Chestnuts and Apple Blini 栗とリンゴ味のビリニ

This is another one of my wife’s “variations on the theme of blini”. This started when I made “chestnut apple soup” as an autumnal dish. The soup was more of a potage than soup with a thick consistency, and good chestnut and apple flavors. While we were enjoying the soup, my wife mused that it would be a great ingredient for a blini. Thus, we have “Chestnut and Apple Blini”.

Ingredients:  makes 14 blini
2 cups of chestnut apple soup
6 tbs melted butter
6 large eggs, beaten
1 cup all-purpose flour (next time I will try 1/2 cup chestnut flour and 1/2 cup AP) 
1 cup + 2 tbs. cake flour
1 Tbs + 1 1/2 tsp. Baking powder
2 tsp salt
enough additional soup to make it the texture of pancake batter 

The ingredients and recipe for the chestnut apple soup are below. 

Directions:
Put the chestnut apple soup in a bowl. Add the egg, the melted butter and stir until combined. Then add the flour, baking powder and salt and whisk until well blended. (You may need to add of the soup so the batter is the consistency of pancake batter.)

In a cast iron platar, melt 1 tablespoon of butter. Use the melted butter to grease each of the platar cups before adding the batter. Pour the batter into the cups until they are mostly full. Cook over moderately low heat, turning once, until set, about 5 minutes per side. Repeat with the remaining butter and batter.

Recipe for chestnut and apple soup.

Ingredients: (made a bit over 4 cups of the soup)
100 grams of the prepared chestnuts (we used the brand called Gefen)
2 medium onions, finely chopped
1 large stalk of celery, string removed and chopped fine
2 carrots, peeled and cut into small dice
2 apples, peeled, cored and chopped in small pieces
3 cups or more chicken broth
2 tbs olive oil and 1 tbs butter
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
In a pan on medium low flame, add the oil and butter. When it is hot and the butter is melted, add the onion and celery and sauté for a few minutes, Add the carrots and apples and sauté for few more minutes. Add the chestnuts (crumble as you add). Add the chicken broth and simmer for 30 minutes.
Using the immersion blender or mixer, blend the vegetables, add cream (optional).

Although the soup had a very definite chestnut apple flavor the blinis did not. They had a nice texture and tasted great slathered with butter for breakfast but they did not taste of chestnuts like the soup. Next time my wife said she would try using chestnut flour in place of some of the AP flour.

Cauliflower-puree Blini カリフラワーピュレー ビィリニ

This is one of my wife’s variations on the theme of blini. Besides classic blini with buckwheat flour, she made quite a few variations.  She made this because the cauliflower puree I made needed to be finished. I occasionally make cauliflower puree which is a nice item to have since it can be used as is or as a part of other dishes. We even enjoy it as a cold soup for lunch after adding some milk or cream. In any case, my wife decided to try Cauliflower-puree blini. We were a bit skeptical about how this would turn out but it turned out great. It was very moist and soft inside. The pleasing hardy cauliflower flavor really came through. The crust was nice and crunchy. We enjoyed it toasted and slathered with butter as a part of breakfast.

Ingredients(X3): makes 14 blini
2 cups of cauliflower puree
6 tbs melted butter
3/4 cup sour cream
6 large eggs, beaten
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup + 2 tbs. cake flour
1 Tbs + 1 1/2 tsp. Baking powder
1 1/2 tsp salt
enough additional cream or buttermilk to make it the texture of pancake batter

Directions:Put the cauliflower puree in a bowl. Add the egg, the melted butter and sour cream, then add the flour, baking powder and salt and whisk until well blended. (You may need to add more cream so the batter is the consistency of pancake batter.)

Melt 1 tablespoon of butter. Use the butter to grease each cup of a cast iron platar, before adding the batter. Pour the batter into the cups until they are mostly full. Cook over moderately low heat, turning once, until set, about 5 minutes per side. Repeat with the remaining butter and batter.

Japanese Sweet potato Blini さつまいもビィリニ

My wife has been making all kinds of blini variations. This time was Japanese sweet potato blini.

Ingredients(X3): makes 14 blini
2 cups of mashed sweet potatoes
6 tbs melted butter
3/4 cup sour cream
6 large eggs, beaten
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup + 2 tbs. cake flour
1 Tbs + 1 1/2 tsp. Baking powder
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbs. maple syrup (add more for a sweeter blini) 
enough additional cream or buttermilk to make it the texture of pancake batter

Directions:
Run the mashed potatoes through a ricer to work out any lumps. Put the riced potatoes in a bowl. Add the egg, the melted butter and sour cream, then add the flour, baking powder and salt and whisk until well blended. (You may need to add more cream so the batter is the consistency of pancake batter.)

In a cast iron platar, melt 1 tablespoon of butter. Use the melted butter to grease each of the platar cups before adding the batter. Pour the batter into the cups until they are mostly full. Cook over moderately low heat, turning once, until set, about 5 minutes per side. Repeat with the remaining butter and batter.

These had a very pleasing texture. The sweet potato flavor however didn’t really come through. Nonetheless it was good toasted for breakfast. Bottom line: any starch; potatoes, corn, whatever can be used to make a mighty fine blini.

Table of Contents 2026

January 2026
January 1     Happy New Year 2026 明けましておめでとうございます
January 2    “Ozoni” New Year’s Soup お雑煮 2026
January 5    Osechi from Sushi Taro 2026 すし太郎のお節
January 8    Chocolate Brownie Pudding チョコレートブラウニープディング
January 11    Japanese “Kabu” Turnip Simmered in Broth 蕪の煮物
January 14    Japanese Sweet potato Blini さつまいもビィリニ
January 17    Simmered “Satoimo” taro with squid 里芋とイカの煮物
January 19    Grilled Beef Tongue 牛タンの焼肉
January 20    Persimmon in Tofu Dressing 柿の白和え
January 23    Cauliflower-puree Blini カリフラワーピュレー　ビィリニ
January 25    Gingerbread Pancakes with Date Sauce ジンジャーブレッドパンケーキ
January 26    “Bento” Lunch Box 弁当
January 29    Chestnuts and Apple Blini 栗とリンゴ味のビリニ

Kabocha Blini かぼちゃビリーニ

Recently, in keeping with the fall season, we got a whole Japanese “Kabocha” 南瓜 squash from Weee, I made the classic Japanese stewed kabocha かぼちゃの煮物 and potage かぼちゃのポタージュ.  Both dishes were great mainly because of the quality of the kabocha was extremely good—very tender (not dry and chalky) and slightly sweet. After some time, we had some of the potage left. My wife decided to make “Kabocha blini” from it. This turned out to be pretty good. It has a nice yellow color, moist inside crispy outside. The kabocha flavor is subtle but it’s there. This is a good blini variation.

Ingredients: makes 12 blini
2 cups kabocha puree (or in this case thick soup/potage)
6 tbs melted butter
3/4 cup cream
6 large eggs, beaten
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup + 4 Tbs. cake flour
1 Tbs + 1 1/2 tsp. Baking powder
1 1/2 tsp salt
may need additional liquid to bring the batter to the consistency of pancake batter.

Directions:
In a bowl add the kabocha puree, melted butter, cream and eggs. Stir until well blended. Then add the flours, baking powder, and salt and whisk until well blended. (You may need to add some additional liquid so the batter is the consistency of pancake batter.)

Melt 1 Tbs. butter. In a cast iron platar, brush some of the melted butter to grease each of the platar cups before adding the batter. Pour the batter into the cups until they are full using the largest ice cream scoop. Cook over moderately low heat, turning once, until set, about 5 minutes or more per side. Repeat with the remaining butter and batter.

These were remarkably good. They had a tender texture, were slightly sweet and had a lovely subtle kabocha flavor. They tasted great toasted and topped with butter. This just proves the possibilities for blinis are limitless.

Pea, Avocado and Mint Blini グリーンピー、アボカド、ミント ガスパッチョ

When we made “Pea, Avocado and Mint Gazpacho”, we were not particularly wild about the “grassy” taste from the peas. The original recipe called for fresh uncooked peas which we thought must have tasted starchy and even more grassy. In any case we used frozen peas, so they were not “uncooked” but the grassy taste was pronounced. We thought, maybe cooking it would reduce the “grassy” taste. In addition we had a lot of the gazpacho left. My wife suggested she could use the extra to make gazpacho blini since she had many successes using additional ingredients/flavors in previous versions of blini. The pea blini seemed to cook up nicely but, although we did not take pictures of the cut surfaces, the center did not show the many uniform  bubbles/holes we would expected in a blini. It had a nice crunchy crust but the center was soft and mushy even though the blini were thoroughly cooked. In addition the “grassy” taste was still as strong as ever (if not even more pronounced). We tried eating some for breakfast, but decided the bottom line was we did not like either the taste or the texture. So we designated them a “failure” and tossed them out. But wait. My wife, who has had multiple “failures” in her cooking career (remember the tart crust made of nuts that even the squirrels would not eat) does not let them discourage her cooking experiments. She does this by maintaining the philosophy that it is not a “failure” if you have at least learned something from it. So what did we learn from this experience? If you do not like the flavor of the initial ingredient using it to make something else such as a blini will not necessarily result in an improvement. Also, pea, avocado and mint gazpacho does not work for us in any form. So we decided to blog this “failure” to remind ourselves of this cooking philosophy and not let a lack of success discourage us (or our readers). 

Ingredients  (made 15 blini):
2 cups of  “Pea, Avocado, and Mint gazpacho”
6 tbs melted butter
3/4 cup sour cream
6 large eggs, beaten
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup + 2 tbs. cake flour
1 Tbs + 1 1/2 tsp. Baking powder
1 1/2 tsp salt
enough additional cream or buttermilk to make it the texture of pancake batter

Directions:
Put the gazpacho in a bowl. Add the egg, the melted butter and sour cream, then add the flour, baking powder and salt and whisk until well blended. (You may need to add more cream so the batter is the consistency of pancake batter.)

In a cast iron platar, melt 1 tablespoon of butter. Use the melted butter to grease each of the platar cups before adding the batter. Pour the batter into the cups until they are mostly full (#1). Cook over moderately low heat, turning once, until set, about 5 minutes per side (#2 and 3). Repeat with the remaining butter and batter.

We thought this would be a great way to use the left over gazpacho as we did using mashed potatoes. The outside was crispy but the inside was mushy and lacked uniform bubbles which characterize a good blini. Despite cooking, the grassy flavor of the pea came through. Although certainly edible, we did not enjoy it. But we learned something so we will not be discouraged from experimenting with other ingredient variations to make more /other blini.

Table of Contents 2025

January 2025
January 2     Happy New Year 2025 謹賀新年2025
January 5     Sushi Taro Osechi box 2025
January 8     Sushi Taro New Year Soba 手打ち蕎麦
January 11    Grilled “Tai” Perch Seasoned Rice 鯛飯もどき
January 14     “Karasumi” Japanese Bottarga from Maruhide 丸秀の唐墨
January 17    Bottarga/Karasumi Taste Test 日本の唐墨とサルジニアのボタルガの味比べ
January 20    Apple Pie Muffin and Pan Cake アップルパイ　マフィン
January 23    “Endless” Konnyaku 無限コンニャク
January 26    Mock Tofu 擬制豆腐
January 29    Apple Fritter アップルフリッター

February 2025
February 1    Braised Eggplant with Ground Chicken 茄子のそぼろ煮
February 4    Sashimi Daikon Garnish 刺身の大根つま/けん
February 7    Wild Rice Salad ワイルドライスサラダ
February 10    Apple Pie Muffin Made with Juiced Apple アップルパイマフィン
February 13    Chocolate Milk Bread チョコレートミルクパン
February 19    Ricotta Lemon Cookie リコッタチーズ　レモンクッキー
February 21    Assorted Japanese Mini-pans 日本のミニ菓子パン各種
February 24    Quesadilla with Mini-corn Tortilla and Browned Cheese
February 27    Burdock Root Kelp Roll ごぼうの昆布巻き

March 2025
March 2    Anchovy Onion Cocktail Biscuit アンチョビイと玉ねぎカクテルビスケット
March 6    Shrimp Chicken Gyouza エビと鶏肉の餃子
March 9    Chickpea fries ひよこ豆フライ
March 19    Babka Cookie Muffin バブカ　クッキー　マフィン
March 22    Nappa Cabbage Cream Stew 白菜のクリームシチュー
March 30    Jubako for “hanami” cherry blossom gazing 花見用市松模様の重箱

April 2025
April 2    Hanami 2025 花見2025
April 5    Hanami #2 花見＃2
April 8    “Cotton Candy Grape Muffin” “わたあめブドウ” のマフィン
April 11    “Cotton Candy Grape” Panna Cotta “わたあめブドウ“ パンナコッタ
April 14    Carrot Salad Muffin 人参サラダ入りマフィン
June 2025

June 12    Tokyo Kyobashi Areas Izakayas (part 1) 東京の居酒屋　東京駅八...
June 15    Cream Cheese with Pickled Daikon クリームチーズ　沢庵入り
June 18    Tokyo Kyobashi Areas Izakayas (part 2) 東京の居酒屋　東京駅八...
June 21    “Renkon” Lotus Root in sweet vinegar 酢れんこん
June 24    Tokyo Kyobashi Areas Izakayas (part 3) 東京の居酒屋　東京駅八...
June 27    Lemon Crumb Bar レモンクラムバー
June 30    Tokyo Kyobashi Areas Izakayas (part 4) 東京の居酒屋　東京駅八...


July 2025
July 3    Matcha Almond Pancake (again) 抹茶アーモンドパンケーキ
July 6    Izakaya in Kanazawa 金沢の居酒屋
July 9    Topping of Katsu-Don カツ丼のあたま
July 12    Kyoto Izakaya in Kyoto Station area part 1 京都駅付近の居...
July 15    Vinegar Cured Mackerel Sushi with Shiro-ita Kelp バッテラ
July 18    Kyoto Izakaya in Kyoto Station Area Part 2 京都駅駅付近付...
July 21    Pea, Ricotta ad Mint Gazpacho えんどう豆、リコッタチーズとミントのガス...
July 24    Tottori Izakaya and Shinkansen “Izakaya” 鳥取の居酒屋と新幹...
July 27    Pea, Avocado and Mint Blini グリーンピー、アボカド、ミント　ガスパッチョ
July 30    Izakaya in Sapporo Part 1 札幌の居酒屋パート1

August 2025
August 2    Chilean Sea Bass in Sweet “Saikyo” Miso メロの西京味噌焼き
August 5    Izakaya in Sapporo Part2 札幌の居酒屋パート2
August 8    Cream Cheese Muffin クリームチーズマフィン
August 11    Sapporo Lunch Places Part 1札幌の昼ごはん パート1
August 14    Pork Vindaloo with Baby Corn and Edamame ポーク “ビンダル...
August 17    Izakaya in Sapporo Part3 札幌の居酒屋パート3
August 20    Impromptu Eggplant Mushroom Stir-fry 茄子と椎茸のオイスターソース炒め
August 23    Sapporo Lunch places part2 札幌の昼ごはん　パート2
August 26    Cold Udon with Sesame Sauce 胡麻ソース和え冷製うどん
August 29    Izakaya in Sapporo Part 4 札幌の居酒屋パート4

September 2025
September 1    Savory Breakfast Mini Cheesecakes ミニチーズケーキ
September 4    Izakaya in Sapporo Part 5 札幌の居酒屋パート5
September 7    Mapo (sort of) Eggplant “麻婆風” 茄子
September 10    Izakaya in Sapporo Part 6 札幌の居酒屋パート6
September 13    Oyster Mushroom and Chiku-wa Stir-fly with Yuzu-ko...
September 16    Cheese Straws チーズツイスト
September 19    Small Dishes or “Sake-no-sakana” 酒の肴
September 21    Prosciutto, dates, and goat cheese bites
September 24    Cabbage and pork belly stir-fry キャベツと豚バラの炒め物
September 27    Scallop fry ホタテのフライ
September 30    Yellow Squash Garlic Bites イエロースクワシュ、ガーリックバイツ

October 2025
October 3    Green Yuzu, “Kinome” Japanse pepper leaves 青柚子と木の芽
October 6    Japanese “Mizu” eggplant Asazuke 水茄子の浅漬け
October 9    Spanish Mackerel dumpling Soup topped with “Kinome...
October 12    Cucumber with Miso Sauces 味噌胡瓜
October 15    Moon gazing 10/6/2025 月見
October 18    Dishes from Yellowfin Tuna Sashimi Block キハダマグロ刺身の柵
October 21    Scallion Cheese Pinwheels ねぎとチーズの渦巻き
October 24    Hiyaoroshi Sake and Matsutake ひやおろし酒 “如空”と松茸
October 27    Funny cake ファニーケーキ
October 30    Julienned vegetable salad 刻み野菜サラダ

November 2025
November 2    Salmon Shrimp Pâté with Shiitake 椎茸入り鮭とエビのパテ
November 5    Cheese Pennies チーズ (ペニー) バタークッキー
November 8    Japanese Cucumber with “Sudachi” Miso 酢橘味噌胡瓜
November 11    Indian Pudding インディアンプディング
November 14    Kabocha Blini かぼちゃビリーニ
November 17    Brioche ブリオーシュ
November 20    Caramelized onion pizza 飴色玉ねぎピザ
November 23    White Pizza “Pizza Bianca” 白いピザ
November 27    Vanilla Shoofly Pie バニラシュウフライパイ
November 30    Simmered “Ni-Yakko” tofu 煮やっこ

December 2025
December 2    Nutmeat Pate 木の実のパテ
December 5    Wood-ear Mushroom in Sesame Sauce キクラゲの胡麻和え
December 8    Lemon Sponge Pudding/Pie レモンスポンジプッデング
December 11    Scallops and Shrimp with Yuzu Galic Butter Sauce ホ...
December 14    Sweet Potato muffin with Dates and Cranberries サツマ...
December 17    Chili Crisp Cottage Cheese Flatbread カッテージチーズフラットブ...
December 20    Chilean Sea bass with Steamed with Japanese Turnip...
December 23    ”Boti Gosht” Indian style Meat Cubes インド風の豚肉キューブ
December 25    Roasted Bone-in Leg of Lamb 骨付き子羊脚ロースト
December 28    Lotus root salad with Yuzu-kosho Mayo 柚子胡椒マヨ蓮根サラダ

Strawberry Blini いちごビリニ

This is another variation of blini/crumpet my wife made. This time it was strawberry blini. This happened because of the strawberry we bought sometime ago were not really sweet and as a result we weren’t quick to eat them. I “processed” the fresh strawberries the usual way by washing them, removing the hull, cutting into half or quarters, then placing them in a sealable container with enough triple sec to coat all the pieces. With this treatment, the fruit lasts quite a long time in the refrigerator. After a few days, the surface red color leaches out and the entire strawberry pieces turn red but the taste is the same. We often add this to our breakfast yogurt. This time, the strawberries were not really sweet and they stayed in the fridge without being used. So, finally we decide to either use them or throw them out.  Since my wife has been on a roll making different favored blinis (roasted pepper, pesto, corn, and mashed potato), she suggested making strawberry blini. They came out surprisingly really nice. Slightly pink colored inside with nice tender texture, crunchy crust and subtle but definitive slightly sweet strawberry flavor. We had this as a part of breakfast.

Ingredients: makes 16 blini
2 cups strawberry puree
6 tbs melted butter
3/4 cup cream
6 large eggs, beaten
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup + 4 Tbs. cake flour 
1/2 cup sugar 
1 Tbs + 1 1/2 tsp. Baking powder
2 tsp. vanilla 
1 1/2 tsp salt
enough strawberry juice to bring the batter to the consistency of pancake batter.  

Directions:
Heat the strawberry Triple Sec mixture in a sauce pan just until it starts to boil. Cool and drain the liquid but reserve it for future use. In a food processor, puree the strawberries until smooth; scrape into a medium bowl. Add the egg, the melted butter and cream, then add the flours, sugar baking powder, vanilla and salt and whisk until well blended. (You may need to add some of the reserved strawberry juice so the batter is the consistency of pancake batter.)

Melt 1 Tbs. butter. In a cast iron platar, use the melted butter to grease each of the platar cups before adding the batter . Pour the batter into the cups until they are full using the largest ice cream scoop. Cook over moderately low heat, turning once, until set, about 5 minutes or more per side. Repeat with the remaining butter and batter.

These were remarkably good. They had a tender texture, were slightly sweet and had a loverly subtle strawberry flavor was very distinctive and pervasive. Another small element of surprise was when we pureed the strawberries we noticed there were a lot of very small seeds. We discussed whether we should try to remove them and if so how. We decided that would be too difficult so we just left them in. Turns out the seeds provided a very nice and very small popping crunch in each bite—not so much as to be bothersome, just a pleasant addition to the texture.  The possibilities for blinis are limitless.

P.S. We found out that this tastes really good with strawberry whipped cream cheese. The strawberry on strawberry flavor is very nice. 

Mashed Potato Blini マシュポテトのビリニ

Since my wife was on a roll coming up with roasted pepper blini, pesto blini and corn blini, she looked at the bowl of mashed potatoes in the fridge and was hit with a brilliant flash—potato blini. These were mashed potatoes she prepared when we cooked a whole chicken in the Weber grill. Usually, we place two aluminum wrapped Russet potatoes in the Weber with the chicken. She removes the skin of the potatoes. mashes them and adds butter, cream cheese with onions and chives (sold in a tub), seasoning it with salt. Then she pours in the juice accumulated while the chicken was resting. These potatoes are very nice and flavorful. We like them but we generally cannot finish them. From the leftover potatoes, my wife makes gnocchi (of which we have a backlog in the freezer). I often make “potato croquettes” (but again we have a backlog in our freezer). “Mashed potato blini” seemed like a perfect use of the left over potatoes particularly since there was no backlog in the freezer—yet. This turned out very well. The crust is crunchy but the inside is quite tender with mashed potato flavor and a hint of barbecue chicken. With this dish we found another way to use up leftover mashed potatoes.

Ingredients(X3): makes 14 blini
2 cups of mashed potatoes
6 tbs melted butter
3/4 cup sour cream
6 large eggs, beaten
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup + 2 tbs. cake flour 
1 Tbs + 1 1/2 tsp. Baking powder
1 1/2 tsp salt
enough additional cream or buttermilk to make it the texture of pancake batter 

Directions:
Run the mashed potatoes through a ricer to work out any lumps. Put the riced potatoes in a bowl.  Add the egg, the melted butter and sour cream, then add the flour, baking powder and salt and whisk until well blended. (You may need to add more cream so the batter is the consistency of pancake batter.)

In a cast iron platar, melt 1 tablespoon of butter. Use the melted butter to grease each of the platar cups before adding the batter. Pour the batter into the cups until they are mostly full. Cook over moderately low heat, turning once, until set, about 5 minutes per side. Repeat with the remaining butter and batter.

This is a great way to use the left over mashed potatoes. The outside is crispy and the inside has a nice smooth moist texture. The overall flavor of the potatoes really comes through. These would be really good slathered in the butter for breakfast or as a side for lunch or dinner. 

Fresh Corn Blini コーンビリニ

It is a local corn harvest season and my wife bought 12 ears of fresh corn. We rarely eat corn on the cob but often remove the kernels from the cob, then “milk” the cobs by scraping them with the back of a knife to extract all the goodness of the corn. Using a Vitamix blender, we then puree the fresh corn without adding any liquid. With this batch of corn my wife made, corn sage muffins, corn pudding/cake, and corn broth from the cobs. But there was still some corn puree left. We contemplated how to use it and my wife came up with the idea of corn blini. This was based on her previous experience with roasted red pepper blini and pesto blini. Turned out to be a pretty good addition to the crowd. 

Ingredients: makes 14 blini
2 cups corn puree
6 tbs melted butter
3/4 cup cream
6 large eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup corn meal or corn flour 
1 Tbs + 1 1/2 tsp. Baking powder
1 1/2 tsp salt

Directions:
In a food processor, puree the corn until smooth; scrape into a medium bowl. (If you are not going to use the corn right away put it in a pan and bring to a boil to eliminate any potential bacteria from the corn).  Add the egg, the melted butter and cream, then add the flours, baking powder and salt and whisk until well blended. (You may need to add more liquid so the batter is the consistency of pancake batter.)

In a cast iron platar, melt 1 tablespoon of butter. Use the melted butter to grease each of the platar cups before adding the batter . Pour the batter into the cups until they are full using the largest ice cream scoop. Cook over moderately low heat, turning once, until set, about 5 minutes or more per side. Repeat with the remaining butter and batter.

These blini were wonderful. They had an incredible and strong corn taste that was very pleasant. The texture was lovely and moist. Tasted great slathered with butter for breakfast. 

Pesto Blini Prosciutto Cheese Sandwich ペストビリニの生ハムチーズサンド

This is a sandwich my wife came up with for lunch. We made “pesto blini” some time ago and found out when we toast the blini, because of the olive oil in the pesto, essentially it fries in the toaster oven and makes a nice crispy crust. My wife decided this would make a nice sandwich. She would have used honey ham but we did not have it and, instead, used prosciutto (which we did have). She also added a slice of cheddar cheese before toasting. Melting cheese,  prosciutto and crisp pesto flavored blini are indeed a good combination. I served it with a side of cantalope.

Ingredients:
2 pesto blinis, spilt in half horizontally
Mayo and Dijon mustard
Slices of sharp cheddar or other meting cheese
Prosciutto or honey ham

Direction.
Place slices of the cheddar on one slice of the blini and toast both slices until the cheese melts
Smear the mayo and mustard on the other slices (picture #2)

Add the prosciutto (picture #3)

The prosciutto was a bit on the salty side and this sandwich may be better with honey ham or some other meat but it was still pretty good with nice pesto/basil flavor and crispy blini.

Pesto Blini ペストビリ二

Our window sill basil is still growing very well. Although we use cuttings for pizzas and salads etc, we still need to harvest a relatively large quantity of basil every-once-in-a-while. Although my wife made basil cake/bread, our default to use up excess basils is making pesto. But once the pesto is made, we have to use it in a reasonable time or freeze it. Once we freeze the pesto, we tend to forget about it. We used most of the last batch for pesto and red pepper sauce pizza. My wife came up with this to use up the remaining pesto.  “Pesto Blini”! This is an extension of “Roasted pepper blini”.  We had it toasted as a part of breakfast it had a nice crisp crust and the pesto flavor came through as a savory dimension. We have to enjoy this with other appropriate toppings.

Ingredients(X2.5) makes 17 blini
1/2 cup pesto
5 tbs melted butter
1/2 +1/8 cup cream
5 large eggs, beaten
1 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
3 3/4 tsp baking powder
1 1/4 tsp salt

Directions:
In a medium bowl, add the egg, the pesto, the melted butter and cream, then add the flour, baking powder and salt and whisk until well blended. (You may need to add more liquid so the batter is the consistency of pancake batter.)
Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a pyrex dish. Use the melted butter to grease each of the platar cups of a cast iron platar before adding the batter . Pour the batter into the cups until they are 1/2 full. Cook over moderately low heat, turning once, until set, about 3 to 5 minutes per side. Repeat with the remaining butter and batter.

This makes a lovely savory crumpet like bite. It also provides a nice contrast to the usual flavors that appear for breakfast and it is a great way to use up pesto left over from pesto pizza.

Table of contents 2024

January 2024
January 1,    Happy New Year 2024 明けましておめでとう2024 
January 5,    Tomato and Egg Stir-fry with Wood Ear and Natto 納豆、トマト、木耳の卵炒め
January 22,   Goat Cheese Scallion Muffin ゴートチーズと青葱マフィン
January 25,   White "Pineberry" and Red "Koyo" Stawberries 白いイチゴと昂揚イチゴ
January 28,   Beef with Kon-nyaku and Vegetable "Kimpira" Stir Fry 牛肉と蒟蒻の金平

February 2024
February 3,     Chestnut Brown Butter, Sage Muffin 栗の粉とセイジマフィン
February 8,     Grated Lotus Root and Tofu Ball レンコン豆腐饅頭
February 11,    Sweet Onion Bread Pudding 玉ねぎのブレッドプデｨング
February 15,    Shad Roe from South Carolina 南カロライナからのシャドロウ
February 18,    Cranberry Camembert Cheese Bites クランベリーソース、カマンベールチーズ　バイツ
February 21,    Simmered Shad Roe with Vegetables シャドロウの煮付け
February 24,    Shad Roe Pasta  シャドロウパスタ
February 27,    Pickled Cucumber キュウリの漬物

March 2024
March 1,    “Maitake” Hen of the Woods Mushroom in Brown Butter and Sage 焦がしバターとセイジ風味舞茸
March 4,    Instant Pot BBQ Baby Back Ribs バーベキューベイビーバックリブ
March 7,    Salted Oatmeal Cookie 塩味オートミールクッキー
March 10,  Lobster Salad ロブスターサラダ
March13,    “Roman” Gnocchi ローマンニョキ
March 22,   Duck Tender Cutlet and Arancini 鴨ささ身のカツレツ
March 25,   Mary Walsh’s Currant Cake マリーウオルシュのカラントケーキ
March 28,   St. Patrick’s Day Dinner, Lamb Chops and Cabbage with bacon セントパトリックのディナー

April 2024
April 6,    Pumpkin “Kabocha” salad カボチャのサラダ
April 10,    Mini Fruit Galettes ミニフルーツガッレト 
April 21,    Spinach Soufflé (easy version) ほうれん草のスフレ 
April 30,    Frangipane Rolls フランジパンロール 

May 2024
May 13,    Pickled Micro Cucumber and Daikon 小さなキュウリと大根のピクルス 
May 15,    Steamed Carrot Buns with Ginger Custard 人参蒸しパン生姜カス... 
May 18,    Braised Eggplant with Oyster Sauce 茄子と椎茸のオイスターソース炒め
May 21,    Creamed Spinach with Cauliflower Puree カリフラワーピュレのク
May 24,    Anchovy Salad アンチョビサラダ
May 27,    Daikon Steak and Two Appetizers 大根ステーキ
May 30,    Focaccia Bread Baked in Breville Pizzaiolo Indoor Pizza Oven 

June 2024
June 2,    Steak and 2004 Joseph PhelpさんInsignia ステーキデｨナーと2004 インシグニア
June 5,    Gyoza made with New Round Gyoza Skin 日本風の餃子の皮で作った餃子 
June 8,    Filled Wool Bread 毛糸のパン 
June 11,    Shrimp Shumai 海老焼売 
June 14,    Pumpernickel Boule ドイツ黒パン 
June 17,    Ice Breaker “Summer” Sake 玉川アイスブレイカー酒 
June 20,    Carrot Panna Cotta 搾りたて人参ジュースのパナコタ
June 23,    Miso-marinated Firefly Squid ホタルイカの味噌焼き 
June 26,    Wood Ear Mushroom and Wakame Salad 木耳とわかめの和物 
June 29,    Nine “Otoshi” Appetizers お通し九種類

July 2024
July 2,    Egg roll 春巻き
July 5,    Red and Green Udon “Pasta” with Prosciutto 生ハムのせ赤と緑のうどんパスタ
July 8,    Pizza Made in Indoor Electric “Pizzaiolo” Pizza Oven 
July 11,    Garlic Chive Dumpling ニラ頭饅 or 韮菜万頭
July 14,    Mitsuba ミツバ 
July 17,    Dassai 45 and Dassai blue comparison 獺祭45とDassai Blue 50 飲み比べ 
July 28,    Cucumber in soy sauce 胡瓜の醤油漬け
July 31,    Tofu, Egg and Garlic Chives Stir Fry 豆腐ニラ玉、木耳入り

August 2024
August 9,    Home Coffee Roasting 緑コーヒー豆の自家焙煎 
August 12,    Icelandic Pumpernickel (Rye) Bread アイスランドのライ麦パン

September 2024
September 2,    Smelt Fry シシャモフライ
September 5,    Pesto Blini ペストビリニ 
September 8,    Yakitori de le Canard 鴨ささみで焼き鳥 
September 11,    Vegetables in Cold Broth 冷製のトマトの煮浸し 
September 14,    Pesto Blini Prosciutto Cheese Sandwich ペストビリニの生ハムチーズサンド
September 17,    Chicken Tender Fry with Salted Plum Sauce and Perilla ささみの梅大葉揚げ 
September 21,    Simmered Dried Daikon Threads 切り干し大根の煮物 
September 24,    Fresh Corn Blini コーンビリニ 
September 27,    Stir-fried Eggplant and Shiitake in Oyster Sauce 茄子と椎茸のオイスターソース炒め... 
September 30,    Mashed Potato Blini マシュポテトのビリニ

October 2024
October 3,    Five appetizers お通し５品
October  10,    Hen-of-the-Woods Grilled Cheese 舞茸のチーズ焼き
October 13,    Strawberry Blini いちごビリニ 
October 16,    Enoki mushroom frittata エノキ　オムレツ/フリッタータ 
October 19,    Kabocha salad カボチャサラダ 
October 22,    Matsutake (from Weee) Touban-yaki 松茸の陶盤焼き 
October 25,    Black Cod Marinated in Saikyo miso 銀鱈の西京(味噌)焼き
October 28,    Egg-wrapped Kabocha カボチャの黄金焼き 
October 31,    Almond Olive Oil Cake アーモンドオリーブオイルケーキ

November 2024
November 3,    Hiyaoroshi Sake Dewanoyuki “Sho-nai Bijin” 出羽ノ雪　冷やおろし庄内美人
November 6,    Hiyaoroshi Sake “Shichi Hon Yari” 七本槍　純米ひやおろし 
November 9,    Prosciutto-wrapped Haddock 生ハム巻きハドック (コダラ) 
November 12,    Marinated Chicken Tender Cutlet 鳥のささみのカツレツ
November 15,    Crispy Enoki Mushroom エノキのパリパリ焼き
November 18,    Bagel ベーグル 
November 21,    Chestnut Apple Soup クリとリンゴのスープ 
November 24,    Norwegian Mackerel Teriyaki 冷凍ノルウエイ鯖の照り焼き 
November 27,    “Imo-ni” Stew famous in Yamagata 芋煮庄内風 
November 30,    Matsutake and beef cooked in an Aluminum Foil Pouch 松茸と牛肉のフォイル焼き

December 2024
December 8,    Chestnut olive oil bread 栗とオリーブオイルケーキ
December 11,    Marinated Tofu and Egg Sir fry 味付け豆腐の卵炒め 
December 16,    Braised daikon with carrot, wood ear, and fried tofu 大根と人参の炒め物
December 19,    “Taco Carnitas”-ish タコ カルニタもどき
December 21,    Tofu in Warm Broth ミニ湯豆腐

Roasted pepper blini ローストパプリカビリニ

We recently got a bag of assorted bell peppers from Whole Food. This time, the bag contained 2 red, 2 yellow and 1 orange peppers. As before, I roasted/baked them in our toaster oven (450F for 30 minutes turning occasionally and then placed them in a Ziploc bag for 20-30 minutes or until cool enough to handle). I removed the stem ends, skin, seeds and ribs. We were pondering how to use this when my wife found an interesting “blini” recipe using roasted pepper. (The original recipe calls for red peppers in a jar while we were using fresh peppers.) We had both yellow-orange and red peppers but we decided to use the yellow. The flavors appear to be the same regardless of the color. The resulting blini has a nice roasted pepper smell. We ate this for breakfast, and it does have a distinctive roasted pepper flavor.

For the evening, we used the roasted pepper blini with onion and chive cream cheese spread, smoked salmon and ikura salmon roe garnished with dill. We did not taste much of the roasted pepper flavors since the other items have such strong flavors. For the smoked salmon and salmon roe combination, in the future we will use our regular buck-wheat blini.

I asked my wife to take over as ususal.

Ingredients: (makes 7 blini)
4 oz. roasted yellow (or red) bell pepper, stem end, seeds, ribs and skin removed
2 tbs melted butter
1/4 cup cream
2 large eggs, beaten
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Ingredients (X2) makes 14 blini
8 oz. roasted yellow (or red) bell pepper, stem end, seeds, ribs and skin removed
4 tbs melted butter
1/2 cup cream
4 large eggs, beaten
1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 Tbs baking powder
1 tsp salt

Ingredients(X2.5) makes 17 blini
10 oz. roasted yellow (or red) bell pepper, stem end, seeds, ribs and skin removed
5 tbs melted butter
1/2 +1/8 cup cream
5 large eggs, beaten
1 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
3 3/4 tsp baking powder
1 1/4  tsp salt

Ingredients(X3) makes 21 blini
12 oz. 1 1/3 cup roasted yellow (or red) bell pepper, stem end, seeds, ribs and skin removed
6 tbs melted butter
3/4 cup cream
6 large eggs, beaten
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbs + 1 1/2 tsp. Baking powder
1 1/2 tsp salt

Directions:
In a food processor, puree the bell pepper until smooth; scrape into a medium bowl. Add the egg, the melted butter and cream, then add the flour, baking powder and salt and whisk until well blended. (You may need to add more liquid so the batter is the consistency of pancake batter.)

In a cast iron platar, melt 1 tablespoon of butter. Use the melted butter to grease each of the platar cups before adding the batter . Pour the batter into the cups until they are 1/2 full. Cook over moderately low heat, turning once, until set, about 3 minutes per side. Repeat with the remaining butter and batter.

This is a good blini but we like it best for breakfast as though it is crumpet.

Ikura and smoke salmon appetizer イクラと冷製スモークサーモン前菜

 We have been getting keta-slamon roe “Ikura” from Vital Choice. The available packages vary in size; sometimes only a tray of one kilograms is available and other time 6oz jars. In any case, we like keta-salmon roe the best among other trout and salmon roes. Our most common way to serve ikura is on blini with cream cheese and smoked salmon. This time, only small amount of ikura was left, so we made cream cheese wrapped with smoked salmon topped with ikura placed on a slice of cucumber.

This had most of the flavor and mouth feel of the blini. (Can’t beat the lovely salty burst of the salmon roe). But the cucumber was much less filling than one with blini.

Philadelphia (Philly) rolls "Hosomaki" 細巻きフィラデルフィアロール

Although I have posted  Philadelphia rolls (or Philly rolls) 6 years ago, it was a medium sized (chumaki 中巻) and the nori outside (omotemaki 表巻き). I also said in that post that this could be a thin roll with the rice outside (Hosomaki 細巻き and Uramaki 裏巻き) like California rolls. So this is exactly that version. The reason I made Philly rolls is that the type of smoked salmon we got from Vital Choice which was called "wild salmon lox" was sliced a bit too thick and did not have much of a smoked flavor so it didn’t work well with our usual smoked salmon dishes such as blini, smoked salmon and ikura dish. I made sandwiches using this lox with avocado and cucumber on croissants smeared with cream cheese one side and mayo on the other which was quite good. A few days later I made these Philly rolls for an ending "shime" 〆 dish in the evening. 

I made two rolls. The first one (upper row) came out better. For this, we made fresh rice and made the sushi rice using a Japanese cedar "hinoki" 檜 vessel  called "Hangiri" 飯切りor sushi-oke 寿司桶. We brought this so many years ago when we visited Kiso 木曽 but amazingly it still smells of Hinoki wood. In any case, this Philly roll was made exactly like California rolls but instead of crab meat and avocado, I used lox, cream cheese and cucumber. I also sprinkled the outside layer with white sesame as in California rolls. In this preparation, the lox from Vital Choice tasted great.

As a small side dish I served simmered tender octopus leg 蛸の軟らか煮 (shown below).

I also served cucumber asazuke 胡瓜の浅漬け with salt broth soaked sugar snap スナップ豌豆の塩びたし.

This was a rather large shime dish for us but it was very good and both of us managed to finish it. (Such a hardship…not!)