina Confusione:
Chocolate Mini Cupcake Trio Served with Bittersweet Chocolate Crème Anglaise — A red velvet mini cupcake with passion fruit frosting, a white chocolate and Grand Marnier cupcake with orange cream cheese frosting, and a dark chocolate and chili cupcake with a bittersweet ganache.
“These specials have been designed to pair perfectly with our featured sparkling wine, Francois Montand Brut Rosé,” says William Morse, Great Southern Restaurant Group’s beverage manager. “This sparkler commands attention and deservedly so! Light-bodied, bursting with flavor, lots of great bubbles — really well made in the classic champagne method. Aromas and flavors include dried cherries and raspberries. It’s crisp and very dry with an extremely clean finish.”
“We wanted to offer our guests something decadent this Valentine’s Day,” says Fish House General Manager Jean Pierre NDionne. “Chocolate is a very traditional Valentine’s Day favorite. However, instead of just offering chocolate desserts, our chefs have been inspired to use chocolate in exciting ways for our appetizers and main courses.”
Entertainment for the weekend will be provided Friday and Saturday night beginning at 9:00 by the band, Schofield.
The specials will be offered in addition to our Fish House dinner menu. We don’t take reservations. If you are planning a special surprise for the evening, such as flowers, champagne, or even a marriage proposal, call our private party coordinators, Melissa Martin and Shannon Reeves, for help in arranging these details.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Tags: chocolate, cupcakes, Valentine's Day Specials
Comments »
|
|
|
