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Friday, May 13th, 2011
Written by Chef Jim Shirley
 Strawberry Cobia Salad from the Good Grits cookbook While making one of my many pilgrimages to the Sweet Home Farm cheese shop in Elberta, Ala., I finally stopped at the giant strawberry that I use as a landmark.
Turns out the big strawberry is a true sign of what was growing at B.J. Farms — giant strawberries, sweet and delicious. It occurred to me to use them in a salad with Sweet Home Farm blue cheese and the excellent cobia that were running off the beach.
The great thing about this dish is that most of the major ingredients are fresh and local — except the bacon, of course, which, as everyone knows, comes from hog heaven. (more…)
Tags: Chef Jim Shirley, Cooking Tips, Fish House, local business, local restaurants, Pensacola, Recipes, Southern Cooking, Things to do
Posted in Cooking Tips, Entertainment, Family, Recipes, Southern Cooking, The Fish House, wine | No Comments »
Thursday, May 12th, 2011
 Left to right: Shannon Reeves, Melissa Martin and Ashley Warren help pick out wines. Photo by Katie King Written by -Melissa Martin - Special to the News Journal
This is the first time since I have been engaged that the wedding details are causing insomnia. I want to take the time this week to talk about tonight’s — I mean, this morning’s — reason for sleeplessness.
The wedding rehearsal dinner is an opportunity for the bride’s and groom’s parents to meet and have a good time. This sounds simple enough, but if you have a large wedding party and a lot of people coming from out of town, it might be hard to find a venue that fits your budget and the number of guests attending.
We have more than 65 guests attending our rehearsal dinner, and they are coming from all over. Even though the rehearsal dinner is traditionally planned by the groom, since I am an event planner and a bit of a control freak, I agreed to knock it out myself. Even though I do this for a living, there are a lot of details involved, especially if you are renting a venue and hiring an outside caterer. Hopefully this week I can leave you with a few tips that will make planning your own rehearsal dinner much more stress free.
Downtown Pensacola has many beautiful restaurants and venues perfect for hosting a rehearsal dinner. No matter where you book, these tips that I’m offering hold true. My fiancé and I have kept all our venues for our wedding weekend local to downtown because of its romantic charm. Due to the number of guests attending, we have rented a large venue on Palafox Street and we’re having the dinner catered by the same local restaurant that is catering our reception. (more…)
Tags: America, Cooking Tips, Event Planning, Fish House, Melissa Martin, party planning, Things to do, Wedding
Posted in Cocktails, Cooking Tips, Employees, Entertainment, Event Planning, Fun, The Fish House, Weddings, wine | No Comments »
Friday, April 15th, 2011
Written by – Trina Confusione Special to the News Journal
 Overripe bananas are perfect for this chocolate chip banana bread by pastry chef Trina Confuscione of The Fish House. / Katie king/kking@pnj.com
Springtime always pulls me toward fresh fruits and vegetables when cooking and baking. This year, I am finding it hard to find what I want because the produce is not ripe enough or the price is too high. I have been going to the market almost every day to try to find the best product rather than buying it all at once and taking my chances that I will get around to using it before it spoils.
There is, however, one item I always buy no matter what condition they’re in, and that’s bananas. Whether we get around to eating them before they turn does not matter, because I freeze the overripe ones, and when I have some left over, I make this chocolate chip banana bread.
This recipe makes two 9-by-9-inch pans, so I freeze one for later use unless we have company; then I keep one out and one in the refrigerator. This is a great snack bread and is rich enough to have as dessert. I like to eat it warm, so I heat it in the microwave to let the chips melt. I use dark chocolate in mine, but you can use any kind you have on hand or none at all. The nuts can be omitted, as well. Just keep ripe bananas in a freezer bag until you are ready to thaw.
Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
1 cup shortening
2 cups sugar
2 eggs (room temperature)
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
6 overripe bananas (mashed)
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter two 9-by-9-inch square casserole dishes. In a mixer, cream together shortening and sugar until light and fluffy. Mix in eggs one at a time. Scrape the bowl, add mayonnaise and bananas and mix well.
Sift together the flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda, then mix into batter until just incorporated. Fold in the chips and walnuts by hand.
Bake for 45 to 55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool completely if you are removing from pan. Keep wrapped airtight.
For more great recipes like this one, visit us online: www.goodgrits.com/recipes
Tags: Cooking Tips, Fish House, Recipes, Southern Cooking, Trina Confusione
Posted in Atlas Oyster House, Brunch, Cooking Tips, Pensacola, Recipes, quick and easy desserts | 1 Comment »
Sunday, March 13th, 2011
 It’s brunch season and it’s about to be wedding season. Post-wedding brunches are the new “must-have” for most Southern brides, and in particular, Pensacola brides. Those of us who are lucky enough to live here know Pensacola is a paradise on the Gulf of Mexico. Living in such a beautiful place, it’s not uncommon for relatives to crawl out of the woodwork for a visit or eagerly accept an invitation to a wedding. Our emerald waters and white sands are a big lure, in addition to any other festivity, making a houseful of guests a guarantee even after the big day is over.
There is a simple, and fun, way to mark the end of the celebration and send guests off with a smile. Hold a post-wedding brunch. (link to menu) At the Fish House and Atlas, we can create a custom event (link to special events) to complement your wedding theme, colors or other special accents to personalize your event.
A post-wedding brunch is a great time to recap the festivities and indulge in delicious dishes like Pecan-Fried Green Tomato Benedict (poached eggs and crispy pecan-crusted fried green tomatoes smothered in hollandaise) and Emerald Coast Benedict (hollandaise, poached eggs, and lump blue crab cakes over fried green tomatoes drizzled with white rémoulade sauce).
(more…)
Tags: America, Atlas Oyster House, Brunch, Chef Jim Shirley, Cooking Tips, Event Planning, Fish House, local restaurants, party planning, Pensacola, Things to do, Wedding
Posted in Atlas Oyster House, Brunch, Cooking Tips, Entertainment, Event Planning, Family, Fun, Pensacola, Recipes, Restaurant Specials, Southern Cooking, The Deck Bar, The Fish House, Weddings, party planning | No Comments »
Monday, 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. (more…)
Tags: Atlas Oyster House, Chef Jim Shirley, Cooking Tips, Fish House, Jackson's Steak House, local restaurants, Pensacola, Southern Cooking, Things to do
Posted in Atlas Oyster House, Celebrity Chefs, Chef Jim Shirley, Cooking Tips, Entertainment, Local Pensacola Business, Misc. Videos, Pensacola, Recipes, Southern Cooking, The Deck Bar, The Fish House, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
Friday, 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. (more…)
Tags: America, Atlas Oyster House, Cocktails, Cooking Tips, fruity drinks, hurricane, local restaurants, Mardi Gras, Pensacola, Pensacola Beach, restaurant, Southern Cooking, Things to do
Posted in Atlas Oyster House, Cocktails, Cooking Tips, Entertainment, Fun, Holiday, Mardi Gras, Recipes, The Deck Bar, The Fish House, Uncategorized | No Comments »
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