Newport Restaurant Group Grassroots » Boat House Restaurant

Carrying on the Chowder Tradition

clukeris — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 19:45:44 +0000

Castle Hill’s Chef Jon was featured Cultivating Life with Sean Conway, a weekly television series that aims to prove “reconnecting to the land is as easy as stepping out your back door.” Sounds like Chef Jon and Sean’s culinary philosophies have much in common. Whether Chef is incorporating herbs and vegetables from the Castle Hill garden into his dishes or taking a fishing trip out in Narragansett Bay to catch fresh striper for dinner that night, he (quite literally) uses his backyard for culinary exploration and inspiration.

Watch the video above as Chef shows Sean how to make the quintessential New England dish, Clam Chowder. To quote Cultivating Life, “The flavors in his version are clean, and rely on the best of his main ingredients for the flavor, bacon, onions, home grown potatoes and Quahogs harvested from the beaches nearby.” Sounds like the celebrated approach each of our Newport Restaurant Group chefs take when creating a dish – relying on freshness and local flavors to leave a lasting impression.

Speaking of our Newport Restaurant Group family carrying on the New England Clam Chowder tradition, we have a bit of boasting to do. At the Knorr Great Chowder Cook-Off held at the Newport Yachting Center on June 5th, chowder enthusiasts tasted various recipes from 29 different restaurants and voted on who they felt made the best Clam, Seafood, and Creative Chowders. The Boat House took home top honors for their Creative Chowder, and Waterman Grille won bronze in the same category. Hemenway’s Seafood Grille & Oyster Bar secured second place in the largest category, Clam, as a first time entrant. We are ecstatic that the hard work of our culinary teams was recognized at what is considered by most the premiere chowder tasting event in the country!

…Hungry yet? You can make Chef Jon’s scrumptious clam chowder on your own. Just visit here for the recipe!

The Boat House Makes An Appearance On TV Diner

clukeris — Mon, 10 May 2010 14:26:52 +0000

Check out the Boat House’s appearance on TV Diner with Billy Costa. The Hall of Fame Chowder and Lobster Fritters sure do look good!

Chef James Takes His Skills to the Court

clukeris — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 17:18:01 +0000

…The basketball court, that is! The Fall River Herald featured Chef James from the Boat House in its “Ten from the Line” series recently. They wanted to see who had the better free-throw skills, our Chef or his brother, ABC 6 meteorologist Fred Campagna. How did he shape up? You’ll have to watch the video! Either way, we are quite proud of Chef James and know he is MVP in the Boat House kitchen, where he crafts superb meals that keep us coming back for more.

Chef James Campagna Cooks Up Scottish Salmon

Steve Barbera — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 13:40:00 +0000

Chef James Campagna of the Boathouse Restaurant shared his recipe for Scottish salmon with a very unique concoction

By Deborah Allard

Herald News Staff Reporter

Posted Jun 18, 2009 @ 12:31 PM

Tiverton — At the Boat House Restaurant at 227 Schooner Drive, Executive Chef James Campagna, his sous chef, head cooks and manager, often exchange recipe ideas for new menu inspirations.

The grilled Scottish salmon with smoked tomato jam and lentils with asparagus vinaigrette was one of those creative concoctions that is part of the restaurant’s spring menu. And, just like the season, this dish pops with color and taste.

“We try to have a blend of comfort foods people recognize and then we put a little twist on it,” Campagna said.

Before the summer menu rolls out in a couple of weeks, diners can still feast on spring delights like lobster scampi with shrimp and scallops, scallops with risotto and blood orange gastrique, baked stuffed shrimp with lump crab-roasted corn stuffing, and more, all enjoyed with indoor and outdoor views of the Sakonnet River.
For a complete menu listing, visit www.boathousetiverton.com. The restaurant is open Monday to Thursday 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday and Saturday 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Sunday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Brunch is served Sundays 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. For more information, call 401-624-6300.

Grilled Scottish salmon
Smoked tomato jam,
and lentils with asparagus vinaigrette
Salmon, 4 portions, 7 ounces each
5 plum tomatoes, cut in half
1/2 cup Spanish onions, diced
1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon garlic, chopped
1 ounce of oil
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup Beluga lentils
1 cup of celery, carrot, and onion. finely diced
1/2 pound arugula

Asparagus vinagrette:
6 spears of blanched asparagus
3 ounces white vinegar
Zest of one lemon
1/2 cup oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Procedure:
For tomato jam:
At the Boat House we smoke the plum tomatoes before making the jam. For home cooks, I recommend grilling or oven drying the tomatoes.
Over medium heat, add onions, garlic and oil to pan. Let sweat for three minutes until translucent. Add tomatoes and rice wine vinegar. Cook over low heat until tomatoes begin to break down, about 15 minutes. Season to taste.

For asparagus vinaigrette:
Using a blender, puree asparagus, vinegar and zest until very smooth. Slowly emulsify with oil and season to taste.
For lentils: Bring about two quarts of water to boil and cook lentils until soft without over cooking. Drain and let cool.

To serve:
Season and grill Scottish salmon. In a separate pan over medium heat add finely diced celery, carrot, and onion. Let cook until vegetables are soft and add lentils. Once warm add asparagus vinaigrette and arugula. Toss together and plate. Top lentils with grilled salmon and tomato jam and enjoy.
E-mail Deborah Allard at
dallard@heraldnews.com.

Cooking with Chef Delibero – Grilled Filet with Wild Mushroom Demi

Steve Barbera — Fri, 01 May 2009 19:57:14 +0000

We’re cooking grilled filet with a wild mushroom demi sauce with Chef Kevin Delibero of Newport Restaurant Group.

Ingredients:
2 8oz filets Mignon
3 large Yukon gold potatoes (large dice)
2 large shallots (sliced thinly)
¼ cup heavy cream
½ cup half & half
1 large Portobello (cleaned and medium dice)
3 shitake mushroom (Thinly diced)
1 cup demi glace
1/2 cup oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Procedure:
- Dice Yukon potatoes
- Place in a pot with water
- Bring to a boil turn down to a simmer for 15 minutes
- Place cream and half & half into a pot to heat slowly (not on high it will boil over)
- In a hot sauté pan place shallots in and caramelize for 5min
- When potatoes are tender drain from water and place into a mixer
- Start on low speed and add in the hot cream mixture
- Add in the caramelized shallots
- Taste for seasoning

For the sauce:
- In a sauce pan place the remaining oil in pan and heat till hot
- Place mushrooms in and sauté till golden brown
- Add in demi glace and cook for 5 minutes

For the steak:
- Pre heat grill to 600 degrees
- Season beef well on both sides
- Place steak on the grill and cook till desired temperature

Spring Onion Soup with Chef Cambra

Steve Barbera — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 16:12:32 +0000

We’re cooking Spring Onion Soup with Chef Jonathan Cambra of Newport Restaurant Group.

(Yields 5 portions)

Ingredients for Soup:
4 medium size Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and quartered
5lbs of medium Spanish onions, sliced
4ea of garlic cloves, minced
2 Cups white wine to cover chicken broth
1 ¼ Cups heavy cream
to taste lemon juice, salt and white pepper

Ingredients for Sauté:
1 pound of fresh native cooked lobster meat, cut into bite size pieces
1/4lb cleaned Morel mushrooms, cut in half
1garlic clove, minced fine
1/4 cup red watercress
to taste kosher salt, white pepper
1/2 cup white wine
1/4 cup fresh chives, minced
3T Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Steps:

Procedure for Soup:
- In a large stock pot, sauté the onions and garlic until softened, but not browned.
- Add wine and reduce by half.
- Add the potatoes.
- Cover with stock one inch over top of potatoes.
- Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a low simmer and cook until potatoes are very tender.
- Remove potatoes, onions and garlic, reserving the cooking liquid.
- In a blender, puree the vegetables until very smooth with some of the stock.
- Add puree back to a clean pot, bring to a simmer and adjust to your desired consistency with more of the reserved stock.
- Add the cream.
- Bring back to a simmer.
- Season with salt, pepper and lemon juice.

Procedure for Sauté:
- In a hot skillet, add olive oil, sauté morels until crispy, add garlic salt and pepper.
- Deglaze with white wine, reduce by half fold in lobster, and finish with chopped chives.
- To plate: Add the lobster and Morels to the center of a soup bowl, ladle hot soup, garnish with water cress.

Castle Hill Windward Weiss – A New Brew at Newport Restaurant Group

Steve Barbera — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 17:26:26 +0000

We are working on an exciting new project that will be rolled out this summer at some of our restaurants – our very own beer! The brew is called ‘Castle Hill Windward Weiss’ and is a traditional German Hefeweizen or ‘wheat beer’ that exhibits subtle flavors of banana and clove. We have commissioned the beer from Coastal Extreme Brewing – a local brewery based in Middletown, RI – and we had our first taste yesterday. We are tentatively scheduled to have the beer at Trio, 22 Bowen’s, Castle Hill & the Boat House in early Summer. We hope you’ll join us for a taste of this locally-brewed craft beer in the months ahead. Until then, here is a prototype of the tap handle, which is in the design phase and is being developed by a company out in Oregon. Think Summer!