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!

We’re cooking Beer Battered Fish and Chips with Executive Chef Michael Conetta.

Ingredients: Yield: 4 servings

Guinness 1can
Egg White, lightly whipped 1each
Milk, whole 2/3 cup
Canola Oil 1tsp
Baking Powder 1tsp
Cayenne Pepper, ground ¼ tsp
Salt, kosher ¼ tsp
All Purpose Flour 1-1/2 cup
All Purpose Flour for Dipping ½ cup
Canola oil for Frying 4 cup
Russet Potatoes cut into wedges
2lbs Fish (Cod, Pollock, Halibut, ect…)

DIRECTIONS
1. Pat potato wedges with paper towels to remove extra moisture and reduce splattering when frying. Add wedges to deep fryer when the canola oil has reached the appropriate frying temperature of 375 degrees F.
2. Remove potato wedges from the canola oil with slotted spoon when they reach a golden brown color, drain them on paper towels, and season to taste.
3. To prepare batter, mix together beer, egg, milk, and canola oil. Add baking powder, cayenne pepper, salt and flour all at once, mixing only enough to dampen the dry ingredients.
4. Coat fish pieces in flour before dipping fish in batter and place in 375 degrees F canola oil to deep fry. Cook until golden, about 6 minutes. Remove from canola oil with slotted spoon, drain on paper towels. Serve immediately

Information about the Newport Irish Festival:

Come join the shenanigans at the Newport Yachting Center’s 12th Annual Newport Waterfront Irish Festival starting this Saturday and running throughout Labor Day Weekend.

More than 100 performers and exhibitors will perform on five stages and contribute to the celebration of Irish music, food, culture and history.

Now one of the largest festivals of its kind in the country, the three-day community event will feature five stages of continuous live music, song and step dancing, including a new covered Main Stage concert venue complete with 400 seats.

As always, there will be a star-studded line up of musicians, many of whom are from across the pond, including:
– Eileen Ivers, The Killdares, Black 47 and Town Pants on Saturday, September 5th and Sunday, September 6th and
– The Screaming Orphans, The Makem and Spain Brothers and The Glengarry Bhoys on “Must See Monday”, September 7th.

Attendees will also find a Culture and Theater Tent featuring Irish step dancers and North America’s premiere Celtic comedy act, the Tartan Terrors.

To celebrate Guinness’ 250th Anniversary its brewers from Dublin’s beer center of excellence have handcrafted a remarkable limited-edition stout for the occasion.

Attendees can Pour Your Own Pint and receive pointers from the Guinness ambassadors on how to ensure the perfect two-part pour while settling the pint and shaping a good luck shamrock.

If a quick draft is desired, the Guinness Gig Rig draught system will be parked in the middle of the action, pouring your favorite black & tan with Harp Lager and Guinness Stout from up to 200 kegs and 24 taps.

Enjoy a pint with assorted offerings of traditional Irish pub fare, including bangers & mash, fish & chips, corned beef dinner, shepherd’s pie, spiral potatoes and fried oysters.

For the shoppers in the crowd, imported and domestic crafts and goods ranging from apparel and customized pub art to family histories and kilts will be found at the Irish Marketplace.

The wee ones will enjoy Rainbow’s End KidSTOP which will offer families time to explore and take away Irish-themed arts and crafts including a top hat or step-dancer’s headdress, a magic Shamrock or a Celtic maze rubbing.

And no, the festival isn’t going to the dogs but the dogs are going to the festival! Several Irish Wolfhounds, known as the “King of the Dogs”, will be on the grounds courtesy of the Irish Wolfhound Association of New England.

Every adult who buys a ticket to the festival has the opportunity to enter to win a trip for two to Ireland courtesy of Tenon Tours Trip. The immersion tour includes round-trip airfare, 5 nights of premier hotel accommodations, five full Irish breakfasts and a complete offering of optional tours and events.

Sponsors of this year’s festival include Guinness, Tenon Tours, Cardi’s Furniture, Dunkin’ Donuts, Life is good, Pepsi and Sprint.

The gates will open at 11:00 each day and close at 9:00 p.m. on Saturday, 8:00 p.m. on Sunday and 6:00 p.m. on Monday.

The ticket prices for Saturday is $18 for adults and $15 for both Sunday and Monday. However, on Monday college students who present a valid college student ID at the box office will still receive a discounted ticket of $12. The Festival is FREE for children under the age of 12 as long as an adult accompanies them.

Tickets are still available through the Newport Yachting Center Box Office at (401) 846-1600 or you can order on-line by going to www.newportwaterfrontevents.com

We’re in the kitchen today cooking Halibut Livornese with Chef Kevin DiLibero of Newport Restaurant Group.

Ingredients:
2 pieces 8oz halibut
1 tblsp of butter
½ cup white wine
1 28oz can of Italian plum tomatoes
1 red onion Sliced very thinly
1 tblsp of capers
1 tblps of olives
1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes
Extra virgin olive oil As needed
Procedure for Sauce

1. In a sauce caramelize red onions
2. Add in olives, capers, red pepper flakes
3. Stir well deglaze with white wine
4. Reduce the white wine by ½
5. Add in Tomatoes
6. cook for 1 hour on low heat
For poaching the fish

1. combine butter and white wine in a sauté pan
2. place fish into the pan
3. add tomato sauce and cook on low heat for 8 minutes
4. finish with extra virgin olive oil
From Providence to Newport and everywhere in between, Newport Restaurant Group provides the highest quality culinary experience with a creative, thoughtful and responsible approach in preparing all of our menus. Each restaurant’s signature cuisine follows the principles of our Culinary Philosophy. We begin with the premise that food is one of the fundamental joys of the human experience. It is therefore our goal to provide our guests with an unparalleled culinary experience in a welcoming and unique, service-oriented atmosphere.  Newport Restaurant Group’s award-winning portfolio of restaurants includes: Castle Hill Inn & Resort, The Mooring Seafood Kitchen & Bar, 22 Bowen’s Wine Bar & Grille, Waterman Grille, The Boat House Restaurant, The Smokehouse Café and Trio Restaurant.

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

This past weekend, we headed over to the west bay where we were invited to take part in a culinary demonstration at the Rhode Island Kitchen & Bath Showroom. Chef Brian Mansfield put the demo kitchen to good use as he prepared Seared Georges Bank Sea Scallops, Spring Onion Risotto & Roasted Red Pepper Tapenade to a delighted crowd. Corey Barriera, General Manager of Waterman Grille paired a 2006 JJ Vincent Pouilly Fuisse to complement the scallops. Nothing like a little food & wine on a great Spring afternoon.