Staycation in San Diego

Children's Beach, La Jolla

This past weekend we hosted an out of town visitor. Doing so gives us a chance to view our home stomping grounds through the eyes of one who does not live here.  I'm posting a series of photos from the weekend to share our experiences.  Hope you enjoy!  After picking up our guest at the airport, we were headed for dinner, but had extra time before our reservation, so we detoured to the La Jolla Cove.  A picture tells a thousand words, but what's missing is the sound of the happy children in the water, and the barks and *aroma* of the many sea lions.  In fact, the beach pictured above used to be covered with sea lions; now there's a happy balance between the humans and the other mammals.

Another view of Children's Beach

After a great dinner at Red Tracton's http://www.redtractonssteakhouse.com/ we headed home in time for a spectacular sunset.

Headed out bright and early the next morning, in time to catch the first sailing on the Flagship Spirit of San Diego Harbor Excursion ( http://www.flagshipsd.com/ ) - one of our favorite things to do with out of town guests.  If time permits, we love doing both the north and south tours, each lasting an hour. No tour is ever exactly the same; on this tour we saw a warship headed out for a long deployment as well as the First in Class SS America doing training exercises, with her sailors and marines "lining the decks" - a very stirring sight.  

Our ship, the Spirit of San Diego

This ship was headed to see on her way to a multi-month deployment

First in Class SS America on a training exercise; her sailors and marines were lining the decks!

Rich, Joan & Rodney relaxing on the back deck of the Spirit of San Diego

Fishing boat loading up on bait at the 'Bait Barge"; typically the barge is covered with seals and seabirds hoping to snag some bait.  

This tug reminded us of Theodore from Thomas and his Friends : - ) 

The Patriot is operated by Flagship and speeds around the bay at speeds up to 50 mph. 

We were treated to saltwater spray as the Patriot made a 180 turn near our ship!

This floating pen houses seals and dolphins being trained by the Navy to be able to detect underwater mines or unauthorized divers near navy ships.

$6 billion ship under construction at NASSCO

We disembarked from our ship and headed over to The Fish Market for lunch.  MMMMM Lobster!  From there we headed over the the USS Midway Museum.

Our guest in the "Boss" seat in the Bridge

Our guest at the wheel of the Midway

After a full day on the Midway and the Spirit of San Diego, we had an early dinner in anticipation of a very early wake-up call the next morning.  We were headed across the border and had to meet our coach at 7:15 AM...We booked a trip via Day Tripper Tours, a San Diego-based touring company specializing in day trips from San Diego.  It was founded by a school bus driver who learned a lot about touring the area from taking school children on field trips!  While most of their offerings are day trips, they do have more extended overnight trips as well.  It was a good way for us to dip our toes into Mexico with a wonderful guide.   http://www.daytrippertours.com/

We had three destinations - Rosarito Beach, Puerto Nuevo and Tijuana.  

The Famous "Papas & Beer" right on Rosarito Beach

Fancy riding a horse on the beach?  You can do that!

It was very early in the day; the beach was full of scenes like this

Coconut & Shrimp - interesting combo, but seriously the fresh fruit available at this stand smelled heavenly!

Entrance to the Iconic Rosarito Beach Hotel.  The original building from the 1920s, built of adobe, is still standing (but our guide recommended the much newer high rise for more comfortable, air conditioned rooms.) 

Reception area of the Hotel's Spa.  Beautifully tiled!

The legend says:  Through these doors pass beautiful women!

Our guide recommended checking out the vintage murals in the hotel's lobby.  They are actually frescoes which took over two years to paint.

There was a motorcycle club charity event taking place at the hotel; twice a year "Rolling Deep for Charities" sponsors a ride into Rosarito and distributes bicycles to children in the community.  This Harley had a gorgeous Mexican tooled leather seat.

From Rosarito Beach, we headed further south to Ortega's Restaurant in Puerto Nuevo, a tiny, sparsely populated town on the coast featuring 30+ lobster restaurants.

Baja lobsters have no claws but are muy delicioso nevertheless!

For dessert a little flan...

It was a cloudy and overcast day but Ortega's colorful decorations make it a very festive spot.

After our lovely lunch at Ortega's, we headed back to Tijuana for a quick stop at La Vienessa Bakery for some awesome baked goods.  Mexico, like the USA, is a melting pot; many of the local pastry shops / bakeries were founded by Austrian immigrants.   A note about our day trip and crossing the border:  Passports are required to go into and return from Mexico.  There was a border crossing lane designated for coaches; in our case a Mexican Customs agent boarded our bus and gave us our visa forms to complete.  We then walked through customs and a metal detector while our bus was x-rayed; we re-boarded the bus after it was cleared.  Coming back into the US was very similar - got off the bus with all our purchases, and went through the same sort of customs / immigration lines as one would when re-entering the US at an international airport. It was a very full day; we crossed the border into Mexico at about 9 am and were back at our car by about 6 pm.  

The next day we had our own sightseeing planned - a stop at the San Diego Glider Port in La Jolla, then a run up Mount Soledad, followed by a drive down the coast and visits to Point Loma, Cabrillo National Monument and Coronado Island. 

View of the glider port; unfortunately no one was gliding yet!!!

Partial View from Mt. Soledad - it was a very foggy day!

On our way we stopped at Crystal Pier, at the foot of Garnet Street in Pacific Beach.  The Pier is actually a hotel dating back 90 years; there are several cabins built right on the pier, ranging from studios to two-bedroom kitchenettes.  We used to stay here as kids (our parents loved staycations too!)  It's very special to be in one of the cabins at high tide and feel the waves underfoot. 

Crystal Pier has a public section and is used primarily for strolling or for fishing  This is the stickered-up fish cleaning station. 

Idyllic, right?

From Crystal Pier we headed south, to Point Loma and the Cabrillo National Monument, the smallest of the US National Parks.  It's located at the very tip of Point Loma and is named after Joao Cabrillo, the Portuguese explorer who, sailing under the flag of Spain, discovered San Diego Harbor.   This is the view looking from the top of the hill down toward the current lighthouse.

There is an older 19th century lighthouse at the top of the hill and it's open to visitors.  This is the view down the nautilus style staircase in the lighthouse.  The bedrooms and living rooms for the keeper's family are arranged around the staircase. 

This is the light at the summit of the old, retired lighthouse

After our visit to Cabrillo, we headed to Coronado Island, across the beautiful blue arching Coronado Bridge.  (I was driving so no photos!)  We drove by the Coronado Hotel, then headed out along the Silver Strand, which prior to the bridge was how one got to Coronado.  Finally we headed back toward home, for a nice Italian dinner and another relaxing evening at home (spent going through photos from our lovely weekend.)   I hope you enjoyed this little taste of San Diego!  

Vintage Valentine

This is the setting for the fun and energetic cooking class we participated in at The Marine Room in La Jolla, California.

We have enjoyed many fine meals at the Marine Room in La Jolla, and I recently learned that cooking demonstrations are offered four times yearly.  Earlier this week, Rich and I attended the "Vintage Valentine" class which was great fun.  In the oft repeated words of Chef Bernard:  "Life is Delicious!"

The class was presented by Executive Chef Bernard Guillas and Chef de Cuisine Ron Oliver, who have also collaborated on two gorgeous cookbooks - most recently, Two Chefs, One Catch - pictured above

The cookbooks are a story in themselves.  Beautifully written and photographed, Chefs Ron and Bernard shopped the first book, Flying Pans, to several literary agents, with no takers - so they self published - and the book won awards!

We were treated to a very refreshing, light cocktail - lemon vodka with pomegranate juice and seltzer

Mise en place for the Maine Lobster Minestrone 

First up was preparation of the Maine Lobster Minestrone.  Chef Ron reminded us that Minestrone is essentially "Cucina Povera" or peasant cooking and was typically a way to create a filling dish using food leftover from previous meals.  This was no Cucina Povera!!!

Chef Bernard is over the top, bubbly, effusive; Chef Ron is deadpan.  They play off each other beautifully!

Waiting for dinner service

Chef Bernard shelling the lobster for the minestrone that Chef Ron was composing.  The stock was the lobster cooking water re-infused briefly with the lobster shells for added flavor. 

The lobsters had been prepared prior to class, and the water in which they were cooked was the base for the minestrone.  After the meat was deftly extracted from the shells, the shells were added back into the simmering stock for about 10 minutes, to further fortify/infuse it with the rich flavor of the lobster.  Diced pancetta had a quick saute' in olive oil, then aromatics were sweated in the fat.  Drinkable white wine, tomatoes, the lobster stock and barley were added and brought to a simmer, at which point the pasta and remaining vegetables except the spinach were added to the pot.  The spinach leaves were placed in serving bowls; they are cooked at the point that the hot finished soup is ladled over them.  Similarly, the cooked lobster is simply pulled through the hot stock to reheat, to prevent overcooking.   The reheated lobster pieces were beautifully arranged in the serving dishes, which were garnished with sprigs of flowering herbs.  Absolutely delicious.  And the pasta shape?  Shells, of course!  Chef Bernard has shared the recipe online; here is his link:  http://www.chefbernard.com/REFLECTIONS/MaineLobsterMinestrone.html

Maine Lobster Minestrone, as presented by Chef Bernard

Chef Bernard seasoning tenderloin for Beef Wellington

 Next up was Filet Mignon Wellington with Foie Gras and Duxelles, with a Truffle Port Wine Reduction, served with "Sexy Bundles" of White Asparagus, Pickled Carrots and Chive, and Comte Mashed Potatoes.   Chef Bernard started by seasoning the trimmed filet portions well with salt and pepper, and then searing in olive oil on all sides.  Meanwhile, he sauteed sliced mushrooms, shallots and butter until they sizzled, then chopped them into a paste in the food processor.  Next step was to slice foie gras pate thinly in order to assemble the final dish.  Puchased puff pastry was cut into an 8' square, then rolled out more thinly.  A portion of mushrooms was placed on the pastry, topped with the filet, then the slice of foie gras, then more mushroom duxelles.  At this point the pastry was gently folded over the top of the bundle, and the edges sealed under.  The entire package can be refrigerated for up to 12 hours prior to baking.

Chef Bernard plating the components of the main course

Filet Mignon Wellington, Comte Potatoes, White Asparagus Bundle with a Truffle Port Wine Reduction 

 Et Voila - the finished product!  The aromas during preparation were simply amazing!

Finally, a Flight of Chocolate Pot de Creme

The final course for the evening was a trio of Pot de Creme, which is basically a very gently cooked egg custard made with heavy cream, and in this case, three types of chocolate - dark, milk and white.  The custards were piped into mini-ramekins using a tool called a "Sugar Gun" or "Sauce Gun" which was similar to a funnel but with a lever with which one is able to easily control the flow of liquid into a container.  The ramekins were plated on top of an orange slice and two pieces of sliced lotus root - simply to keep the small dishes from sliding around on the dish.  They were garnished with citrus biscotti, shortbread spoons and a chocolate curl.  The only difference between Pot de Creme and Creme Brulee is that the Brulee is coated with a layer of sugar which is "bruleed" or carmelized by direct flame on top.

Interestingly, The Marine Room, which this year celebrates its 75th anniversary, was in the news recently, as a hungry sea lion pup wandered into the restaurant and was found sleeping in a booth with a view very early in the morning.  During the evening, Chef Bernard shared the news that he had been to Sea World earlier in the day to visit the pup, now named "Marina", and that she has gained 4 pounds since her rescue and will be released back in the sea in a few weeks.  http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/06/us/a-hungry-sea-lion-wanders-into-a-restaurant.html?_r=0

Anyone interested in more information regarding this wonderful evening, please contact me at Joan@tastefulvoyages.com

Travel Well!!!