Buckwheat Blinis with Smoked Salmon

My bestie...who said she can't cook? She did! Her pantry of tinned (you name it) goods and a freezer filled with dinner packs (courtesy of her mother), over the years led me to believe that my bestie had not been blessed with culinary skills.

New years Eve she proved me wrong! So our mission during the day was to make a dessert and these buckwheat blinis with cream fraiche and  smoked salmon....all to take to the cousins New Years Eve Party.

GREAT job with the blinis Black Magic....even the Ho Master thought they were pretty good!

Who would have thought we'd spend a day in the kitchen cooking together. I would have to say that it goes down as one of the most lovely days I've spent with you. 

P.s You have a slightly awkward stirring style, something we'll work on.

Buckwheat Blinis with Smoked Salmon - Bill Granger 'Holiday'

1 tablespoon castor sugar

1 cup (125g) buckwheat flour

1/2 cup (60g) plain flour
2 teaspoons of dried yeast
300ml warm  milk
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs separated
1 tablespoon melted butter
200ml creme fraiche
500g smoked salmon or gravalax

Combine the warm milk and 1 tsp of the sugar in a small bowl and sprinkle over the yeast. Whisk with a fork until the yeast is dissolved. Sift the flours, salt and remaining sugar into a large bowl. Make a well in the centre of the flour.

Whisk the egg yolks into the warm milk mixture and add to the flour and whisk until combined. Cover and set aside in a warm place for 45 minutes-1 hour and allow it to prove (double in volume). Stir the batter a couple of times to knock out most of the air, cover and allow to prove again for 20-30 minutes.

Stir the melted butter into the batter. Whip the egg whites in a separate clean bowl, then carefully fold into the batter until just combined.

Heat a large non-stick frying pan over a medium heat, brush with extra melted butter. Drop heaped tablespoons of the mixture into the pan. Cook until bubbles appear on surface of blini (about 1 minute), turn over and cook for a further 30 seconds or until golden.
Repeat with remaining mixture

Top warm blinis with creme fraiche and smoked salmon and snipped chives.

Makes about 25 pikelet size or 70 small party blinis.

Choc Vino Cotto Pavlova

Family birthdays when I was young always featured Pavlova. Mums meringue dessert with a crisp crust and soft, light inside but always oddly decorated; half with an array of various fruits and half with grated peppermint crisp. Why?? A fussy brother who still to this day doesn't do 'fruits or citrus'.
This is without a doubt my favorite Pavlova recipe! So I thought I would bake it for two recent special occasions - New Year with my Indian Family and Valentines Day with 'all the single ones'.

Thank you Maggie Beer for perfecting this dessert  (not surprising she has been making pavs for dinner parties since she was 18 years old). The words of wisdom - "don't worry if your pav isn't a perfect circle or looks a little rough around the edges... I love things that look rustic and home-made – like your own hands have touched it, and the cream can be a great cement"

Choc Vino Cotto Pavlova - Maggie's Kitchen by Maggie Beer

6 egg whites
1 1/2 caster sugar
3 tbls of best quality cocoa powder
1 tbls vino cotto
40g of finely grated bittersweet chocolate (70% cocoa)
pinch of cream of tarter
1 tablespoon of vino cotto or balsamic

To serve -
300ml of cream fresh or whipped cream
1 punnet of strawberries or raspberries
2-3 tablespoons of grated bittersweet chocolate (70%) to decorate

Method
Preheat oven to 180C. Line a baking tray with baking paper. Draw a 23cm circle onto the paper, and then set aside.

Beat the egg whites until soft peaks form, adding a pinch of tartar once the machine is going, and then, a spoonful at a time, beat in the sugar until the meringue is stiff and shiny. When it’s stiff, sprinkle in the cocoa and beat again. Then fold in the chopped chocolate and the vino cotto gently by hand.

Mound onto your baking sheet within the marked circle, smoothing the sides and top just little. Place in the centre of the 180C conventional oven, then immediately turn the temperatures down to 150C and cook for 55 minutes.
When it’s ready, the pavlova should look crisp around the edges and be dry on top – but when you prod the centre, you should feel the promise of squidginess. Turn off the oven, open the door slightly and let the chocolate meringue disc cool completely.

To serve, invert meringue onto a big, flat bottomed plate. Whisk cream until its thick but still soft, then pile on top of the meringue and scatter over the strawberries. If you want to add the chocolate, coarsely grate it so you get curls rather than rubble, and sprinkle it haphazardly over the top, letting some fall on the plate’s rim.

I like my pavlovas gooey in the centre but if you prefer a drier meringue, leave it in the turned-off oven with the door slightly ajar until there is no heat left at all in either the oven or meringue. If you make this recipe in late autumn try using beautiful fresh figs instead of strawberries (see note below).

Note - Brush a hot char-grill pan with olive oil, then quickly grill fig halves, cut-sides down, until lightly caramelised and grill marks appear. Remove from heat and leave to cool.  Pile cream over centre of meringue, then place figs over the top and drizzle with vino cotto.

Chocolate Caramel Crackers - Passover Treats

Chocolate Caramel Crackers
For seven days ye shall eat unleavened bread!

Eating of matzo happens prominently in the Passover Seder. 'The Torah says that it is because the Hebrews left Egypt with such haste that there was no time to allow baked bread to rise; thus flat, unleavened bread, matzo, is a reminder of the rapid departure of the Exodus'.

The baking of matzo is labor-intensive! 18–22 minutes is allowed between the mixing of flour and water to the conclusion of baking and removal from the oven.

This recipe however is incredibly easy  and equally addictive (thank you mass produced packet matza).

Matza 'The Bread of Poverty' - if this is poverty, thank you BIG RED for introducing me to poverty at its best. The first special guest apperance on my blog (my brother), the most Jewish non Jew I know. THANK YOU for baking this 'cracker' treat.

 Chocolate Caramel Crackers by Smitten Kitchen
Adapted from David Lebovitz, who adapted it from Marcy Goldman who is the genius that first applied this to matzo

4 to 6 sheets matzo
1 cup (2 sticks or 8 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into a few large pieces
1 cup packed light brown sugar
A big pinch of sea salt
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups semi or bittersweet chocolate chips (or chopped bittersweet or semisweet chocolate)
1 cup toasted chopped almonds, pecans, walnuts or a nut of your choice (optional)
Extra sea salt for sprinkling (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line an 11-by-17-inch baking sheet completely with foil, and then line the base of the foil with parchment paper, cut to fit.

Line the bottom of the baking sheet with matzo or crackers, covering all parts. If using matzo, you'll need to break pieces to fit any extra spaces, which will be annoying because despite being perforated, it does not actually break in straight lines.

In a medium heavy-duty saucepan, melt the butter and brown sugar together, and stir it over medium heat until it begins to boil. Once it has begun boiling, let it bubble for three more minutes, stirring it well. It will thicken a bit as it cooks. Remove from the heat and add the salt and vanilla, and then quickly pour it over the matzo or crackers. You’ll want to spread it quickly, as it will begin to set as soon as it is poured.

Bake the caramel-covered crackers for 15 minutes, watching carefully as it will bubble and the corners might darken too quickly and/or burn. You can reduce the heat if you see this happening.
Remove from oven and immediately cover with chocolate chips. Let stand five minutes, and then spread them evenly across the caramel. An offset spatula works great here. If you’re using them, sprinkle the chocolate with toasted chopped nuts and/or sea salt.

Once completely cool, break it into pieces and store in an airtight container. If you wish to speed the cooling process up hen place in the fridge. It should keep for up to a week.