Coast Monthly - February 2017

< Previous COASTMONTHLY.COM / February 2017 51Punch linesIs it worse to be a ﬁsh out of water, or a ﬁsherman out of cocktails?Story by Mark G Hanna Photos by Jennifer ReynoldsIn the eternal libraries of written words, the dedicated scribes through time have preserved many great thoughts about people and ﬁsh.A clever writer at The Galveston Daily News in June 1881 is credit-ed with being the ﬁrst to describe a self-important person in a small com-munity as a “big ﬁsh in a small pond.”The poets console someone whose relationship has gone bad by elo-quently stating there is more than one ﬁsh in the sea.Benjamin Franklin wrote: “Guests, like ﬁsh, begin to smell after three days.”There’s also the oft-repeated line about drinking like a ﬁsh. It’s never been a compliment, considering that Kara Williams, a bartender and manager at RumShack in Galveston, pours orange and pineapple juice to make Rum Punch. The potent cocktail contains Sugar Island Coconut Rum, Myers Dark Rum and Bacardi 151.52 COASTMONTHLY.COM / February 2017Down the Hatchsomeone who drinks like a ﬁsh seems to be regularly over-served.It’s a saying that ﬁrst appeared in print way back in 1640 in a play by Englishman John Fletcher called “The Night Walker” or “The Little Thief” and updated by his protégé, James Shirley. In that play appears the line: “Give me the bottle, I can drink like a ﬁsh now, like an elephant.”Elephants are known for not forgetting, an obvious conﬂict to heavy drinking. Drink-ing like an elephant never quite gained the cachet of drinking like a ﬁsh.For the record, if one does drink like a ﬁsh, one is either dehydrated or drinks mod-erate amounts of saltwater. Freshwater ﬁsh actually don’t drink water but absorb it, and saltwater ﬁsh do drink, but only as a means of ﬁltration.The imbibing reputation that ﬁsh are unfairly stuck with, however, could be more fairly attributed to the men and women who spend endless hours trying to catch them. Fishermen are known to take to cocktails like ﬁsh to water, so to speak, thus the say-ing might be more correct if it said: “Drink and like to ﬁsh.”Famed sports journalist Jimmy Cannon (1909-1973) summed it all up by once writ-ing, “Fishing, with me, has always been an excuse to drink in the daytime.”There’s nothing to criticize in that. There are cocktails made to enjoy with a meal, preferably in the evening, of fresh-caught ﬁsh. To paraphrase from more great litera-ture — this by Dr. Seuss — catch one ﬁsh or two ﬁsh; add Red Fish (a cocktail made with dark rum, coconut rum, mango rum, orange, cranberry and pineapple juice), and Blue Fish (one made with raspberry vodka, citrus vodka, blue Curacao, sour and a splash of 7-Up).Fresh ﬁsh on the grill, in the pan or baking in the oven call out for some of the cocktail world’s most popular tropical drinks. Just consider the often used enhancer to any ﬁsh is lemon juice. Glance through any cookbook and count the number of recipes that combine pineapple, limes and tart fruits in sauces or on the grill.The citrus and fruit bring out the best in both ﬁsh and liquor. All versions of fruity daiquiris, citrusy mojitos, sour margaritas and smooth piña coladas are in the same school with tastes that enhance ﬁsh.Other classic cocktails that should never miss a catch are ones like Sea Breeze, a drink combining vodka, cranberry juice and grapefruit juice; Salty Dog, made with vodka, grapefruit and a salted rim; or Cape Cod, a simple mixture of vodka and cranberry juice.Of course, if the party, or the gathering of ﬁshermen, is larger than a quartet, enjoy life in a ﬁshbowl.Fishbowl cocktails are varied and limitless. What they have in common is that they’re considered punch and generally are served from large pitchers or bowls. These bowls have included actual gold ﬁsh bowls.The wonderful thing about punches is they are easy to make and generally call for the very drink ingredients that go so well with ﬁsh, and these can be adjusted as need-ed. Punches can be made days in advance long before the ﬁsh are caught. On the big day, they can be served around a block of ice. Champagne, sparkling wine or Kara Williams adds a skewer of tropical fruit to the RumShack’s Rum Punch cocktail.54 COASTMONTHLY.COM / February 2017Down the Hatchcarbonated beverages can be added just before serving to give the punch added ﬂair.An additional bonus is they can be made in great quan-tities. After all, a ﬁsh out of water is a terrible thing, but ﬁshermen out of cocktails is a tragedy.Probably the most famous ﬁshbowl cocktail is also the oldest known in the United States — the Fish House Punch. It was ﬁrst brought to life in 1732 at an all-male ﬁshing club in Philadelphia called the State in Schuylkill. It was familiarly known as the Fish House.Made with rum, cognac and peach brandy diluted with cold black tea, Fish House Punch was served in an enormous bowl that was actually used as a baptismal font when needed. It was described by one visiting government ofﬁcial in 1744 as “a bowl of ﬁne lemon punch big enough to have swimmed half a dozen of young Geese.”George Washington, after be-coming the ﬁrst president of the United States, was said to have indulged in the punch multiple times at one sitting. It was not-ed he failed to make any entry in his diary for three days.The recipe is still popular and easily found both online and in most cocktail recipe books. After all, it was not only favored by the father of our country, it had the power to keep a president quiet for at least three days.Locally, there is no shortage of ﬁsh, people who ﬁsh or punches to keep them aﬂoat.At Fish Tales, 2502 Seawall Blvd. in Galveston, the inven-tive folks behind the bar have a full menu of ﬁsh-friendly tropical drinks, including a pop-ular Sunset Punch. While this might sound like the last move in a losing ﬁght, it’s actually a superb punch of spice rum enhanced with banana liqueur and a variety of fruit juices.RumShack, 3204 Seawall Blvd., in Galveston, is the destination spot for a ﬁsh bowl punch that would make the State in Schuylkill and George Washington proud. Called, inno-cently enough, Rum Punch, this delicious mixture could explain why some ﬁsh ﬂy. It contains various amounts of Sugar Island Coconut Rum, Myers and Bac-ardi 151 mixed with fruit juices and Bols Crème de Almond.So, yes, the written pages of history do show the relationship between man and ﬁsh is long and strong and has bonds that would seem eternal. Not the least of those is that both enjoy life in the drink. RUM PUNCHRecipe created by RumShack, part of Island Famous Inc.INGREDIENTS1 ounce Sugar Island Coconut rum1 ounce Myers Dark rum½ ounce bols Crème de almondIceOrange JuicePineapple Juice1 ounce bacardi 151 rumDIRECTIONSStart with a 20-ounce glass and pour in the coconut rum, the Meyers rum and the crème de almond. Fill with ice. Fill the glass with equal parts orange juice and pine-apple juice. using a cocktail shaker, turn the mixture between the glass and the shaker three times.With the mixture in the glass, ﬂoat the bacardi 151 on top.JAMAICA BEACH 16630 Francis Drake $309,995WendellOdorizziREALTOR®, GRI, RSPS, ABR, SRS409.771.2649wendell@sandnsea.comCarol Miller OdorizziREALTOR®, GRI, SRS713.882.3934carol@sandnsea.comLiving the Dream… on Galveston Island. ISLA DEL SOL22306 Isle View $599,000EVIA 14 Mariner Pass $119,000JAMAICA BEACH 16526 Jamaica Beach Road $440,000JAMAICA BEACH 4822 Jamaica Cove Road $435,000JAMAICA BEACH 4413 Pelican Road $319,000Promoting and Advocating for Business and Community Development Since 1845Produced in partnership with:THURSDAY, APRIL 6 20178:30 AM – 5 PMMOODY GARDENS CONVENTION CENTER GALVESTON ISLAND, TEXASCONNIE WATTVice President of the Justin J. Watt Foundation and mother of Houston Texan J.J. 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Please help us make this happen by going to:gofundme.com then type in the search ﬁeld Stringfellow Learning Center.Once there, you may offer a contribution and be part of this growing Learning Center.OPENING MARCH 2017Stringfellow Orchards • 7902 Hwy 6Hitchcock, TX 77563www.stringfelloworchards.comStringfellow Learning CenterSam Collins IIIOwner of Stringfellow Orchards COASTMONTHLY.COM / February 2017 57We’re Sold on Service! 6300 Seawall Boulevard, Unit 8103Large 3BR/1.5BA condo overlooking the Gulf. 21321 Gulf Drive Second row 4BR/2BA beach house in immaculate condition & a great rental property.21902 Matagorda Drive Come ﬁsh off the deck of this 2BR/1BA upstairs and 1BR/2BA downstairs.4131 King Rail Circle Beautiful 3BR/3.5BA beachside house in Pointe West.3522 Cutwater Place Fabulous 5BR/3.5BA canal front house in Lafﬁtes Cove. 1825 & 1829 Seaside Drive - 2 lots $325,000 2 spectacular beachfront lots in exceptional Beachtown. 19011 & 19015 Kahala Drive East, Kahala Beach Estates Addition 1, $475,000 each 2 beachfront lots w/panoramic views, in prestigious Kahala Beach Estates.Michael J. Gaido, IIIREALTOR® ABR, GRI, RSPS, SFR, SRES, SRS409.457.4900MichaelGaido@SandNSea.comMichaelGaido.comCarolyn T. GaidoREALTOR® CLHMS, CRS, RSPS, SRS713.851.3377CarolynGaido@SandNSea.comCarolynGaido.comSand `N Sea Properties, LLC Top Agent Since 1999Kimberly GaidoREALTOR®, SRS713.498.2020KimberlyGaido@SandNSea.comsandnsea.com17715 San Luis Pass Road Fabulous views to the Gulf of Mexico from this 2BR/3BA Karankawa townhome.Gaido - A Trusted Name on Galveston Island! 58 COASTMONTHLY.COM / February 2017Dessert IslandIt’s easy to carry a torch for this smooth and crunchy dessertStory and recipe by Phil Newton Photos by Jennifer ReynoldsCrème brûlée might have a crusty exterior, but once we get past that we ﬁnd a sweet and soft soul that makes us just want to eat it up.This is a dessert that most people wait to order at a nice restaurant on a special night out. That’s a mistake, because this is an easy dessert to make at home; just a few ingredients and some time is all you need. You’ll also need one specialty piece of equipment — a torch for caramelizing the sugar topping.CRÈME BRÛLÉEPrep time: 30 minutesCook time: 40 minutes, allow 2 hours for refrigerationServings: 6INGREDIENTS9 egg yolks¾ cup superﬁne sugar plus 6 tablespoons for topping1 quart heavy cream1 vanilla beanDIRECTIONSPreheat oven to 325 F. In a large bowl, cream together egg yolks and sugar with a whisk until the mixture is pale yellow and thick.Pour cream into medium sauce-pan over low heat. using a paring knife, split the vanilla bean in half, scrape out the seeds and add them to the saucepan.bring cream to a brief simmer, do not boil or it will overﬂow. re-move from heat, strain through a ﬁne mesh strainer to remove most of the seeds, and temper the yolks by gradually whisking the hot vanilla cream into yolk and sugar mixture. Do not add hot cream too quickly or the eggs will cook.Divide custard between 6 (6-ounce) ramekins, about ¾ full. Place ramekins in a shallow roasting pan and ﬁll pan with enough water to come halfway up the side of the ramekins. bake until barely set around the edges, about 40 minutes. you might want to cover loosely with foil to pre-vent browning. remove from oven and cool to room temperature.Transfer to the refrigerator and chill for 2 hours. Sprinkle 1 table-spoon of sugar on top of each chilled custard. Hold a kitchen torch 2 inches above surface to brown the sugar and form a crust.Variations: before dividing into ra-mekins, add 3 ounces of shaved chocolate for chocolate Crème brûlée; add 4 slices of crystal-lized ginger for Ginger Crème brûlée; add 3 slices of orange peel for Orange Crème brûlée. Let steep 20 minutes to infuse the ﬂavor. Strain out the ginger and orange peel before baking. Crème brûlée  Phil Newton is a Galveston baker/cook. He’s the owner/operator of Stiglich Corner with partner Cindy roberts.SALES CENTER OPEN FRIDAY - MONDAY 10a - 4p2402 Mechanic Street | Galveston, Texas 77550409.443.5202 | TheStrandLofts.comAll information is believed to be accurate but is not warranted. Leading EdgeHIGH STYLE FOR AN ELEVATED LEVEL OF LIVINGHISTORIC MADE MODERNEase into a new life at The Strand Historic Lofts and experience a new kind of Texas Gulf living. Loft living in the heart of historic Galveston features bright open spaces with exposed original brick walls and room after room of impressive finishes and authentic details.GALVESTON HISTORIC LOFTSProud winner of The Landmark Commission “Rehabilitation Award” & The Historic Preservation Commission’s Sally B Wallace Outstanding Rehabilitation AwardKELLY KELLEY BROKER ASSOCIATE/CO-OWNER This 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom Penthouse unit #501 comes with magestic harbor views. True loft living at its best in the heart of Galveston’s Historic Strand district. Wide open loft spaces modernized in historic the Clarke & Courts building. Architecture by Nicholas Clayton. Unit 501 was specifically designed to capture the optimal space & harbor views while maintaining great artifacts such as, original brick walls, cables & metal wings and fire doors. Complete with wood floors, custom cabinets, and quartz counter tops. Unit 501 includes a tandem 2 car garage and a storage unit. You have to see to believe!Next >