Winter Weather Stuffed French Toast

If you have too much bread and milk in anticipation of the winter storm, perhaps this recipe for Winter Weather French Toast is just what you need.....

Local eggs, cheese and sausage make it a practically perfect recipe!

 

French Toast with Sausage and Cheese

Recipe by Charlotte Culinary Expert Heidi Billotto

hlnc@carolina.rr.com

 

 

1 lb. local sausage, browned ( or you can use vegetarian sausage patties as well)

1 container plain Bosky Acres goat cheese

½ cup Ashe County super sharp cheddar cheese

1 cup whole milk

3 local farm eggs

1/4 teaspoon salt

4 large croissants

4 Tbsp. butter or a flavorful extra virgin olive oil

 

Slit croissants in half lengthwise to make a pocket but do not cut them completely in half. Stiff each with a patty of browned sausage (or crumbled browned sausage) and some of each of the cheeses. Press together lightly to close. Whisk together the milk, eggs, and salt. Dip bread into mixture, allow to soak for a bit on each side; and then place in a sauté pan with hot melted butter or olive oil.

Brown toast on both sides. Keep warm in oven until ready to serve.

 

To make a sweet version of the same, add a bit of vanilla and local honey to the egg mixture. And stuff the croissants just with Bosky Acres honey and walnut goat cheese.

Toss fresh fruit in peach or orange liqueur.  Cook the stuffed croissants as directed above. Top toast with fresh fruit and enjoy!

 

In Praise of the Braise

 I prepared this recipe this morning live on Charlotte Today - Jan 17  with co host Romona Holloway - great fun, easy to do, and the  video includes lots of helpful tips.

Recipe follows, but first a few ingredient notes - Buy great local pork from A Way of Life Farm a the Yorkmont Regional Farmers' Market on Saturdays in Charlotte.

Or this recipes also works well with chicken, stuffed or unstuffed - I love the local birds from New Town Farms -  usually available on Saturdays at the Matthews Community Farmers' market -  and from Windy Hill Farms at the Atherton Mills Market in Southend - open five days a week.

 

All of the dried spices in this recipe are available at the Savory Spice Shop in Southend - my favorite place for spices and seasonings. As for olive oil, I suggest extra virgin current harvest - take your pick from the selection at Pour Olive on East Blvd. Tell 'em Heidi sent you !

Here is the link to the video from Charlotte Today - simply click here

Here we go...

 

Stuffed Braised Local Pork Chops

By Charlotte Culinary Expert Heidi Billotto

 4 bone-in pork chops, cut thick enough to stuff, prepared with a slit or  little pocket cut through the side of the chop -

For the marinade:
1 cup dry white wine
2 Tbsp.  Pour Olive extra virgin olive oil
1 sprig fresh rosemary
2  bay leaves
1 Tbsp. Herbs de Provence
1 clove fresh garlic, minced
6 juniper berries, lightly bruised or 1/4 cup gin

For the stuffing:

1 cup chopped fresh flat leaf Italian parsley
2 Tbsp. Herbs de Provence
2 whole garlic cloves Salt and pepper
2 eggs
1 cup panko bread crumbs

 2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
2 cups stock (half beef and half chicken combined)

Marinate the chops for several  hours, turning it occasionally. Remove from refrigerator and bring to room temperature; remove chops from the marinade and pat dry with paper towels. Strain the remaining marinade and reserve.
While the chops are marinating, prepare the stuffing. Chop the garlic to a fine mince with some salt and pepper. Combine with remaining stuffing ingredients until the mixture has the consistency of a paste. Fill  the pocket you cut in each chop with an equal amount of the stuffing mix. Season the outside of each chop with coarse sea salt and  coarse black pepper or Heidi’s hot pepper blend ( available at the Savory Spice Shop in Southend).

Heat olive oil in a Dutch oven or stovetop to oven pan. When the oil is hot and aromatic, sear the chops on both sides until nicely browned. Remove the chops and deglaze the pan with the reserved marinade.

Return the chops to the deglazed pan and add enough of the broth blend to come one-half of the way up the side of the meat. Cover the pot and place it in a 325 oven for about one and a half hours, basting the chops at 20 minute intervals.

To serve, transfer the chops to a serving platter or individual plates. Strain the liquid from the pot into a small saucepan and simmer until the sauce is reduced by half. Strain sauce of any fat. Serve over soft polenta rice or mashed potatoes.

 

 

 

Cooking Class Gift Certificates

Give the gift of a cooking class gift certificate for all of your Holiday and Birthday Gift Giving - Always the right size and color, and oh so easy to purchase, my cooking class gift certiticates are good for any class I will offer as a part of my At Home with Heidi series or my On the Farm series of cooking classes in the upcoming year. Or we can fashion on for a private cooking class all your own.

I type the certificate up in a cute note and wrap it up in a small individual casserole dish tied up with a bow - the perfect gift for your favorite gourmet or gourmand, long time or novice cook and you can make it for any dollar amount you'd like. Gift certificates given this holiday season will be good now through November 25, 2013. Contact me at hlnc@carolina.rr.com with your holiday order - still plenty of time for holiday delivery!

The Perfect Holiday Salad

The Vegetarian cooking class I taught as a part of my At Home with Heidi series on Tuesday December 4 was such a hit I decided to share one of my favorite recipes from the class. I am very proud to say that all the ingredients in this one were local from in and around Charlotte, NC. Trying as much as I possible can to cook and shop all local and then if I am unable to find what I need, I go for not so local but organic.

This my Beet 'n Blue salad. I would have taken pictures of the finished plates but the salads got eaten by all of us so quickly, that I didn't think about pulling out the camera till plates were empty! So the photo at the bottom is a recent harvest of local lettuce at Tega Hill Farms - can't wait to teach another On the Farm class there!

This salad is perfect for the holidays! Local hydroponic greens  and microgreens from Tega Hill Farms in Tega Cay, SC and local golden beets from New Town Farms in Waxhaw NC - both of these farms sell at the Matthews Community Farmers' market; and  local blue cheese chevre from Holly Grove Farms in Mount Olive NC.

The cheese is available at Simply Local in Charlotte's Atherton Farmers' market. For the dressing - two fabulous flavor infused balsamic vinegars and one extra virgin olive oil from my favorite local Olive Oil shop in Charlotte - Pour Olive on East Blvd.

The sea salt and pepper blend are both selections from Charlotte's Savory Spice Shop in SouthEnd - see the note at the end of the recipe for more details.
Here is the recipe - enjoy!!!

BEET AND BLUE SALAD

rrecipe by Charlotte Culinary Expert, Heidi Billotto

hlnc@carolina.rr.com

 

For the dressing:
1 tsp. minced shallots
½ tsp dry mustard
Sea salt and Heidi's Hot pepper blend* to taste
2 Tbsp. fresh minced thyme and parsley
¼ cup Pour Olive Pomegranite balsamic
2 Tbsp. Pour Olive Vermont Maple balsamic
1/3 cup your favorite  Pour Olive extra virgin olive oil

 

For the salad:
2 cups roughly torn bit sized pieces of Tega Hill Farms lettuce
1 bunch New Town farm beets
½ cup crumbled Blue Chevre from Holly Grove Farms 
1 cup Tega Hill Farms  bulls blood microgreens

Trim beets of greens leaving just the tip of the stem rinse well. DO NOT PEEL. Wrap unpeeled beets in foil and roast in a preheated 375 degree oven until tender (about 45 minutes). Now you can easily rub the skins off of the beets with a paper towel and your hands wont turn "beet red" 

Cool, peel and chop or slice the beets and arrange them on individual salad serving plates over a bed of the mixed Tega Hill Farms lettuces.

For the dressing, place all liquids except olive oil in a small bowl. Mix in herb and spices. Gradually whisk in oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

For a ‘creamy style’ dressing add 1 Tbsp. of mayonnaise to the herb and vinegar mix and the blend in the oil.
To assemble the salad, top with beets and lettuces with crumbled cheese. Drizzle with the dressing and finish with a little mound of the bulls blood microgreens on top. Enjoy!

* "Heidi's Hot Pepper blend" is a blend i developed with product from the Savory Spice Shop in Southend in Charlotte - its equal parts Lampong, Tellicherry and Pink peppercorns all ground together in a coarse grind.

 

Holidays with Heidi. Ho, Ho, Ho

Anyone can cook, this year, let Heidi Billotto show you how to make it fun...

Early December Cooking Class -  Vegetarian Dinner for Four

Tuesday Evening,  December 4, 2012

At Home with Heidi

6:30-9:30 pm
Cost is $65 per person

My  recent On The Farm classes at Windcrest and New Town farms have offered a bountiful harvest of fresh from the farm fall veggies - enough to inspire anyone to create a fabulous dinner. Then we had so much fun in the Veggie burger class a week or two ago, that I decided to do another vegetarian class - this one as an evening class with tasty dinner menu perfect for entertaining family and friends.

 

On the menu for this Vegetarian Dinner -Mediterranian goat cheese stuffed mushrooms;

Roasted beet 'n Blue salad on local greens;  Butternut squash and local spinach lasagna; and lemon and sweet cranberry meringue tarts for dessert.

My favorite wine guru, Josh Villapando will handle our wine pairings - the evening promised to be great fun!  A perfect from the farm dinner, come and join in on the beautiful and bountiful harvest
Email Heidi to make your reservations

Give the gift of a cooking class gift certificate for all of your Holiday and Birthday Gift Giving - Always the right size and color, and oh so easy to purchase, my cooking class gift certiticates are good for any class I will offer as a part of my At Home with Heidi series or my On the Farm series of cooking classes in the upcoming year.

I type the certificate up in a cute note and wrap it up in a small individual casserole dish tied up with a bow - the perfect gift for your favorite gourmet or gourmand, long time or novice cook and you can make it for any dollar amount you'd like. Gift certificates given this holiday season will be good now through November 25, 2013. My winter cooking class calendar will be out and posted here the first week of December 2012.

 

Holiday Catering and Private Cooking Classes - Looking for some help with your holiday party, dinner lunch or brunch? If you are int he Charlotte NC metropolitan area, it's still not too late to call to book a party or private cooking class as I still have some dates available and would love to work with you this holiday season. Simply email me at hlnc@carolina.rr.com and we can work out all of the details

My husband Tom Billotto and I are happy to help you make this year's entertaining season a breeze! And talk about one-stop-shopping! While Tom provides the entertainment, I can take care of all the food and drink for every occassion from seated dinners to cocktail buffets; so between the two of us, you'll have all the Food & Mood you'll need to celebrate and Mingle and Jingle your way into the holiday season in style.

 

Music for the Holidays - Why not Jazz up your holiday party with LIVE guitar music and vocals by my talented husband TOM BILLOTTO.

While Tom regularly appears at many local restaurants, you'll be happy to know that he is also available to perform at your private or corporate holiday event.

Tom has an extensive vocal and instrumental repertoire of traditional and popular holiday tunes and can offer you a solo performance or can team with a number of other talented musicians for a duo, trio or quartet.

It's the perfect finishing touch to any holiday happening!

Contact Tom to discuss your private party or holiday entertaining musical needs at tbillotto@carolina.rr.com

And here's another great gift idea - Tom and our dear friend Jimmy Bookout have just finished their very first CD!!

Called Two and A Half Guitars ( for the two guitars and the ukulele they usually play when this talented duo performs together), we should have it in our hands this week or next and then it will be available for sale for you to wrap and place under the tree, beside the Menorah, or stuffed into a stocking.

 

Heidi's Cooking on TV!!

Lots of fun this past week cooking with my good friends on TV.

The Wednesday before Thanksgiving I was on WCNC's Charlotte Today sharing lots of quick tips and culinary "secrets" to help make your holiday cooking fun and a bit faster.

It was a great segment with lots of laughs, but in case you missed it here is the link -

 http://www.wcnc.com/charlotte-today/inside/Heidis-kitchen-tricks-180378521.html

 

Then, on the Saturday morning after Thanksgiving I was on WBTV's The Morning Show with Kristen Miranda cooking up some fun with leftovers. This is actually a recipe from my Tacomania class - great for this time of year. No more Thanksgiving leftovers? - No worries, the original recipe calls for marinated chicken, but works equally as well with leftover roasted or grilled chicken and roasted butternut squash - delish!

Here is the link to the video

http://www.wbtv.com/story/20174161/a-mexican-twist-on-your-turkey-leftovers

and here is the original recipe...

Chicken and Roasted Squash Tacos

Recipe by Charlotte Culinary Expert Heidi Billotto

hlnc@carolina.rr.com

4 bone-in chicken breast halves

1 cup liquid from your favorite pickles

1 butternut squash, over roasted

Sea salt and pepper

2 Tbsp. Your favorite Pour Olive extra virginolive oil

1/4 cup fresh minced cilantro

Chopped fresh tomatoes or your favorite chunky salsa

Shredded lettuce or baby spinach leaves

1 avocado, sliced

lime wedges

shredded mixed cheese

8 flour tortillas

Marinate chicken breast halves in pickle relish for 40 minutes to an hour.

Meanwhile roast the butternut squash until tender as shown in class.

Remove chicken from relish and pat dry. Season with sea salt and pepper. Pan saute in olive oil or grill, 6 minutes per side. Slice grilled chicken in to long thin strips.

Sooct the pulb aout of the dquahs and mash, seasoning to taste with salt and pepper.

Place tortillas in oven or microwave just long enough to warm and soften. Spread tortillas with cheese, then add squash, chicken, avocado, lettuce or spinach, tomatoes and black beans. Dress with a squirt of lime juice. Roll tortilla up and over filling and serve.

July 12 is National Pecan Pie Day

If you are into Pecan Pie, then you are going to love my favorite recipe for Chocolate Pecan Pie - it's sure to win the hearts of everyone you serve it to - this time of year pair it with homemade vanilla ice cream and you and everyone else will be in dessert heaven - Enjoy!

HEIDI BILLOTTO'S CHOCOLATE PECAN PIE TART

Recipe by Charlotte Culinary Expert, Heidi Billotto 

3 cups granulated sugar

pinch salt

7 Tbsps. unsweetened cocoa

4 large eggs ( local farm eggs always work the best) 

1 Tbsp. vanilla

12 ounces whole organic milk

1 stick butter, melted 

2-3 cups pecan halves (be generous)

Dough for two pies fitted into two 10 inch French tart pans with removable bottoms

Carefully fit the dough into each of the French tart pans, trimming edges to fit. Place each on a baking sheet. Mix sugar, salt, and cocoa together. Whisk together the eggs, vanilla, and milk; stir into the dry ingredients. Add melted butter and stir until well blended. Fill each pie shell two - thirds full with pecan halves.

Pour filling over the pecans. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 40 to 45 minutes. Cool on a wire rack. If you are taking your tart to-go, transport them  in the pans and then removed on site for easy serving. Top with freshly whipped cream or ice cream if you would like.
Makes 2 pies.

Heidi Billotto Cooks Anyone can cook, let Heidi Billotto show you how to make it fun! Charlotte Culinary Expert, Heidi Billotto hlnc@carolina.rr.com Sat June 2 - 11 am - 3:30 pm - On the Farm at New Town Farms in Waxhaw. So happy to be cooking once again with my good friends, local farmers Sammy and Melinda Koenigsberg. New Town Farms produces all sorts of seasonal vegetables as well as chicken, eggs and some pork. This time of year the feilds will be full of wonderful produce for us to cook and enjoy! We'll also visit the chickens, perhaps gather a few eggs and watch the Ossobaw pigs root around in the woods. Great fun and fabulous photo opts for us all. Then we'll had back to cook with and eat and enjoy what is fresh, in season and growing on the farm. The class is predominantly demonstration-style with some hands-on opportunities. Wine pairings with each dish we prepare will be offered by my buddy wine guru Josh Villapando of the Common Market in Plaza Midwood. New Town Farms is a fixture at the Matthews Community Farmers market and on many restaurant menus around town, too. Our walking tour starts at 11 am with a class to follow in the kitchen at the Inn at New Town Farms. After class you'll be able to shop for produce and chicken and wine, too. Cost $75 per person. Just TWO spaces left... MAKE YOUR RESERVATIONS NOW...by emailing Heidi today at HLNC@carolina.rr.com. AT HOME WITH HEIDI - Saturday June 9, 11 am - 2:30 pm, Spice Up Your Spring and Summer Table. Our evening version of this class a couple of weeks in my home kitchen was such a hit that I can't wait to do a Saturday rendition of the same theme. We'll cook together At Home with Heidi in this hands-on class with a variety local farmers' market produce and proteins; fresh herbs from my herb garden, dried spices and spice blends from my new friends, Amy and Scott from the Savory Spice Shop in the Southend's Shops at Atherton Mill and an assortment of incredible 2011 Harvest extra virgin olive oils from my even newer friends Sophie and Jack from Pour Olive - a great new olive oil shop on East Blvd., right next to Maddie’s Gallery. Four sensational new dishes will be on the menu and as we cook we'll taste each one with a wine selection paired by my go-to wine guru Josh Villapando from the Common Market in Plaza Midwood. Cost $65 per person. Email Heidi at HLNC@carolina.rr.com for reservations Look for more On the Farm classes in June with details coming up in my next newsletter but you can certainly make reservations now by emailing me at hlnc@carolina.rr.com Saturday June 23 - 5-8:30 pm -Farm Food, City Style - Cooking On the Farm at Tega Hills Farms In this new On the Farm class we'll learn everything you ever wanted to know about Hydroponic gardening as Tega Hill owners Mark and Mindy Robinson lead the tour in the green houses and surrounding summer gardens. the class will take place in theback of the green house among the flats of microgreens... on the menu - stuffed squash blossoms, Fun Asian lettuce wraps with twosauces, vichyssoise with a crab and microgreen salad; and a local fruit salad with candied bacon and hydroponic greens. printed recipes, generous samples and of course wine pairings with each course. Cost is $75 per person. Make you reservations now by emailing, Heidi at hlnc@carolina.rr.com. Saturday, July 14, 3-7 pm - Summertime Italian - On the Farm at Proffitt Cattle Co. - never too early to make your reservations for these popular classes. The class includes a farm tour, cooking with Proffitts certified organic beef, generous samples, recipes packets and wine notes for each participant and wine pairings with each course...On the menu for this July class - Summer Italian...Save the date, mark your calendar and email Heidi at HLNC@carolina.rr.com to make your reservations now. A Class all your own.... Private Cooking Classes with Charlotte Culinary Expert Heidi Billotto As many of you know, in addition to holding the position of food editor for Charlotte Living Magazine, catering in private homes and teaching a regular schedule of cooking classes around town; I also teach a number of private cooking classes - in my home and "on location" in your homes, as well. These private in-home classes are offered for two up to 16 class participants are designed to suit your culinary interests and are a great way to entertain friends or colleagues for birthday parties, book club meetings, office team building events, girls night out or gourmet clubs cooking parties. For kids I offers range of age appropriate subjects for a simple cupcake decoration party to actually cooking a meal for family or friends. The process is simple - we plan a date and a topic and then you come to me or I come to you with everything we need - food, equipment, recipes and even an assistant to help with clean-up! Your job - to simply enjoy and have fun! Email Heidi at HLNC@carolina.rr.com, for all the details and we'll get a date on the calendar for your own private cooking class - I can't wait!