Napaville

When I was a little girl I had a little red suitcase. My sister had the matching blue one.
When I was a little girl one of my favorite things to hear was, "Lo, pack your little red bag."

From an early age, I embraced and fell in love with weekender travel. Packing my miniature bag meant new adventures, fun with the family, and a better story on Monday morning when Mrs. Harper asked us to write about what we did over the weekend. A Notre Dame football weekend, sleepover, ski trip to Hidden Valley, family wedding, or visit to Quincy all made superior subject matter to those who hadn't packed their bags for the weekend.

I don't have the little red suitcase anymore. Instead I have a small green carry-on. And it seems I have had the opportunity to pack my little green bag many more times than normal over the past 12 months. I've been to weddings and parties from East to West. I've been to conferences and conventions from North to South. And I've thought up every other imaginable reason to exit the exurbs during the weekends when I didn't have anything planned. Just as packing my little red suitcase was a highlight of my childhood, packing for a weekender journey on Friday morning continues to bring joy.

This weekend I packed it again and headed out to Rosemont, Illinois. Now, for non-Illinois residents, you might envision this to be a beautiful weekend destination. I'll dispel the illusion right now. This is the community next to O'Hare Airport. It boasts a giant out-dated convention center, the airport version of every big name hotel in the country, and once a year, our annual fundraising gala.

Even though it was just Rosemont, an exciting adventure was in store, so the packing and thought-process behind it were as fun as ever. I packed a red dress, a little red heart barrette, my make-up, some PJs, and a change of clothes for Sunday. It was a great night and even better was the fact that Herb Kelleher was duly impressed by my wardrobe theory, LUV red and all! See ... good thing I over-thought that one.

I also tried my hand at bidding on silent auction items. Note to self, don't get your heart set on a Troy Polamalu jersey when you are bidding against business men who possess company stock that has just reached an all-time high.

I didn't win Shaq's shoe either. 

On Sunday though, when the party was over and I still had half a weekend left, my green carry-on felt cheated. And I do believe it was begging for more.

So on Sunday, I decided that me and my green bag, and The Boyfriend too, would take a make-believe trip to the part of the country that we couldn't fit into this year (but is on the list for next), wine country. This imaginary journey was made possible by my parents as I was able to live vicariously through their romantic recollections and the cookbooks that they have brought back for me.

Napaville was beautiful yesterday. The fall foliage was in it's prime. The weather was perfect - low 70s, soft breezes, and sun. The local brewer (The Boyfriend ... hmm ... this might just be a name?) had just finished brewing his autumn Porter so there was still the scent of yeast and hops in the air. And the harvest (apples and pumpkins instead of grapes) was burgeoning. I ran through the Fall colors, shopped in the quaint town, worked with a local artist to create and duplicate our Save the Dates, and went to the farm to stock up on Fall's bounty.

We continued our journey into the evening with the help of the PlumpJack cookbook, a winery that I have dreamed about going to ever since I sold a bottle of PlumpJack reserve Cabernet when I was working at Eleven. We traveled up to the PlumpJack Squaw Valley Inn's - an intimate, almost Elizabethan-looking lodge that formerly hosted Winter Olympic athletes and now hosts wealthy wine-lovers. We went to the Cafe there where portions are robust and filling. And ahhh ... after running around the convention center on Saturday, running and walking around Napaville and carrying massive pumpkins, I was definitely ready for some hearty feeding.

Using the Cafe's recipe, I braised some short ribs, cleaned the meat off the bone and turned those tender morsels into a shepherd's pie. Then I complimented that with an apple, fennel and gorgonzola salad. And in celebration of Herb Kelleher who me told to gain a few, I embraced the robust portions and polished off my heaping portion.

My food pictures kind of suck.

After a wonderful Fall day and dinner, me, myself and my little green carry-on were satisfied. And even though my weekend vacation was a little made-up (I went shopping at the Gap, got my Save the Dates copied at Kinko's, and Napaville in no way compares to wine country) it made for a better story on Monday.

Lo.

Here's the recipe. 

Shepherd's Pie for Two (adapted from the Plumpjack Cookbook)
1 Tbsp butter
3 beef short ribs (about 2 pounds)
Salt and pepper
1 carrot (chopped)
1/2 cup sweet onion (chopped)
4 cloves of garlic (chopped)
2 rosemary sprigs
1 1/2 cups Red wine (I used a Merlot, despite the Sideways repeal of it.)
2 cups Beef Stock
1/2 of a sweet potato (peeled and chopped)
3 Yukon gold potatoes (peeled and chopped)
Heavy Cream
Butter
White pepper and salt

The recipe actually calls for overnight marinating, but it was already almost 5:00, and both he and she were hungry, so we expedited the process and went straight into the braising phase.

Make the Meat:
Basically, it's a one, two, punch, tender meat process:
Season the beef and brown it on all sides in melted butter.
Throw in the onions, garlic, and carrot and saute for about 4 minutes.
Add the stock and wine, bring to a boil, turn to a simmer and continue to simmer for 2.5 hours.
Fall off the thick bone, tender.

Make the Mashed Potatoes:
In the last 20 minutes or so of the meat-braising phase, boil the potatoes until soft.
Mash them with the butter, cream and salt and pepper.

Make the Pie:
Pull the meat from the bone, and add some of the carrots and onions from the liquid.
Put the mashed potatoes on top like a crust and bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.
While this is cooking, strain the remaining veges and rosemary and some of the fat from the liquid. Put the liquid in a sauce pan and back on the stove. Reduce over medium high heat for 10 minutes until it becomes rich pan sauce.