Ahhh one of my favorites. Coco Mademoiselle smells so good. Yes I used all of it, but couldn’t part with this beautiful little bottle. So why not fill my home with my favorites, right? I thought it would be fun to repurpose this bottle into a small bud vase.
-Put on your eye protection, gloves, and mask…working with glass dust can be dangerous, especially if you’re a newbie! So make sure you’re suited up.
-Use a marker to draw a guide line around the bottle.
-Lay your bottle on its side.
-Turn on your Dremel tool with the diamond wheel and start cutting along the marked line.
-***You’ll need and extra pair of hands to squirt a few drops of water on the blade while you cut (don’t get water above the attachment site on the Dremel). This will help prevent the glass from heating up and fracturing. Always keep the cut line wet.
-Go over your cut line a few times — gradually getting deeper into the glass until it cracks off. Keep the cut even around the whole bottle. Cut a little at a time on each side.
-After the top is off, you’ll want to clean up the sharp edges with your diamond blade. Make sure it’s smooth and safe.
I took a fun cooking class with my Mom, Susan and Andria last week. It was lead by some awesome culinary high school students at the Orange County School of the Arts {OCSA}. It was a fun night out!
Here are all the yummy recipes that we made (slightly modified…by moi.)
Wild Mushroom Duxelles
Yields 8 oz.
1/4 cup shallot, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 oz. butter
1 lb. mushrooms chopped {we used a combination of shiitake and white}
1/2 cup. white wine
1 cup heavy cream
1 tbsp. chopped parsley
1/2 tbsp. salt
1 tsp. ground pepper
– In a lg. saute’ pan sweat shallots and garlic in butter 2-3 minutes until translucent
– Add mushrooms and saute’ until soft, wilted and dry.
– Deglaze with white wine and reduce until au sec {almost dry}
– Add cream and reduce by half. Add parsley, salt and pepper.
1 shallot minced
1/2 tbsp. olive oil
1/2 cup oz. mayonnaise
1 egg, beaten
1 1/4 fl. oz. pommery mustard
1 tbsp. parsley, chopped
1 tsp. chives, sliced thin
hot sauce (to taste)
1 tsp. old bay seasoning, optional
1 1/2 cups crab meat, picked
2/3 cup panko bread crumbs
salt and pepper (to taste)
1/2 cup vegetable oil for frying
more panko, for dredging
-Heat a saute pan and sweat the shallots in the oil until translucent. Cool.
-Combine the shallots with the next 8 ingredients
-Fold the mayonnaise mixture into the crab meat without shredding the meat. Fold in the bread crumbs and salt & pepper
-Divide the mixture into 2 oz. servings and form into small cakes, 1 1/2 inches in diameter and 3/4 inches thick. Dredge in extra panko crumbs.
-Fry the crab cakes in the hot vegetable oil until golden brown on both sides
-Drain on a paper towel
-Serve immediately with Remoulade Sauce
Remoulade Sauce
Yields 8 oz.
1 cup mayonnaise
1 tbsp. capers, drained and chopped
1 tbsp. chive, sliced thin
1 tbsp. tarragon, chopped
1 tsp. dijon mustard
1/2 anchovy filet, minced
1 tsp. fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp. creamy white horseradish
salt & pepper (to taste)
Worcestershire sauce (to taste)
hot sauce (to taste)
Combine all ingredients and mix well. Refrigerate until ready.
Crème Brûlée
Yields 4-5 servings
2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup granulated sugar (separated 1/4)
Pinch of salt
1 vanilla bean (scrapped)
4 egg yolks, beaten
granulated sugar for topping
strawberries for topping
-Split the vanilla bean in half, scrapping the fine seeds from the pod. Add both the pod and the seeds to the heavy cream, 1/4 cup of sugar and a pinch of salt, bring to a boil, stirring to prevent the milk from burning. Remove from heat.
-Beat egg yolks in a small bowl and add the rest of the sugar (1/4 cup) to the yolks.
-Slowly add the yolks to the cream mixture while stirring. *If you add the yolks too fast, it may cook and clump in the hot cream mixture. Be sure to slowly temper the yolks into the hot cream. Stir, stir, stir!
-Strain the custard through a fine-mesh sieve. Discard the vanilla bean pod.
-Ladle the strained custard into ramekins, filling them 3/4 full.
-Bake in a water bath at 325F until just set, about 35 minutes or until the mixture is set in the center. the crème brûlée should wiggle slightly when shaken. Let cool to room temperature before putting in the refrigerator for 2 hours.
-To finish the creme brulee evenly coat each custard’s surface with a thin layer of sugar. Use a propane torch to melt and caramelize the sugar. Serve at room temperature
-Top with strawberries if desired
Molten Chocolate Cake
Yields 1 dz.
4 eggs
3 egg yolks
1 1/2 cups sugar
14 oz. bitter sweet chocolate
14 oz. butter
6 oz. all purpose flour, sifted
-Whip eggs, yolks and sugar together in a bowl. Set aside
-In a bain marie (double boiler) melt the chocolate and butter together, constantly mixing to incorporate the butter into the chocolate.
-Temper the egg mixture into the melted chocolate. Pour the egg mixture slowly (while stirring) into the hot chocolate to avoid cooking the eggs.
-Add sifted flour
-Grease small ramekins or muffin tin and fill the cups 3/4 of the way full
-Bake at 350F for about 8-10 min. The middle should be slightly under cooked.
Tarte Tatin, the famed French caramel apple tart is a classic. No matter how perfect or imperfect it looks on the plate, a tarte tatin will taste heavenly. Pastry dough is placed over the top of caramelized apples and then baked in the oven. The tart is then inverted to reveal the buttery caramel soaked apples in all their glory. It is especially delicious served with scoops of ice cream or my vanilla bean custard sauce.
Tarte Tatin
Ingredients:
10 green apples (peeled)
1 9-inch pie crust dough (or store bought if you’re lazy like me)
In a 9-inch saucepan (with metal handle), melt butter and stir in sugar, salt and vanilla bean paste. Stir continuously with a wooden spoon. The sugar will melt and start to form a caramel sauce. It’s OK if there is a layer of butter floating on top. Don’t worry – it’s not a dig deal.
Once the caramel has turned a light brown color, lower the flame to a simmer and carefully place all the apples in the saucepan. Make sure to evenly coat the apples with the caramel. Let the apples simmer for 10 minutes or so – stir occasionally.
Fun part. Use two forks to stack the apples on their sides (as if they were piggy backing each other – see picture). Make sure to fill your entire pan. Place a few apples in the center to fill the hole.
Place the 9 inch pie crust over the top of the apples and tuck the edges in.
Place in a 400 degree oven on the top rack and bake for 20 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. Be sure to place a tray on the rack below to catch any juices that may boil over.
Take the tarte tatin out of the oven and wait for it to cool before flipping. Place a plate over the top of the saucepan and flip it quickly to avoid any sugary juices from dripping out.
Drizzle with vanilla bean custard sauce.
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While the tart is cooling, you can prepare the custard sauce.
Place whipping cream in a saucepan. Stir in 1 teaspoon of vanilla bean paste. Bring cream to simmer. Whisk egg yolks and sugar in a metal bowl to blend. Whisk in hot cream. Return mixture to saucepan and stir over medium-low heat until custard thickens. About 5 minutes. Do not boil or scald the sauce. Cover and refrigerate custard sauce until cold, about 3 hours.
(This can be prepared 1 day ahead if desired. Keep refrigerated.)
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