Our Newport Life...

Our Newport Life...

When I was recently asked by Andrea McHugh, Communications Manager Extraordinaire at Discover Newport and feature writer for Newport Life Magazine to share 2 recipes for a busy family back-to-school feature I felt like I was just talking with a friend, sharing my quick go-to recipes on the fly. I really didn’t think anything more about it until Matt went to our mailbox one morning and gave me this month’s copy of Newport Life Magazine. Andrea McHugh wrote a lovely article about our family and shared the go-to dishes I prepare for our family when we are juggling and I just need easy and healthy on the table for our family.

So, I want to tell you that these 2 recipes are the ones that I go to when Matt is steaming away at Hope & Main. Not that he doesn’t like them, he loves that he gets the leftovers after 1 in the morning when he returns from steam evaporating our sea salt. When our boys ask for what’s for dinner and I tell them Broccoli Bowtie Pasta, they laugh and know that their dad who is usually the cook is away at Hope & Main. I have been making the Broccoli Bowtie for years as it easy and checks all the boxes of yumminess for our family.

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Summertime Sundaes with Grilled Pineapple and Peaches

Summertime Sundaes with Grilled Pineapple and Peaches

I just read that August is the Sunday night of summer and I completely agree with this sentiment. Even in these strange times, the summer months are flying by! Before August gets away from us, I want to share this Grilled Peach and Pineapple Melba Sundae recipe with you. It is THE Summertime Sundae wrapped in fresh fruit and a sprinkle of our sea salt.

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'Make your Own Sunshine' Omelette

'Make your Own Sunshine' Omelette

Hello from Newport, RI!

Do you ever feel like Fridays should just have mandatory sunshine?! It’s the end of the week for most of us and it feels like Friday is the finish line and I want that finish line to be complete with rays of golden light! Right??! So, in reality, we woke up to a gray Newport morning with rain forecasted for the next 2 days. Double Blah! However, I needed to shake things up real quick before I pulled the covers over my head and wait for the grayness to go away…enter the ‘Make your Own Sunshine’ Omelette.

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Butterscotch Pot de Crème

Butterscotch Pot de Crème

I made these Butterscotch Pot de Crème yesterday for my family because I had all the ingredients and I just really needed a dessert fix after bleaching down our kitchen and reorganizing our home and the recipe picture was gorgeous. I set out all my ingredients before I got started and headed into our galley kitchen alone to get creating. Some people meditate, I bake. This could be seen as a problem. ;)

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Irish Soda Bread with Sea Salt Orange Zest Butter

Irish Soda Bread with Sea Salt Orange Zest Butter

With the parade canceled and the concerns of this virus, we used this day to clean up the garden and prepare our St. Patrick’s Day meal. Matt is in charge of the corned beef and I am taking care of the potatoes and the traditional quick bread - Irish Soda Bread. So last year, I made a different Irish Soda Bread recipe without currants and believe me when I tell you that there are plenty of traditionalists out there that let me know that I DID NOT MAKE Irish Soda Bread. So fret not, I prepared it this year’s with Ina Garten’s Irish Soda Bread with currants and I do have to agree with you I am in love with how it turned out and I have become a traditionalist. ;) Say yes to the currants! Thank you Jillian for my now go-to Irish Soda Bread and thank you of course to Ina!

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Take an Italian Trip Down Memory Lane With Us

Take an Italian Trip Down Memory Lane With Us

While living in Italy, our favorite thing to do as a family was to jump in our little car on the weekend and go exploring. We were molto fortunata (extremely lucky) to live near the Amalfi Coast. During the colder months, Amalfi Coast is very similar to Newport in that the town quiet’s down….like realllllyyyyy quiets down and you almost feel like you have this beautiful place to yourself. Well, this one day, it truly felt like our own. We walked down Via Marina Di Praia which hugs the azure blue Mediterranean Sea and discovered this isolated cove with a rocky beach and dotted with closed for the season restaurants - except one - Bar Mare Petit Restaurant. The proprietor, Salvatore Ferraioli welcomed our family with a smile and told us to come in and his mama would make our family a pasta lunch. It was just our family of 4 at one table and Salvatore and his mom and dad at the other table watching futbol. Mama prepared gnocchi Sorrentina for our boys and her signature dish for the adults. Mama Mia, we were beyond lucky that day to have discovered this gem of a place and be welcomed in!

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'Join the Club' Bars

'Join the Club' Bars

What is ‘Join the Club’ Bar? It is essentially two layers of caramel in between three layers of Club Crackers. Surprising with the Club crackers, right?! The topping is a thick blanket of chocolate, butterscotch, and peanut butter. Newport Sea Salt is the crown jewel on the top balancing out the sweetness and making these oh so memorable. You will want to have others ‘Join the Club’ and share them at your Superbowl and Oscar parties.

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Hummus with Butcher's Blend Roasted Chickpeas

Hummus with Butcher's Blend Roasted Chickpeas

I am sure you have noticed through our social media posts, Instagram stories and ‘From the Reef’ recipe blog, that we like to cook, bake, prepare, and enjoy food. Growing up, Matt would ask his mom first thing in the morning, “What’s for dinner?” That hasn’t changed in our home, although, it has changed to, “What do you want to eat tonight?”. :) With 2 growing boys, we were preparing lots of calorie-dense meals to keep up with their appetites..and well, the weight scale did the same for us…the numbers grew for Matt and I (and not our kids)!

SO this hummus is in an effort to brighten our weekdays and lend a positive light on the weight scale with our increased gym routine and ahem, more water not wine. ;)

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