What a wonderful first day at the Got To Be NC Cooking Stage on Friday Oct 18, 2024. Chef Tie Whitaker of Buttermilk Boutique brought sweet treats to the first demo of the day; while Mixologist Miguel Angel Latorre, Jr. taught us how to mix mocktails for fall in the day’s second onstage demo. Both of these talented culinarians are from Clayton, NC.
But first, I had the pleasure of starting the day doing an interview with WRAL’s Ken Smith talking about all the chefs, farmers and producers we’re going to have on stage this year at the fair.
I’ll be posting a copy of the video here and on all my social media feeds in the next day or so, stay tuned.
Kicking off all the Fun with NC Dairy & Dessert
Award-winning Pastry Chef Tie Whitaker of Buttermilk Boutique in Clayton NC and NC Dairy Farmer Randy Lewis of Ran Lew Dairy in Snow Camp NC partnered to kick off our first 2024 chef and farmer line up. This dynamic duo posed for a quick photo here with Got To Be NC’s Chef Chad Blackwelder.
In the demo, Tie shared recipes for her Chai Scones and then made a super simple no churn Buttermilk Ice Cream with Ran Lew Dairy’s infamous buttermilk. Both of her recipes are included at the end of this post.
And, There are NC Wine Pairings, too!
Thanks to our friend, Brianna Burns at the NC Wine & Grape Council, we are pairing each dish in each demo at the Got To Be NC Cooking Stage with an award-winning NC wine again this year.
For this demo we featured World’s Edge Meadery “Masala”. You can find World’s Edge at Point Lookout Vineyards in Hendersonville NC. This mead is a honey base with delicious Chai spice flavors. It’s warming and delicate, but delivers bold flavors. And, If you are newly engaged, know that Point Lookout is also a wonderful wedding venue with some of the best views in Hendersonville .
Cheers to our Chef’s Table guests
At each onstage cooking demo, we invitge six guests from the audience to join us onstage. This group gets the best seat in the house and gets to taste everything made in that particular demo.
Our Chef’s Table guest for this first round loved the food and wine paring, the scones and the ice cream.
They celebrated with a big local dairy cheers to the first demo on the Got To Be NC Cooking Stage.
In the 5pm Demo we featured Fall Mocktails with Mixologist Miguel Angel Latorre, Jr
Mixologist Miguel Angel Latorre, Jr of Revival 1869, also in Clayton NC, , the 2024 NCRLA Chef Showdown Mixologist of the Year, followed for the 5 pm demo. Miquel was joined onstage by Owen Agee of Le Bleu Water and Mighty Muscadine Juices. Two wonderful ways to Drink Local.
Miguel crafted three delicious mocktails, each started with one of the trio of Mighty Muscadine juices, from Advance NC.
And in each demo, our chef’s table guests enjoyed bottles of Le Bleu water, as well.
Mocktails Made with Muscadines on the Got To Be NC Cooking Stage
Each of Miguel’s mocktails featured a different Mighty Muscadine beverage and a lot of other local NC products.
As for technique, he very simply measured all the ingredients for each cocktail into a shaker, added ice and shook it up. Then, it all went into the glass ( mixologists call this a “dirty dump” ) and each cocktail was garnished just before serving, ready for the guests at our onstage Chef’s Table to enjoy.
Not only did Miguel feature the Mighty Mscadine juices; he also used teas made from blends sold by Fuquay Spice & Tea. You’ll find Fuquay Spice & Tea at the fair this week, with a host of other vendors inside Dorton Arena in the Got To Be NC Pavilion. You can also order from them online here.
Several of Miguel’s recipes also call for a simple syrup. Miguel brought syrups he makes and uses at Revival 1689 in Clayton NC. You should definitely go see him there to try these for yourself.
But, if you want to make your own simple syrup with ginger or lavender as Miguel has done; or, if you want to buy syrups made from another Got To Be NC producer – my friends at Alley Twenty Six in Durham – check out this blog post for everything you need to know. The post also includes more on Le Bleu Water, Mighty Muscadine and several other wonderful ways to drink locally.
And now, here are the recipes for each of Miguel’s fabulous mocktails.
Harvest Delight Mocktail made with Mighty Muscadine Grape Juice
2 oz Mighty Muscadine grape juice
3/4 oz of ginger simple syrup (made in house at Revival 1869)
1/2 oz of lemon juice
1/4 oz Olive Crate pomegranate balsamic vinegar (one of Heidi’s favorite condiments available online here )
Topped with Topo Chico
Garnished with Lemon wheel and a split muscadine grape
The result is a fruity, tangy and invigorating sip to enjoy with friends and family.
Sunshine Sipper Mocktail Made with Vinetastic Antioxidant Pineapple Mango Beverage
2 oz Vinetastic pineapple mango muscadine antioxident beverage
1.5 oz lemon green tea from Fuquay Spice & Tea
1/2 oz ginger simple syrup (made in house at Revival 1869)
1/2 oz sweet coconut cream
Garnish with a chunk of pineapple and fresh mint for a tropical drink that is bright and creamy.
Family Picnic Punch Mocktail Made with Vinestatic Blueberry Cherry Pomegranate Antioxidant Beverage
2oz blueberry cherry pomegranate Vinetastic Antioxidant Beverage
1.5 oz lavender earl grey tea from Fuquay Spice and Tea
1/2 oz lemon juice
1/2 oz lavender simple syrup (made in house at Revival 1869)-
Garnished with 3 blueberrie, you’ll love this vibrant and refreshing drink featuring soft floral notes.
Next: Tie Whitaker’s Recipe for Chai Scones made with No Churn Buttermilk Ice Cream
No Churn Ran Lew Dairy Buttermilk Ice Cream with Buttermilk Chai Scones
Ingredients
For the No Churn Buttermilk Ice Cream
- 2 cups Heavy Whipping Cream
- 1/4 cup Dry Milk Powder or 30 grams by weight
- 1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
- 1 cup Ran Lew Dairy Buttermilk
- 2 tsp. vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
For the Chai Scones
- 3 cups All-purpose flour or 375 grams, by weight
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar or 50 grams by weight
- 2 Tbsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 Tbsp ground chai spice empty 2 Vanilla Chai tea bags and grind in a coffee or spice grinder
- 3/4 cup cold unsalted butter, grated or 180 grams by weight
- 1 cup Ran Lew Dairy Buttermilk
Instructions
For the No Churn Buttermilk Ice Cream
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Add 2 cups of heavy whipping cream and 30 g of dry milk powder to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.
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Whip on medium speed for 3-4 minutes or until the cream reaches stiff peaks. Set aside.
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Combine the sweetened condensed milk, buttermilk and vanilla in a mixing bowl. Whisk together until well combined.
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Fold whipped cream mixture into buttermilk mixture. Fold until there are no whipped cream streaks and mixture is combined.
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Add to an air tight container fitted with a parchment circle on top. Freeze for 6 hours or overnight.
For the Buttermilk Chai Scones
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Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
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Prepare baking sheet with parchment paper, and set aside.
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To a mixing bowl, add all purpose flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, salt, and chai spice. Mix to combine and set aside.
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Grate cold, unsalted butter. Add to flour mixture and coat butter pieces with the flour mixture.
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Add cold buttermilk, and mix with a rubber spatula or hands until combined.
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Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Using a dough scraper, fold dough on top of itself to help create layers and combine dough. Continue to fold until there are no small bits of dough left.
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Hand pat or roll dough to desired thickness. Using circle cookie cutter, cut dough rounds and place on baking sheet. Gently push dough scraps together and cut remaining dough into rounds.
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Brush rounds with heavy cream and sprinkle with sugar.
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Bake for 20-25 minutes or until tops are golden brown.
To Serve:
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Split Scone in half; sandwich in a scoop of the no Churn Buttermilk Ice Cream and enjoy!