Pursuing New Paths

It's been a little quiet on There's a Newf in My Soup, but I can assure you we are eating well and are gearing up for another fantastic summer of themed picnics for Coronado Concerts in the Park.

Exciting opportunities have come our way in the past few months. We continue to photograph for local restaurants and food and wine events, and we recently joined Wine & Dine San Diego as reporters/photographers. Published articles include reviews of the newly opened Urban Eats, the San Diego filming of The Greatest American Chefs Tour at House of Blues, and this year's Chef Celebration Dinner Series.  This week, we're wrapping up our whirlwind tour of Coronado Island Happy Hours for another Wine & Dine feature. With all of this wining and dining around San Diego, and inspiration along the way, I hope to occasionally prepare and share recipes by San Diego chefs on the blog.

To bring you up to date, here are some excerpts from our published Wine & Dine San Diego articles (links above will take you to full articles), and a few photos from recent food and wine events and photo shoots...

...After lunch, we were treated to a sampling of the sweet endings - a decadent and gooeyurban brownie ($5) adorned with candied walnuts and drizzled with salted caramel, and freshly baked, still warm from the oven, urban cookies ($4).  Urban Eats: Big City Fare, Small Town Prices 

Sweet Endings at Urban Eats, San Diego

...Matt Gordon, founding partner and executive chef of North Park's Urban Solace and Solace & the Moonlight Lounge in downtown Encinitas, has achieved his 5-year goal of using only organic and all-natural ingredients. He feels good about the products served in his restaurants, right down to organic vegan Worcestershire sauce and handcrafted maraschino cherries. Known for his New American Comfort Food, Gordon prepared a dish of lobster and grits using Maine lobsters, organic yellow grits, and local farm vegetables supplied by Specialty Produce.  The Greatest American Chefs Tour Readies Itself to Hit the Road

Chef Matt Gordon and Devin Alexander during filming of The Greatest American Chefs Tour

...The first course, and one of the most vibrant, was Chad White’s live spot prawn. The sweet shrimp tail meat was placed alongside the critter's head and surrounded by escabeche, a Spanish marinade interpreted by White as a tangy salad of baby carrots, beets, pearl onions, serrano peppers, celery and scallions. This dish impressively showcased San Diego’s finest seafood and produce.  Dining for Dollars: 2012 Chef Celebration Dinners Fund Culinary Scholarships 

Chef Celebration Dinner at Terra American Bistro

...The fifth course posed a choice between Sinsay’s local sea bass or Rossman’s lager-braised pork belly. Many couples ordered one of each to share, naturally (who wouldn't?), and there seemed general agreement that the succulent pork belly was the winning plate of the evening. Garnishes were tender and flavorful strawberry-beet gnocchi, frisee lettuce and sautéed kale from Suzie’s Farm.  

Chef Rossman's Pork Belly with Strawberry-Beet Gnocchi

...Take a trip back in time to the roaring 1920s at Prohibition: Wine & Dine.  Join guys and dolls at San Diego's hottest new joint for the year's most talked about event.  Shimmy to the sounds of the 20s on the non-stop dance floor, indulge in tastings from premium wine and food purveyors and bid on items at the exciting silent auction.  Learn the secret "password" and gain access into the local speakeasy, where you can enjoy specially handcrafted prohibition era cocktails and try out your luck on the casino game floor - Wine & Dine Prohibition 

Wine & Dine Prohibition at the Westin Gaslamp

Craps Table at Wine & Dine Prohibition

Chef Daniel Barron's Carnitas Mac & Cheese

Nobu's famed Miso Black Cod, in lettuce cups

...A few of the most interesting and tasty bites so far in the Coronado Happy Hour Tour

Candelas Tacos de Ribeye (with chile poblano, corn, cheese and frijoles charro style

Leroy's Kitchen Blistered Padron Peppers

Primavera Ristorante's Crostini Florentina (goat cheese, filet mignon, spinach, porcini mushrooms)

Charcuterie (especially the Duck and Pork Pate with Pistachios) at Hotel Del Coronado's ENO Wine Bar

...and finally, Fish Tacos from a recent photo shoot for Coronado Brewing Company

I'll be back in the kitchen soon, but it's going to be hard topping the food we've been enjoying lately!

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Full Disclosure: We were guests of Urban Eats, The Greatest American Chefs Tour, Chef Celebration, and the Coronado restaurants featured for Happy Hour. We donated our photography services for the Wine & Dine Prohibition Party, and were hired by Coronado Brewing Company.