< Previous10 COASTMONTHLY.COM / December 2015From the EditorIt rarely snows at Christmas around here. Sometimes in December we’re still sporting flip-flops. We decorate boats, hang out on the beach and a lot of us incorporate seafood into our holi-day feasts. We have our traditions — they’re just Texas Gulf Coast style.For the most part, celebrations and gath-erings are laid back. It’s tough to get tense when you’re at a beach house entertain-ing family and friends. In this issue, Coast Monthly food stylist Alicia Cahill offers easy recipes that will help keep parties as relax-ing as a day on the beach.You’ll also find tasty recipes for eggnog and how to make Scotch eggs, a delicacy en-joyed by locals and visitors at the yearly Vic-torian festival Dickens on The Strand. And you’ll meet one local artist who uses coastal elements to make beautiful ornaments, along with a design-savvy couple that has decked the halls of a beautiful beach house for the holidays.Look for our new feature, Wild Life, in which William “Wild Bill” Powell shows us how to prepare game and fish.We at Coast Monthly wish you a very Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah and a wonderful Kwanzaa.LAURA ELDERcoast monthly editorHave a merry coastal ChristmasSPECIAL THANKScoast monthly would like to thank Randi Faust for allowing use of her beautiful Indian beach home for our photo shoot on holiday entertaining. The house is called Argonauta, a name inspired by the chapter of the same name, from Anne morrow Lindbergh’s memoir, “Gift from the Sea.”Faust and her husband, Carl Herman, University of Houston’s bauer business School professor bought the house in 2012. They were looking for a place randi could retreat to write and where they could spend long weekends and holidays with family. The house had some damage from Hurricane Ike, so the couple enlisted the original contractor, Doug LeBoeuf, to make repairs. While the house was under construction, randi began working with island Interior Designer Ilse Benard (Staged for Perfection, (www.stagedforperfection.com). The gorgeous result is an eclectic celebration of mediterranean and Gulf coast styles.We’d also like to thank benard for helping us to style the photos in the holiday entertaining shoot.Argonauta is available for vacation rentals through www.sandnsea.com.We’d also like to thank Lee and Mary Branum for allowing use of their 1860 island home in the Williams-borden Neighborhood for our feature on Scotch eggs. both branums serve as members of Queen Victoria’s “royal court” during Dickens on The Strand, Lee as a “knight” and mary as a “lady-in-waiting.”We’d also like to sincerely thank Susan Vanderford, maritime education and programs coordinator at the Texas Seaport museum/1877 barque elissa. Vanderford helped to secure the cover tree to the small wooden boat, Grace, at the museum. Lashing a tree onto a rocky boat is no small feat. The Texas Seaport museum uses Grace in its small craft program. Photo by Jennifer ReynoldsKara and Eric Wuellner were inspired by the tropical blue, green and deep rose tones of their home when it came to decorating for the holidays. Read more about the Wuellners on Page 92.CONSISTENTLY RANKED AMONG THE TOP TWO PRODUCERS ON GALVESTON ISLAND FOR DOLLAR VOLUME & NUMBER OF CLOSED TRANSACTIONS• Honored 5 times by the Houston Business Journal for Closed Transactions• Honored by H Texas Magazine• Honored by Heritage Texas Properties as 2013 & 2014 Top Producer• Nationally recognized as Real Trends 2014 Top 250 Real Estate Professional for Closed TransactionsSUE JOHNSON, brokerSUE JOHNSON | Broker Associate | 409.682.9050 | sue@heritagetexas.com | heritagetexas.comwww.suejohnsongalveston.com®409.682.9050PIRATES BEACH WEST4202 RUM BAY | $1,500,000PIRATES BEACH13641 PIRATES BEACH BLVD. | $259,000SEA ISLE 21531 ZACHARY | $264,900INDIAN BEACH 18318 E DE VACA | $649,000PIRATES BEACH4106 FIDDLER CRAB | $474,900PIRATES BEACH 13923 PIRATES BEACH BLVD. | $289,000INDIAN BEACH18710 W. DE VACA | $699,000PIRATES BEACH 4102 MAISON ROUGE | $649,000SEA ISLE22209 MATAGORDA | $299,000PIRATES BEACH 13822 PIRATES BEACH BLVD. | $339,900PIRATES BEACH4115 PELICAN | $489,000PIRATES BEACH 4022 MUTINY CT | $649,900SEA ISLE4210 LIBERTY | $279,000NOTTINGHAM CAMPSITE4009 11-MILE RD. | $559,000PIRATES BEACH 4210 CAMPECHE | $569,000BEACHSIDE VILLAGE11610 BEACHSIDE | $1,095,00012 COASTMONTHLY.COM / December 2015ShorelinesAn article in the November Table Surf-ing feature should have said that Kat Kearns is the sole owner of ShyKatz Deli & bakery in Galveston.CORRECTIONWe asked on Facebook: What are your coastal Christmas traditions?I collect shells all summer and I have a sea shell christmas tree.— Debbie Farley Dunnboat parades, oyster dressing, gumbo.— Don WalkerShrimp stuffing, PJs to open on christmas eve, Norwegian pancakes christmas morning.— Christina Strommen Stevensriding the ferry on christmas Day.— Nelda Engstromeating fried oysters on christmas eve.— Lyda Plummerchristmas tree goes up the night after Thanksgiving, black Friday shopping for the grandkids this year and seafood christmas lunch for the family.— Jennie Meyermidnight candlelight service at moody methodist church. most beautiful was in ‘04 when it snowed.— Deni MizePlaying the bagpipes for midnight mass at Sacred Heart catholic church. The acoustics are amazing.— Clyde WoodHere’s what people are saying about the November issue at coastmonthly.com.Starship: Sloop makes sailing and racing possible for people of limited mobilitycapt. David Gaston is a wonderful influence to others with disabilities. I have known David since school days and pre-paralysis. He has always been my hero, as he has never let his disabilities stop him from living life large. He is such a kind, caring and fun person with a great sense of humor. What a great accomplishment in life to help so many folks through Turning Point. Way to go captain.— Kerry AlbrittonWhat all the Hooey is about: Cowboy lifestyle inspires League City writer’s collection of poems and storiesSmokey, I am very impressed by your life and your poems and music and your love for taking care of horses. You are going to have a beautiful crown in heaven someday. If I don’t meet you in this life, I will look for you in that other place in the sky. Of course, you will have horses all around you.—Barbara Craft 6502 Stewart Rd. Galveston, Texas 77551 T: 409.744.7000 ChunkyFunkyMonkey.com Exceptional Window Fashions & Design Custom Shutters, Blinds, Draperies & Fine Flooring Quality Upholstery Exclusive Wallpaper & Fabrics Turn-Key Prices on Stanley Furniture Skilled Design Services Home Renovation & RemodelsHunter Douglas Priority Dealer Writer Randi Faust and husband, Carl Herman, enjoy entertaining at their Indian Beach house on the island’s West End. The couple bought the house, called Argonauta, so Faust could retreat to write and they could spend long weekends and holidays with family there. Makeup by Desa Polivka, a Mary Kay independent sales director, 409.682.1113, www.marykay.com/desa. Hair by Rebecca Rivera, of Total Technique Salon, 3226 13th Ave. N. in Texas City, 409.945.9542. COASTMONTHLY.COM / December 2015 15Recipes by Alicia Cahill | Photos by Stuart VillanuevaEverything on the island is just a little more laid back, even holiday entertaining. Alicia Cahill, Coast Monthly’s food stylist, whips up some recipes that will make throwing parties this season seem like a relaxing day on the beach.Try these easy dishes and drinks for a beach-house bashSeaside Soirees DREAMING OF ANCHRISTMAS?islandEASY CHEESY APPETIZERSINGREDIENTS4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce¼ teaspoon ground white pepper2 teaspoons green onion, minced4 ounces feta cheese½ cup finely chopped fresh parsley½ cucumber, peeled and sliced into 12 thick pieces12 grape tomatoesbamboo picksDIRECTIONSbeat the cream cheese, Worces-tershire sauce, pepper, green onions and feta cheese at medi-um speed in a mixing bowl until creamy. chill, tightly covered, for 1 hour or until firm.Shape mixture into ¾ inch balls and roll in chopped parsley. Stack one ball on each cucum-ber slice. Pierce tomato with bamboo pick and add cheese ball and cucumber slice. Serve immediately.SPICY SHRIMP WITH MANGO AND JALAPEÑOINGREDIENTS½ cup olive oil¼ cup chardonnay1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice2 tablespoons cajun seasoning¼ teaspoon red pepper flakesPinch cayenne pepper½ pound raw shrimp1 mango, peeled, removed from pit and cubed1 raw jalapeñobamboo picksDIRECTIONScombine first 6 ingredients in a baking dish, add shrimp, cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.Preheat oven to 400 F.bake for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until shrimp is cooked all the way through. remove from oven, set aside.cut jalapeño into thin slices (at least as wide as serving pick). Gently slide onto pick. Slide shrimp onto pick followed by cubed mango. Place on serving tray. Sprinkle or grind red pepper flakes on top.16 COASTMONTHLY.COM / December 2015Seaside Soirees HERB POPOVERSINGREDIENTS4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter, melted6 eggs, lightly beaten2 cups milk2 cups all-purpose flour2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh herbs1 teaspoon saltDIRECTIONSPreheat oven to 450 F. Adjust oven racks so pan can be placed in the center of the oven with plenty of room for pop-overs to rise. Spray the wells of a standard 6-cup popover pan with non-stick cooking spray and pour ½ teaspoon of melted butter into each cup.reduce the oven temperature to 325 F and bake for 15 minutes more. remove from the oven and invert the pan onto a wire rack.return oven temperature to 450 F. Let the pan cool, then spray the wells with nonstick cooking spray, pour ½ teaspoon of melted butter into each one, and bake the remaining batter. Serve immediately.MERRY AND BRIGHT CHAMPAGNE PUNCHINGREDIENTS1 bottle champagne, chilled3 cups cranberry-apple juice, chilled¼ cup thawed white grape juice concentrate¼ cup Grand marnier or other orange liqueurFresh cranberriesDIRECTIONSStir together all ingredients, ex-cept champagne, in a 2-quart glass pitcher or drink dispenser.Pour juice into flutes and top with champagne. Garnish with fresh cranberries, if desired.In a medium bowl, whisk togeth-er the eggs, milk and herbs, then whisk in 2 tablespoons of the melted butter.In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and salt, then add in the egg mixture. Whisk vigor-ously until smooth. Pour the batter into the pre-pared cups, taking care not to overfill, and bake for 20 minutes. Add a coastal flair to place settings with nautical ornaments.18 COASTMONTHLY.COM / December 2015ROSEMARY OLIVE WREATHINGREDIENTS2 to 3 boxes of fresh rosemary sprigs or cuttings from your garden1 container bocconcini cheese8 ounces of mixed olives from grocery store olive barJar of sweet cherry peppersDIRECTIONSArrange rosemary sprigs into wreath shape on a serving platter. Top with olives, cheese and peppers. Serve.PAVLOVA WITH BERRY SAUCEINGREDIENTS5 large egg whites, at room temperaturePinch kosher salt1 cup sugar2 teaspoons cornstarch, plus extra for sprinkling1 teaspoon white wine vinegar½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract1 cup cold heavy cream, beat into whipped cream½ pint fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced½ pint fresh raspberries¼ cup pomegranate arils1 cup cold heavy cream1 half-pint fresh raspberries½ cup sugar1 (12-ounce) jar of seedless strawberry jam1 tablespoon cherry kirschmint leavesDIRECTIONSPreheat the oven to 180 F.Place a sheet of parchment pa-per on a half-sheet pan. Trace a 9-inch circle on the paper using a plate as a guide. Turn the pa-per over so the circle you drew is on the reverse side. Sprinkle parchment with cornstarch.In the bowl of an electric mixer, add the egg whites and salt. Using the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites on high speed until firm, 1 to 2 minutes. Slowly add the sugar and continue beating on high until firm, glossy peaks appear, about 2 minutes.remove the bowl from the mixer. Sift the cornstarch onto the beaten egg whites and pour in the vinegar and vanilla. combine the ingredients into the whipped whites by gently folding with a rubber spatula. Spoon or pipe the meringue into a wreath shaped on the parchment paper using the cir-cle as a guide. Smooth with the back of a spoon as needed.bake for 1½ hours. Turn off the oven, and, keeping the door closed; allow the meringue to cool completely in the oven, about 1 hour.move the cooled meringue wreath to a serving plate and spread the top completely with whipped cream. Drizzle rasp-berry sauce over the top. Stud with berries, arils and sprigs of mint. Serve immediately with extra berry sauce.Berry Sauce: Place the rasp-berries, sugar and ¼ cup water in a small saucepan. bring mix-ture to a boil, decrease the heat and simmer for 4 to 5 minutes stirring occasionally. 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