Recipes by Heather H

Heather and the Dream of 6 Courses And A Couple of Drinks

French 75

'Champagne for my real friends and real pain for my sham friends'

1/4 oz gin
1/4 oz Cointreau
1/4 oz lemon juice
5 oz chilled Champagne

Shake gin, Cointreau and lemon juice with cracked ice. Strain into a chilled champagne flute. Top with Champagne. Some people claim this drink should use Cognac instead of gin. Those people would be wrong.

Tzatziki

1 cup Greek (or plain) yoghurt
1 cucumber, grated
2 tsp fresh mint
salt and pepper to taste

olive oil
pita

Mix yoghurt, cucumber, mint and seasonings. Serve with olive oil and pita.

For an Indian variation, substitute 2 small to medium zucchinis for the cucumber. Serve as a relish with any Indian dishes.

Curried Tofu

'She's spacing out on a cosmic level,
and she's meditating with the devil.
She's cooking salad for breakfast.
She's got tofu the size of Texas.'

2 tbsp oil
1 large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp curry powder
1 cup unsalted cashews, roughly chopped
1 can (12-14 oz) unsweetened coconut milk
1 block tofu, cubed
1 carrot, julienned
1 head broccoli, chopped
2 tbsp soy sauce
Cayenne pepper, to taste

Head oil on medium-high. Add onion and garlic, cook until translucent. Add tofu, cooking until browned. Add curry powder and cook for 30 seconds. Add carrots and broccoli. Saute until almost cooked through. Add nuts, coating with curry oil. Add coconut milk. Stir, bring to a boil, and reduce heat to medium. Stir and heat for about 3 minutes. Stir in soy sauce and Cayenne pepper. Serve over rice.

Cumin Potatoes

2 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 lb small red or white new potatoes, boiled and quartered with skin
1 medium Spanish onion, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch thick slices
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

Heat the oil in a large frying pan until hot and add cumin seeds. When cumin begins to brown, add potatoes and onions. Toss potatoes until coated with spice-infused oil. Reduce heat and pan-roast potatoes, turning occasionally, for 10 minutes or until browned and crisp. Season with salt and pepper and serve.

Flanksteak Goes To Asia

'Cookin up a Filipino Box Sprint Hog
Tain't the mince meat filigree
And it ain't the turkey neck stew
And it ain't them bruleed okra seeds
Though she made them especially for you'

1 large flanksteak (about 1-2 lbs)
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup sherry
3 tbsp Chinese oyster sauce
2 tbsp honey
1" of ginger, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, chopped

Mix soy sauce, sherry, oyster sauce, honey, ginger and garlic. Score steak lightly making crosshatch diagonal to the grain. Marinate the meat for at least one hour. Grill on medium-hot coals until medium rare. Remember to cut very thinly across the grain!

Davy Crockett Pockets

'Born on a mountain top in Tennessee greenest state in the land of the free raised in the woods so he knew e'vry tree kilt him a b'ar when he was only three Davy, Davy Crockett, king of the wild frontier!

1 pkg Pillsbury or Safeway crescent rolls (the kind you roll and bake yourself)
1 lb ground beef
Cayenne to taste
Garlic salt to taste
1 can whole green chilies
1 can sliced black olives
Shredded cheese
Green onion, chopped
Sour cream

Brown the beef with garlic salt and cayenne. Spoon over a square of crescent rolls (ie two flattened triangles). Before spooning the beef, place one green chili over the pastry. Sprinkle some olives over top of the beef. Place another square of crescent roll pastry over the top and pinch edges with fingers to ensure it stays closed. Sprinkle with some cheese. Place in 350 degree oven until crescent pastry is golden brown. Serve with more olives, shredded cheese, green onion, and sour cream on top.

Chocolate Skillet Cake

'hot chocolate boy
he's a sensation
hot chocolate nation
hot chocolate boy'

1/2 cup butter, plus extra for greasing pan
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 cup light corn syrup
1 tsp vanilla
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 cup sour milk

To make sour milk, combine 1 tbsp white vinegar or lemon juice with 1 cup or 1 or 2 percent milk and allow to sit for a few minutes at room temperature.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour an 8" cast-iron skillet.

Beat together butter and sugar. Add eggs and beat. Add corn syrup and vanilla; beat. In separate bowl, sift together flour, cocoa, baking powder and cinnamon. Alternate adding sifted ingredients and sour milk to butter/egg mixture. Pour batter into prepared skillet. Bake for 25-30 minutes. When done, the centre will appear wobbly and the edges will look baked. A toothpick inserted in the centre will come out clean.

Presidente

'And I'm standing on the corner of Fifth and Vermouth ... using parking meters as walking sticks.'

1 1/2 oz light rum
1/2 oz dry vermouth
1/2 oz Cointreau
1/2 oz lemon juice
1 dash grenadine

Shake with cracked ice. Strain into chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with an orange twist.