Hiziki Caviar With Cornmeal Blini Food

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.

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.)

SMOKED SALMON AND OLIVE BLINI

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, combine pancake mix, milk, egg, and oil until just blended. Set aside. Spray griddle with nonstick spray. Heat griddle over medium-low heat. Spoon several 1- tablespoon dollops of batter onto griddle. Cook for 2 minutes, or until bubbles appear around the edges, and then flip each blini over and cook for 1 more minute. Set aside.
• Cut salmon or lox into 32 equal-size pieces. Place blini on a platter. Spread each blini with 1 tablespoon olive spread. Top with a piece of smoked salmon and then with 1 teaspoon sour cream. Sprinkle with dill and chopped black olives.

BUCKWHEAT BLINI

Steps:

• Over medium-high heat, bring the milk and butter to just below a boil. Cool until lukewarm.
• Combine the buckwheat flour, sugar, and salt. Set aside.
• In a separate small bowl, combine the yeast and lukewarm water. Allow the yeast to activate for 5 minutes in a warm place (see Cook's Note*).
• In a large bowl, beat the egg yolk until light yellow. Drizzle the milk and butter mixture slowly into the yolk while whisking. Add the dry ingredients and stir to combine. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and put in a warm place until doubled in size.
• Whisk the egg white until soft peaks form. Fold the egg white into the batter. Cover the batter again and allow it to regain its original volume, about 10 to 15 minutes.
• Preheat a skillet and lightly brush it with the clarified butter. Spoon 1 tablespoon portions of the batter into the skillet (see Cook's Note**). Lightly brown on both sides.
• Spoon 1 teaspoon of the smoked salmon cream cheese mixture over a blini. Garnish with fresh dill and serve.
• In a medium bowl cream together the cream cheese, dill, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Gently fold in the smoked salmon.

BLINI WITH THREE CAVIARS

Steps:

• In a large bowl proof the yeast with 1/2 tablespoon of the sugar in 1/3 cup lukewarm water for 10 minutes, or until it is foamy. Stir in 1 cup of the milk, heated to lukewarm, the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar, 2 tablespoons of the butter, and the buckwheat flour, beat the batter for 1 minute, and let it rise, covered with plastic wrap, in a warm place for 2 hours or chill it, covered tightly, overnight. (Chilling overnight produces a tangier flavor. Let the batter come to room temperature before continuing with the recipe.) Stir in the remaining 1 cup milk, heated to lukewarm, the all-purpose flour, the salt, and the yolks, beat the mixture for 1 minute, and let it rise, covered with the plastic wrap, in a warm place for 1 hour, or until it is double in bulk and bubbly. In a bowl beat the cream until it holds soft peaks and fold it into the batter. In a metal bowl beat the egg whites until they just hold stiff peaks and fold them into the batter gently but thoroughly.
• Heat a griddle or large skillet over moderate heat until it is hot, brush it lightly with the additional melted butter, and spoon tablespoons of the batter onto the griddle, spreading them to form 3-inch rounds. Cook the blini for 1 minute on each side, or until the undersides are golden. Transfer the blini as they are cooked to a platter and keep them warm, covered with a kitchen towel. Make blini with the remaining batter in the same manner, brushing the griddle lightly with the butter as necessary. The blini may be made 2 days in advance and kept covered and chilled. Reheat the blini, covered with foil, in a 350°F. oven for 10 to 15 minutes, or until they are warm, or microwave them on a microwave-safe plastic wrap, at high power (100%) for 2 minutes, or until they are warm.
• Arrange 3 or 4 blini on each of 18 small plates, top them with some of the sour cream, and arrange some of the caviar decoratively on the sour cream.

BLINI WITH CAVIAR

Steps:

• Sprinkle yeast over water. Let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. Stir together flour and 1/2 teaspoon plus a pinch of salt. Stir together buttermilk, butter, sugar, and egg yolks in a large bowl; whisk in yeast mixture, then flour mixture. Let stand, covered, in a warm place for 30 minutes.
• Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form; fold into batter. Let stand for 10 minutes.
• Heat a medium nonstick skillet over medium heat, and coat with a thin layer of butter. Add a scant tablespoon batter for each blin (about 6 or 7 per skillet), and cook, flipping after bubbles appear at edges and color turns golden, 1 1/2 to 2 minutes per side. Transfer to a parchment-lined tray, andlet cool for 30 minutes. Garnish with creme fraiche and caviar.