April 29 – Bourbon Renewal & Blinis with Smoked Salmon and Caviar

Feeling nostalgic for Paris today so I made blinis. We used to eat them a lot when we lived there, usually topped with tarama and lemon. Now the recipe says “caviar” but I use that term loosely for fish roe in general. Of course if you have caviar, use it! I used steelhead trout roe. Felt like bourbon today, so I found this variation on a sour. The sweetness from the crème de cassis and the simple syrup. Very nice.

Bourbon Renewal

Makes 1 cocktail

• 1 oz lemon juice

• 1⁄2 oz simple syrup

• 2 oz bourbon

• 1⁄2 oz crème de cassis

• Lemon wheel for garnish

Place all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice and shake 20 seconds. Strain into a double old fashioned glass filled with ice. Garnish with a lemon wheel.

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Blinis with Smoked Salmon and Caviar

These are easy and elegant little appetizer bites that will elevate your happy hour festivities. If you don’t have buckwheat flour, just use all purpose.

• 2⁄3 c all purpose flour

• 1⁄3 c buckwheat flour

• 1⁄2 t baking powder

• 1⁄2 salt

• 1 c milk

• 4 oz (8 T) ghee, melted

• 1⁄3 lb smoked salmon, cut into 1” x 2” pieces

• 1⁄4 c crème fraîche or sour cream

• Salmon, trout roe or caviar

• Dill sprigs for garnish

Combine flours, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Whisk in the milk and 5 tablespoons of the melted ghee.

Heat a medium skillet and add 1 tablespoon ghee. When hot, drop tablespoons of batter into the pan. Wait for bubbles to form, then flip them over to cook the other side, about 3 minutes total cooking time. Cook them in batches, don’t crowd the pan, adding more ghee as needed.

To serve, top each pancake with a 1⁄4 teaspoon of creme fraiche to anchor the piece of smoked salmon that goes on next. On top of the salmon, place a dollop of crème fraîche, then top with a 1⁄4 teaspoon of roe. Garnish with a sprig of dill.