Sweet Potato Blinis With Cured Salmon Creme Fraiche And Caviar Recipes

POTATO BLINI WITH CAVIAR

Steps:

• Heat oven to 200 degrees F.
• Stir together mashed potatoes, 1 teaspoon horseradish and flour; set aside.
• Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Make blini by dropping 1 tablespoonful of potato mixture into pan. Cook 2 to 4 minutes per side or until golden brown. Remove to a paper towel lined plate to drain. Keep warm in the oven. Repeat with remaining potato mixture.
• In a small bowl, stir together sour cream, remaining horseradish, and dill.
• Serve blini by topping each with 1 1/2 teaspoons sour cream mixture. Garnish with caviar.

SALMON AND SWEET POTATO CAKES WITH AGRODOLCE RELISH AND ARUGULA

Steps:

• Put the potatoes in a small pot, cover with water, and bring to a boil over high heat. Salt the water and cook until tender, 10 to 12 minutes. Drain, then return the potatoes to the pot and mash.
• Meanwhile, put the salmon fillets in a skillet with the wine, bay leaf, and enough water to come up to the top of the fillets, but do not cover. Bring to a boil over medium heat, then reduce heat to a simmer and poach until opaque about 8 to 10 minutes. Remove the skin and transfer the salmon to a bowl. Flake the fish with a fork and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Add the mashed sweet potatoes to the bowl along with the seafood seasoning, half of the cracker crumbs, the egg, thyme, hot sauce, scallions, and dill. Mix to combine. The fish cake mixture needs to be just firm enough to mold into cakes. If its too wet, add a few more crumbs.
• Heat 2 skillets, side by side, 1 with 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (2 turns of the pan) over medium heat, the other with 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil (a turn of the pan) over medium-high heat. Form the salmon mixture into 4 (4-inch) patties, coat in the remaining crumbs, and then add them to the first pan. Cook the fish cakes until light golden, about 2 to 3 minutes on each side. Add the red onions, celery, and garlic to the second pan and cook 3 to 4 minutes. Add the tomatoes, season with salt and pepper, to taste, and cook 2 minutes more. Stir the vinegar into the sauce, then sprinkle the sugar over top and toss to coat the tomatoes. And arugula.
• Arrange the fish cakes on individual serving plates alongside the arugula. Top with the agrodolce relish and serve.

CAVIAR AND SALMON BLINI TORTES

Steps:

• Make egg salad:
• Stir together all ingredients and a pinch of salt.
• Make blini:
• Whisk together dry ingredients in a bowl. Add milk and yolk and whisk until smooth. 3Beat egg white with a clean whisk in another bowl until it just holds soft peaks. Fold into batter along with 2 tablespoons melted butter.
• Brush a 12-inch nonstick skillet with some of remaining melted butter, then heat over medium heat until hot. Working in batches of 6 or 7, drop 1 level tablespoon batter per pancake into skillet and cook until bubbles appear on surface and undersides are golden, 45 seconds to 1 minute. Flip over and cook 1 minute more. Brush blini on both sides with some of remaining melted butter, then transfer to a plate and keep warm, covered with foil. Brush skillet with butter between batches.
• Fill tortes:
• Drape smoked salmon on 6 blini and top with egg salad. Spoon caviar onto 6 more blini, then stack on egg-salad-topped blini.

CHIVE BLINI WITH CAVIAR AND CREME FRAICHE

Steps:

• In a medium sized mixing bowl, combine flour, egg, milk, 1 tablespoon butter, chives, and salt. Whisk just until ingredients come together. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside for 1 hour. Set a medium nonstick pan over low heat and brush with melted butter. Pour approximately 1 teaspoon of the batter into the pan, and repeat leaving some space between pancakes. When bubbles appear on the surface of the pancakes (about 1 to 2 minutes), flip them over with a spatula. Continue cooking for 1 minute more or until the pancakes are golden brown on both sides.
• Serve with a tiny dollop of creme fraiche and an even tinier dollop of the caviar of your choice (paddle fish, hackleback, golden whitefish and tobiko all work well.)

BUCKWHEAT BLINIS WITH SMOKED SALMON AND CRèME FRAîCHE

Steps:

• Whisk first 5 ingredients in medium bowl.
• Place milk and butter in small saucepan. Stir over low heat until butter melts and thermometer registers 110°F (if mixture gets too warm, cool until temperature returns to 110°F). Pour warm milk mixture into flour mixture and whisk until smooth. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand in warm draft-free area until doubled in volume, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
• Whisk buckwheat batter to deflate; then whisk in eggs. Do ahead Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Transfer to large bowl. Cover; chill (may increase in volume; rewhisk before using).
• Preheat oven to 200°F. Heat griddle or large skillet over medium heat. Brush lightly with melted butter. Working in batches, pour 2 tablespoons batter for each blini onto griddle, spacing apart. Cook until bubbles form on top and begin to pop, about 1 1/2 minutes. Turn blinis; cook until golden brown on bottom, about 1 1/2 minutes. Transfer to baking sheet. Tent with foil and place in oven to keep warm while cooking remaining blinis. Do ahead Blinis can be made 1 day ahead. Cool, cover, and chill. Brush blinis lightly with melted butter and rewarm on baking sheet in 350°F oven 5 minutes.
• Arrange warm blinis on platter. Spoon 1 rounded teaspoon crème fraîche atop each. Top with smoked salmon. Garnish with salmon roe and dill sprigs and serve.

BLINIS WITH TAPIOCA CAVIAR, CANDIED FRUITS, TOASTED PECANS, AND CRèME FRAîCHE

Steps:

• For tapioca:
• Bring 3 quarts water to boil in large saucepan. Add tapioca and boil until tapioca is clear, stirring occasionally, about 16 minutes. Drain; rinse under cold water until cool. Transfer tapioca to medium bowl.
• Pour cream into heavy small saucepan. Scrape in seeds from vanilla bean; add bean. Bring to simmer. Whisk egg yolks, sugar, and salt in medium bowl 1 minute. Gradually whisk hot cream mixture into yolks. Return mixture to saucepan and stir over medium heat until mixture is thick enough to coat back of spoon, about 5 minutes; do not boil. Transfer custard to medium metal bowl. Set over bowl of ice water and stir until custard is cool. Stir 3/4 cup custard into tapioca. Do ahead Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill tapioca and remaining custard separately. Stir all remaining custard into tapioca to loosen before continuing.
• For blinis:
• Cook potatoes and parsnips in separate medium saucepans of boiling salted water until very tender, about 15 minutes. Drain vegetables well, then transfer to sieve set over medium bowl. Force potatoes and parsnips through sieve into bowl. Stir in milk. Whisk in flour in 3 additions. Add eggs 1 at a time, whisking to blend after each addition. Whisk sugar and salt into batter. Using electric mixer, beat egg whites until stiff but not dry. Fold egg whites into batter.
• Line rimmed baking sheet with foil. Heat griddle over medium heat. Brush with oil. In batches, drop batter by rounded tablespoonfuls onto griddle, spreading to form 21/2- to 3-inch rounds. Cook until brown, about 21/2 minutes per side. Transfer to sheet. Do ahead Can be made 1 day ahead. Cool, cover tightly with foil, and chill. Rewarm uncovered in 350°F oven, about 7 minutes.
• Divide tapioca among 8 small bowls. Place 1 bowl on each of 8 plates. Divide warm blinis among plates. Arrange dried cherry halves, candied apricot slices, and toasted pecans on plates. Place dollop of crme frache and honey and small mound of ground cinnamon on plates.

SWEET POTATO, CRèME FRAîCHE, AND CAVIAR BITES

Steps:

• Cut the sweet potatoes crosswise into 1/4 inch slices with a large sharp knife and with a sharp 1- to 1 1/2-inch decorative cutter cut a decorative shape from each slice. Steam the sweet potatoes in a steamer set over boiling water, covered, for 5 to 6 minutes, or until they are just tender, arrange them in one layer on a plate, and let them cool, their surface covered with plastic wrap. Chill the sweet potatoes for at least 1 hour or overnight. The sweet potatoes my be made 1 day in advance and kept covered and chilled.
• Arrange the sweet potatoes, patted dry, on serving plates, top each piece with 1/2 teaspoon of the crème fraîche and 1/8 teaspoon caviar, and garnish the "bites" with the dill.

PARFAIT OF SALMON AND TUNA TARTARE, CAVIAR AND CREME FRAICHE

Steps:

• Combine the shallots and 1 TBS of olive oil in a small saucepan, and saute until the shallots are translucent.
• In a medium bowl sitting on a bed of ice, combine half of the sweated shallots, all the tuna, half of the mustard oil, half of the lemon zest, all the soy sauce, 1 Tbs of the olive oil and all the coriander.
• Lightly season with coarse salt, season generously with the white pepper, mixing well with a large spoon.
• In another medium bowl sitting on a bed of ice, combine the remaining shallots, mustard oil, lemon zest, and salmon.
• Mix with the remaining olive oil, horseradish, capers, chives, and salt and pepper to taste, and mix until all ingredients are combined.
• Line a sheet pan with waxed or parchment paper and lightly oil with fingers the inside of ten, 2 inch high by 2 inch diameter metal rings or molds, placing the molds on the sheet.
• Place 1 1/2 TBS of the tuna mixture in each of the ten molds, making sure to smooth the mixture with the back of a spoon.
• If available, press down with the bottom of a Worcestershire or Tabasco bottle.
• Then place 1 1/2 TBS of the salmon mixture on top, pressing down and smoothing the salmon mixture with the back of the spoon.
• Spoon approximately 1/2 teaspoon of oestra caviar on on half of the top of the salmon and approximately 1/2 teaspoon of salmon roe caviar on the other half, smoothing with the back of the spoon.
• Whip the creme fraiche until thick, stiff peaks are formed.
• Add 2 TBS of the creme fraiche, smoothing with the blade of a flat knife or small metal spatula, making sure that the creme fraiche is level with the top of the mold.
• Chill the molds in the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes, but preferably for 2 to 3 hours.
• To serve, place each ring or mold on a dinner plate, and gently remove the mold by pulling ring upward, leaving the parfait intact.
• Garnish each parfait with one long chive spear placed at an angle over the parfait.

BLINI WITH SOUR CREAM AND CAVIAR

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 250°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 blin, 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.