Potato Pancakes with Caviar
This is nice to make with friends who will keep you company as you cook since they are best made and eaten at once.
5 baking potatoes
3 eggs
6 tbs. flour
1 tbs. coarse salt
8 tbs. melted butter, clarified*
½ cup crème fraîche or sour cream, as you prefer
4 ounces caviar (salmon roe can also be used)
Peel the potatoes and grate them. Place them in a colander and squeeze out the liquid you can. Combine them with all the other ingredients except the caviar and the butter in a large bowl. Mix them together well.
Melt the butter in a skillet over a medium heat. Drop the potato mixture by spoonfuls onto the butter. Flatten it down with a spatula and cook them for 3 minutes on each side or until golden and crisp.
Serve them hot from the pan with a spoonful of sour cream and a bit of caviar.
* Melt the butter in a saucepan and set it aside as it cools and the milk solids settle. Spoon off the solids the rise to the top and pour off the gold liquid discarding the milky part at the bottom.
Serves 8
Stuffed Eggs with Smoked Salmon and Caviar
3 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
12 ounces thinly sliced cold-smoked salmon, finely chopped
1/4 cup salmon caviar
12 hard-boiled eggs, shelled, halved, whites and yolks separated
Additional chopped chives
4 lemons cut into wedges
4vSprigs of Dill
• Line rimmed baking sheet with paper towels.
• Blend 3 tablespoons chives, oil, and lemon juice in medium bowl.
• Mix in smoked salmon.
• Fold in caviar.
• Chop 4 egg yolks, reserving the remainder for another use.
• Stir into salmon mixture.
• Season to taste with ground black pepper.
• Pile one generous tablespoon salmon mixture in cavity of each egg-white half.
• Arrange eggs on prepared sheet.
• Cover with plastic.
• Refrigerate up to 8 hours.
• Place eggs on a platter.
• Sprinkle with additional chives.
• Garnish with lemon wedges and herb sprigs.
Serves 8
Caviar and Cheese Stuffed Snow Peas
36 fresh snow peas
1/4 cup crème fraiche (see Note)
1 tablespoon fresh dill, minced
3 tablespoons cream cheese
1 lime, juice and zest
¼ tsp. Salt
¼ tsp. freshly ground black pepper
2 ounces caviar (salmon or lumpfish)
Red lettuce leaves
• Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and blanch the snow peas for two minutes.
• Drain and plunge into cold water to stop the cooking process.
• Using a sharp paring knife, carefully make a slit along the length of one side of each snow pea to make a pocket.
• In a bowl, combine crème fraiche, dill, cream cheese, lime zest, and lime juice.
• Mix thoroughly.
• Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Gently fold in the caviar.
• Carefully pipe or stuff the snow peas with the cheese/caviar mixture.
• Arrange stuffed peas on a platter lined with red lettuce leaves.
Note: Sour cream or plain yogurt may be substituted for the crème fraiche.
Yield: 10
Blini with Sour Cream and Caviar
Absolutely delicious!
1/4 cup warm water (105–115 degrees F)
1 (1/4-oz) package active dry yeast (1 1/4 teaspoons)
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup sifted all-purpose flour (sift before measuring)
1/2 cup sifted buckwheat flour (sift before measuring)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup whole milk, heated to warm (105–115°F)
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
Accompaniments: sour cream (or crème fraiche), and caviar
Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.
• Stir together warm water, yeast, and sugar in a bowl and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes.
• If mixture doesn’t foam, discard and start over with new yeast.
• Add all-purpose flour, buckwheat flour, and salt, then stir in milk, 3 tablespoons butter, and eggs.
• Cover bowl with plastic wrap and set in a roasting pan filled with 1 inch of warm water. Let rise in a warm place until dough is increased in volume, has bubbles breaking the surface, and is stringy when scooped, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
• Stir batter before using.
• Heat a 12-inch nonstick skillet over moderately high heat until hot and brush with some of remaining melted butter if butter browns immediately, lower heat.
• Working in batches of 4, spoon 1 tablespoon batter into skillet for each blini, then cook, turning over once, until golden on both sides, about 2 minutes.
• Transfer to an ovenproof platter and keep blini warm in oven.
Serve blini topped with sour cream and caviar.
Cook’s note:
• Batter can be made 3 days ahead and chilled, cover after letting it rise in a warm place.
• If necessary, thin batter with a few teaspoons of milk before using.
Yield: 36 hors d’oeuvres.
Caviar Spread
You can serve this on crackers, cucumber rounds, or use as a dip with vegetables.
1 package cream cheese at room temperature
½ cup sour cream
1 tbs. lemon juice
2 tbs. dill, minced
1 scallion, chopped (use the white and the green parts)
1 tbs. milk
Dash of salt
Dash pf pepper
3 ounce container of Salmon Roe
1. In a mixer blend the cream cheese until light and add the sour cream, milk lemon juice, and scallion, dill and salt and pepper.
2. Very gently fold in the Salmon Roe with a spoon.
3. Garnish with sprigs of dill.
Yield: 2 cups
Caviar Dip
1 cup heavy cream
6 tbs. caviar
4 tbs. minced white onion
1. Whip the cream and fold in the caviar and onion.
2. Mound it into the center of a serving plate and garnish it with thinly sliced hard cooked eggs and parsley sprigs.
3. Serve this on small toast rounds.
Serves 6
Smoked Salmon Rolls
8 ounces cream cheese — softened
3 tablespoons sour cream — or yogurt
1/2 pound smoked salmon — thinly sliced
2 ounces red caviar
Blend softened cream cheese with sour cream. Gently fold in caviar and spread salmon slices with the mixture. Roll up and cut into 1 1/2 inch lengths. Served chilled.
Yield; Serves 10
Russian Pancakes
Make a pancake batter and fry in thin cakes. Then spread them with a layer of anchovies, butter and a layer of caviar. Sprinkle with minced shallots, cayenne pepper and lemon-juice. Roll up and serve hot as possible.
Caviar Spread
You can serve this on crackers, cucumber rounds, or use as a dip with vegetables.
1 package cream cheese at room temperature
½ cup sour cream
1 tbs. lemon juice
2 tbs. dill, minced
1 scallion, chopped (use the white and the green parts)
1 tbs. milk
Dash of salt
Dash pf pepper
3 ounce container of Salmon Roe
1. In a mixer blend the cream cheese until light and add the sour cream, milk lemon juice, and scallion, dill and salt and pepper.
2. Very gently fold in the Salmon Roe with a spoon.
3. Garnish with sprigs of dill.
Yield: 2 cups
Caviar Eggs
6 hard-cooked eggs
6 tablespoons caviar (red or black)
1 tablespoon chopped chives or green onions
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
1 tablespoon mayonnaise or sour cream
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• Shell the eggs, cut them in halves, and remove the yolks.
• Mash these well and combine with the remaining ingredients.
• When it is thoroughly whipped together, heap it into the whites with a spoon, or pipe it in, using the rosette end of a pastry tube.
• For a first course, serve 2 halves per person.
• Arrange them on greens and pass a Russian dressing.
• Or double the recipe and serve it as a salad course with watercress, Russian dressing, and crisp French bread.
Yield: 6 servings
Avocado Stuffed with Shrimp
2 cloves garlic, mashed
½ cup olive oil
3 ripe avocados
1 ½ pounds of cooked, cold shrimp
Russian dressing:
1 cup mayonnaise
1 tbs. minced onion
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 ounce jar of caviar
1. Combine the garlic and oil.
2. Peel and halve the avocados, removing the pits.
3. Spoon the garlic and oil mixture into each center and fill with the cooked shrimp.
4. Combine the ingredients for the Dressing and spoon a dollop on each shrimp-stuffed avocado.
Additions: For a lovely lunch you can add hard cooked eggs and sliced tomatoes, all on a bed of lettuce on the same plate.
Serves 6