I made the blini recipe today, no pictures, sadly, but I'll be making it again. I used the CS beet fluid gel, a 50/50 mix of goat cheese and creme fraiche, and candied walnuts. Some thoughts, in no particular order:
- I think there is too much vinegar in the beet gel recipe. I love vinegar, but I think the amount in this case takes away from the beet taste. Using less vinegar should allow for using more of the beet gel.
- I went with goat cheese because that seems to be a popular pairing these days (with beets, that is). I ended up adding more creme fraiche (up to 50/50) because it was a bit tart, but I think I should have left it at 1/3 CF 2/3 goat cheese, since the flavor was drowned out by the other components when combined. Side note: creme fraiche and goat cheese is a cool combo.
- I wanted to try something sweet on top, and I needed a change of texture, so candied walnuts seemed like a good choice. A pad of butter and a fist-full of sugar, melt and toss the walnuts in to coat. The butter cut the sweetness of the sugar a lot, and I think it was a good choice overall.
- This was my first time using piping bags, and they are amazing. Not sure how I went this long without them.
- The blini are great. Not much to add there, but they were easy to make and very tasty. I need an offset spatula. Damn.
