My dear friend Annie LaGravanese sent us a whopping big tin of paddlefish caviar (from Paramount Caviar). Paddlefish are native to the Mississippi basin and offer great roe. Caviar and hen eggs go great together. Throw in a little fat and something crunchy and you have a great bite. It's definitely a luxury item, but at this time of year when we do a lot of entertaining, it's worth it (especially when you have a friend like Ann!). And this pie goes a long way. It made a great hors d'oeuvre on Christmas Eve for a family of twelve.
We then brought it to a friend's dinner party three days later where it did the same, accompanied by some generous champagne from one of the guests (the preferred accompanying beverage). And yesterday, Donna and I polished it off with some cold white wine for lunch before heading off to our weekly pool game.
This is fabulous for a New Year's Eve spread, so I wanted to post it here. I also wanted to thank Annie and her beloved for their generosity. And also, I always lose Annie's recipe and she has to, oy!, resend it. Now I won't have to. It lives here!
Happy New Year to all!
If you liked this post, then you will enjoy these links:
- My past posts on Holiday Punches and How to Roast a Turkey.
- It is so easy to make your own mayonnaise from scratch.
- Food Republic shares 13 things you did not know about caviar.
- How to purchase caviar: a guide from Serious Eats.
© 2014 Michael Ruhlman. Photo © 2014 Donna Turner Ruhlman. All rights reserved.
Ann's Caviar Pie
Ingredients
- 12 eggs, hard-boiled
- Mayonnaise (just enough to hold egg salad together, ½ cup or so)
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste (for egg salad—remember, a lot of fat in the form of cream cheese and sour cream will be added)
- Curry powder to taste (for egg salad, just a pinch or two)
- 1 red onion, finely chopped, rinsed under warm water, then squeezed dry in a paper towel
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 16 ounces sour cream
- 1 large tin (16 ounces) American Paddlefish caviar
- 1 large tin (16 ounces) American Paddlefish caviar
Instructions
- Grease a 10-inch springform pan with a little mayonnaise.
- In a medium bowl mash the hard-boiled eggs with a fork and add enough mayonnaise so that it all adheres.
- Season the egg mixture with salt, pepper, and curry to taste.
- Spread the egg salad into the bottom of the springform pan.
- Evenly spread the chopped red onion on top of the egg.
- Mix the softened cream cheese and sour cream until smooth. Begin to drop the cheese mixture on top of the red onions, then smooth over with a wet spatula. The recipe can be prepared up to this point the day before (recommended); refrigerate covered with plastic wrap. Be sure to place the springform pan on a paper towel on a plate or sheet tray because the sour cream can cause a little leakage.
- When ready to serve, remove the springform pan from the refrigerator and spread the caviar on top.
- Remove the paper towel, un-ring the caviar pie, and transfer to a serving dish (or serve it off the springform pan, as I did).
We just eat the leftovers for breakfast!!
Happy and a Healthy everyone!
When are there leftovers?! Seems to me this always disappears pretty fast!
That needs a ring of red salmon caviar around the edge to really send it over the top!
Like the salmon idea!
I'm not a fan of egg salad or mayonnaise. Wondering if this would work on a base of smoked salmon, maybe with a thickened creme fraiche?
absolutely!
More specifically, based on the (limited) information I have), paddlefish caviar was originally marketed in a big way, if not discovered, by Joseph Crisafulli of Montana (whom I had the honor to meet, as he is my best friend's grandfather), with a vision to provide economic growth to Glendive Montana. Glendive is on the Yellowstone, tributary to, eventually, the Mississippi.
http://www.zoominfo.com/s/#!search/profile/person?personId=1155413917&targetid=profile
interesting info, thanks.
LOL omg I would happily die in this pie of sodium and cholesterol! It would be a glorious death mind you...
But seriously, great looking dish!
Blogging is the new poetry. I find it wonderful and amazing in many ways.
Instant tradition...a real keeper. I made this in several shallow 4 inch dessert glasses so all the layers were visible. It was like a caviar parfait!