Chocolate raspberry truffle martini from William Morse at the Fish House. (Tony Giberson/GoPensacola.com)
With the vast array of liqueurs and flavor-infused liquors available today, one can create an unlimited assortment of savory cocktails. Long gone are the days of the simple gin and tonic, bourbon and water and Scotch and soda.
If you can think of a flavor, then I can almost guarantee there is a liquor or liqueur produced that portrays that same profile.
It is with this limitless range of products that your favorite bartender can so effectively combine two, three, even four or more ingredients to ultimately offer you a drink that tastes like a peppermint patty, a pineapple upside down cake or even a caramel-coated apple.
Here at The Fish House, we have taken advantage of this assortment of ingredients to create a tempting dessert drink menu (among others). On this menu you’ll find drinks such as a tiramisu martini, a white chocolate-blueberry martini and my favorite, the chocolate raspberry truffle, which combines a coffee and chocolate liqueur and a black raspberry liqueur as the main flavor-imparting ingredients.
CHOCOLATE RASPBERRY TRUFFLE
Tall glass of ice
1 ounce Stolichnaya vodka
.75 ounce Kahlua
.75 ounce Chambord
Cream or whole milk, to fill glass
Combine all ingredients and shake to thoroughly mix. Top off with a bit of whipped cream.
If you are inclined to try a cocktail with some more exotic and truly unique liqueurs, come down to The Fish House or Atlas Oyster House and ask for our full drink menu. I’m sure you’ll find something to suit your taste.
The Fish House, 600 S. Barracks St. 470-0003, or visit www.goodgrits.com.
The acclaimed James Beard House in New York City has selected the Pensacola Celebrity Chefs to showcase Gulf Coast cuisine.
On Tuesday, chefs Dan Dunn of H2O at the Hilton Pensacola Beach Gulf Front; Irv Miller of Jackson’s Steakhouse; Jim Shirley of the Fish House; Gus Silivos of Skopelos/Nancy’s Haute Affairs; and Frank Taylor of Global Grill will prepare a regional tasting menu to an intimate foodie audience at the James Beard House in Greenwich Village.
The James Beard Foundation was established in 1986 in honor of Beard, a cookbook author, teacher and father of American gastronomy. Its programs are designed to educate, inspire, entertain and foster a deeper understanding of American cuisine.
Take a glass of Champagne, any Champagne, add 2 ounces of orange juice and garnish with a slice of orange and you have a mimosa. Add 1 1/2 ounces of crème de cassis to a glass of wine and you have a kir. Add the same crème de cassis to a glass of Champagne and you have a kir royale. Pour 1 1/2 ounces of Chambord (a French liqueur) into a glass of Champagne, garnish with raspberries, and you have a great kir royale.
What?
You’ve been there, done that — in the ’80s.
In that case, I’ve got a new twist. An American liqueur called Hum — made from rum infused with hibiscus, fresh ginger, green cardamom and kaffir lime — added to a crackling cold glass of sparkling Rosé is called a hummer, and is the summer kir for the new age. Pop a cork and give it a try.
The Fish House, 600 S. Barracks St. 470-0003, or visit www.goodgrits.com.
Since we last reported, our house has been filled with merriment. We have had many wonderful events on the deck, most notably the welcome-home party of the University of West Florida’s baseball team, where they celebrated their NCAA Division II College World Series victory. And we have become home to the Pensacola Bama Club and their happy-hour meet-ups, which will take place the third Thursday of every month on The Deck Bar. If you are an Alabama fan, come on by and join in the fun. Membership to the club is very affordable and they have lots of fun events. If you don’t like Alabama — well, sorry — start your own team’s happy hour at our house. There are seven days in a week and three bars to choose from. We’d love to have you! Call Shelley Yates for more information: (850) 748-9001.
Our bartender Samantha was selected as a finalist in GoPensacola’s Sexy Server Contest. The results will be posted on GoPensacola.com. Be sure to tell Samantha that you voted for her. Even if you didn’t, she loves to hear that.
By Trina Confusione special to the Pensacola News Journal
Strawberry Cake by Trina Confusione of The Fish House. / Katie King/kking@pnj.com
For this article, I thought I would do a recipe that I am currently preparing at The Fish House and Atlas Oyster House. I have had a lot of requests from people wanting to buy a whole cake, so I thought I could share this simple recipe with you. It is my husband’s favorite. He has never cared for chocolate cake, so I put this together for him one birthday, and it has been a huge hit ever since.
It is really easy to make this cake any size you want; just be sure the pans you use are grease-free, because the cake has to cling to the side of the pans in order to rise. This cake has to be kept refrigerated, but it travels well on ice in a cooler — perfect for picnics.
Whole Oven-Roasted Rainbow Trout with a crabmeat stuffing
Whole Oven-Roasted Rainbow Trout by Chef Billy Ballou – Whole Oven-Roasted Rainbow Trout Stuffed with herbed lump crab. Served with roasted root vegetables and finished with herb compound butter.
Whole Oven-Roasted Rainbow Trout by Chef Billy Ballou
3/4 cup diced red bell pepper
3/4 cup diced red onion
3/4 cup diced celery
1/2 cup sliced green onion
2 tbls minced fresh thyme
2 tbls minced fresh basil
2 tbls minced garlic
4 tbls unsalted butter
1/2 cup white wine
1 each lemon (juiced)
1 pound lump crab meat
Rainbow trout:
4 each 11oz whole cleaned Rainbow trout
1 each fresh lemon
4 tbls olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 375. First what you want to do is take a medium saute pan and cook the onion, fennel, pepper, celery, garlic and butter til translucent which will take about 5 minutes. Then take your white wine and deglaze the pan, let cook for about 1 minute then remove vegetable mixture and let cool. Once cooled mix remaining ingredients with the lump crab. Once the crab mixture is done take your trout and lay the skin side down and season with salt and pepper and a little olive oil. Then take about 1 1/2 cup of crab mixture and stuff the trout. Once that is done that your stuffed trout and place it on a grease sheet pan and bake it for about 12-15 min, or until skin is nice and crunchy.
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…)
