Happy Anni to us!
38 years and "W" and I are still going strong.
So....we went to Napa to celebrate.
Actually Yountville
Which is my new favorite town in Napa Valley.
So quaint, so accessible to anything Napa
We started by having a layover in Dallas and y'all...
I had THE BEST chicken dish in the airport that I have ever had in my life. So stick with me for a sec while I change up my original intent for this blog....
I had to come home and re-create it.
Recipe way down below
It wasn't AS good but it was pretty darn close.
The dish was called Chicken La Madeleine. There are many La Madeleine's around the country but who would have thought that there was one in the Dallas airport???
This started my gastronomical affair for the next 5 days.
Okay, back to the real intent.
Day 1 in Napa
Shafer
Yummy.
This is one of my all time favorite wines.
Relentless and One Point Five are the best selections.
We learned SO many things about who Mr. Shafer was and how he started this winery.
He was simply amazing.
He was a text book salesman and at 49 he told his wife he wanted to quit and buy land in Napa and make wine. He had never even had a glass of wine.
🤔
This was in 1979.
The story was just incredible of how he started growing these delicious grapes and how he learned and grew through the process.
the grapes are currently in what is called "versaison" which is the magical time when the grapes turn from green to purple!
Next stop:
Cliff Lede Winery
This is one of my favorite wineries in the valley.
I love the rock and roll themed grounds, the sculptures, art, everything about it.
Oh, and Poetry Wine.
Just yum.
That night (our anniversary) we had dinner at
The Auberge du Soleil
The view and ambience is spectacular.
Food is good, but if you are a picky eater...well, you are out of luck.
plus
$$$$$
yikes! But Happy Anniversary to us!
The next morning the alarm went off at 4:30 AM so that I could fulfill one of the items on my bucket list!
Riding in a Hot Air balloon.
Y'all.
This is a MUST DO if you ever go to Napa.
"W" who is a pilot who doesn't like heights🤔said he would never ride in one. He surprised me!
did I mention how great the food is in Napa?
That afternoon we kinda winged it with a trip to St. Helena.
Shoppes are so cute and just a beautiful little town.
But, this was what was SO dang funny!
We have some good friends that we don't see often enough.
"K" saw my instagram that we were out there and sent me a message that she and her hubs "T" were out there too!
They said they were doing the wine train that day.
We saw the train and I randomly just started videoing it and laughing and said "hey K and T" (I was just going to send it to them).
There they were hanging out the door of the train!
😂😂😂
Right on my video!
(I wish I could post the whole video because it was so stinking hilarious, random and unplanned)
*Serendipty*
So...the next night we went to dinner with them.
red wine stained teeth and all!
Gosh I love them!!!
So...on to Saturday.
We had a driver pick us up at 9:30 and take us to a few little known wineries.
The first one was super private and I'm sadly not allowed to post pics of it. Because let me just tell you. The view was just amazing.
Truly.
It was so high up on a mountain that my ears were popping.
The next winery was one of my faves for the day.
Kelly was SO incredibly knowledgeable!
It is her parents winery and the stories she told were just fun to hear.
She truly explained wine growing and the process that this little winery goes through in such understandable terms!
I highly recommend going to see them.
By appt. only
Next up was Hourglass!
Probably the prettiest wine tasting event we had!
They first explained the soil types to us and how the different soil makes for different wine.
It was super interesting!
wine dog is real
We didn't get to visit Screaming Eagle but really....
who does?
Hourglass wine was pretty special though.
On to our last stop
So this was literally just a cave that we went into to do the tasting.
Totally random but super yummy wine!
The wine maker met us and explained his whole process.
Sadly we had to leave on Sunday but not before fulfilling my gastronomical ambition of eating at Boon Fly Cafe.
A MUST go to for breakfast....
and a Bloody Mary....
ya know, we just hadn't had enough to eat (or drink)🤪
usually at the end of Napa, all I want is Mexican, a hamburger and a Bloody Mary.
Just sayin.
My version Chicken La Madeline:
Ingredients:
2 Skinned chicken breasts cut into strips
3 chopped green onions
basket full of Cremini mushrooms
2 smashed garlic cloves
bag of broccoli
1 cup of chicken broth
1 block of cream cheese
1 cup of heavy whipping cream
Butter
olive oil
3/4 cup of marsala
salt and pepper
Directions:
Cut chicken in to strips, salt and pepper
Melt 1/2 stick of butter and a little olive oil together
Add smushed garlic, and slightly brown
Add chopped green onions
Brown all of that up real nice!
Remove and cook the chicken
Add everything back in to the skillet
Add the chicken broth and marsala
Let that get super hot and add the whipping cream
Let that cook down and add the cream cheese
Add the broccoli and let it cook for about 5 or so minutes
***if it gets too thick add more chicken broth
Variations:
Instead of broccoli, use artichoke hearts or snap peas
***This recipe is also really good in a pie crust as Chicken Pot Pie!
***serve over rice
***this is a Keto friendly recipe just don't add any carbs to the mix!!!
Have a great day y'all!!!
xoxo
kb
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