Caviar With Buckwheat Crepes And Smoked Creme Fraiche Recipes

Steps:

• Melt 5 tablespoons butter in an 8-inch nonstick skillet. Combine the melted butter, both flours, the milk, eggs and salt in a blender and process until smooth (set the skillet aside). Let the batter rest at room temperature at least 1 hour or overnight. Stir in the parsley, if desired.
• Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Heat the skillet over medium heat until a drop of water sizzles in it. Lightly butter the skillet, then add a scant 1/3 cup batter and quickly swirl to coat the bottom of the pan. Cook until the crepe sets and browns around the edges, about 2 minutes. Carefully lift with a rubber spatula, flip over and cook about 30 more seconds. Transfer to a plate.
• Repeat with the remaining batter, adding more butter as needed and stacking the finished crepes. Wrap the crepes in a damp dish towel and place in the oven to reheat, about 10 minutes.
• Serve with assorted fillings.
• Heat 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add 2 sliced onions and 2 thyme sprigs. Season with salt and pepper and cook until the onions are lightly browned, about 20 minutes.
• Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 12 ounces spinach and cook until just wilted, about 4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
• Heat 3 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 pound chopped wild mushrooms and 2 thyme sprigs; saute until the mushrooms are golden, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and add 2/3 cup heavy cream; toss to warm through. Remove from the heat and add a handful of parsley.
• Saute 1 1/4 pounds shrimp (peeled and halved lengthwise) in 2 tablespoons butter with 1 strip lemon zest, 2 tarragon sprigs and salt and pepper until the shrimp turn pink, 3 to 4 minutes. Add a squeeze of lemon juice and 1/2 cup white wine and simmer 1 minute. Remove from the heat; add 4 tablespoons chopped cold butter and some parsley.

Steps:

• Combine warm water and salt and stir until dissolved. Slowly mix in cornmeal until a sticky dough is formed. Divide dough into 8 equal portions and form each portion into a small dough ball. Roll out each ball to form a 1/2-inch-thick disk.
• In a medium skillet over medium heat, heat 1 tablespoon lard until it starts to move and pop. Add one dough disk. Cook until golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Remove arepa from pan and place on a paper towel. Repeat with remaining lard and dough.
• Top each arepa with creme fraiche, egg, chives, shallot, and caviar and serve.

Steps:

• For the crepes:
• Sift the flours together with the salt into a bowl. Make a well in the center, and crack the eggs into it, then pour in the buttermilk, and oil. Whisk the liquids together, then gradually draw the flour in from the sides to make a smooth batter. (If necessary, add water.) Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and let sit at room temperature for 2 hours. Before frying, stir in enough water to bring the batter to the consistency of thin cream.
• Heat a crepe pan and brush lightly with clarified butter. Pour in a spoonful of batter and swirl it around the crepe pan to coat the bottom and make a thin sheet. Fry the batter until the edges crispen and curl slightly, and the underside is golden, about 3 minutes. Flip and continue cooking to finish, about another 2 minutes. Continue making the crepes, piling them up and keeping them warm as you continue.
• For the tomatoes:
• Melt the butter in a saute pan. Add the tomatoes, cut-side down. Poke their backsides a few times with the tip of a knife to prevent the skins from bursting. Cook 10 minutes. Flip, and cook 5 minutes on the other side, scattering over the thyme as you do so. Season the tomatoes with salt, and pepper, to taste. Pour over the cream, and cook until reduced to a thick sauce around the tomatoes, about 5 minutes depending on your heat. Serve.
• For the plate:
• Fold a crepe and place it on a plate, then top it with tomatoes and sauce. Enjoy!

Steps:

• Place prepared sweet potatoes in a medium saucepan and cover with water. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil, and cook until the potatoes are tender and can be mashed easily with a fork. Drain well and return to the saucepan. Add the honey and 4 tablespoons of the butter and mash until smooth. If possible, puree this mixture in food mill. In a small bowl, combine the milk and eggs and stir in the sweet potato puree. In another bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, salt and cayenne. Add the dry ingredients to the sweet potatoes and stir until just blended.
• Melt the remaining butter and reserve. Heat non-stick skillets over medium-heat and coat with some of melted butter. Drop sweet potato mixture into skillets in 1 1/2-tablespoon amounts. Turn once, cooking until golden and crisp, about 1 minute per side. Transfer to a large baking sheet. Repeat the process with the remaining butter and batter. The pancakes can stand at room temperature for 2 hours. Reheat in a 325 degree F. oven for 5 minutes before serving.
• To serve, arrange 3 blinis on a plate and garnish each with a slice of cured salmon, a dollop of creme fraiche and a small spoonful of caviar.

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.