Caviar

A topping of salmon roe gives these deviled eggs an extra layer of flavor.

This dish teaches a very important lesson: The texture of well-prepared eggs can be enhanced by adding complementary textural ingredients.

Eric Ripert's original version of this dish at Le Bernardin in NYC is prepared with half as much pasta—usually super-delicate angel hair—and is painstakingly and exquisitely plated. I’ve doubled the pasta here to make it more of a family-style dish; there is still enough sauce to coat each strand of spaghetti. A few judicious pinches of bonito flakes make an economical and visually appealing substitute for the pricy caviar, and the dish can also stand with no garnish at all.

It doesn't get simpler—or more elegant—than crème fraîche and caviar tartlets alongside a glass of sparkling wine.

You might think the braised pork belly is too sweet on its own. But paired with the sour kimchi and salty roe, it comes into eye-opening balance.

The secret to light, fluffy scrambled eggs is to cook them over moderate heat and to move them fairly constantly; this will ensure that the eggs do not take on any color. Also, cook the eggs just until they form plump, soft curds with no more runny parts in the pan (the curds should appear slightly wet, not dry) and immediately remove them from pan, as they will continue cooking.

As we write this, it seems much more acceptable to spend $18 for an entire appetizer than it does to spend $180 an ounce for real caviar. What makes this setup grand is the ceremonial feel it has, like something you could get on the Orient Express. Feel free to use any kind of fish eggs: whitefish, salmon, trout, or even smoked or preserved fish. It’s also crucial that what you save on the real caviar, you spend on Champagne and on an overpriced silver serving dish from eBay. Eat it in your bed or on the bus.

Nothing says CELEBRATION like blinis and caviar. These quick, buckwheat pancakes, made with baking powder (unlike the traditional yeast-based ones) are brightened with the addition of lemon zest. Use whatever caviar you prefer and your budget will allow. We are quite enamored of the trout caviar made in North Carolina (see Cooks' Notes). The roe is a beautiful pale orange with a delightfully firm texture that pops in your mouth. Better yet, it's much more affordable than imported or domestic sturgeon caviars (see Cooks' Notes).

鲑鱼卵,寿司店的标准在美国,is a very popular ingredient in Japan. I love how these orange-colored pearls explode with a burst of flavor when you bite into them. They add a wonderful zing to this classic fettuccine recipe. Try this dish in the spring when broccoli is at its peak.

Caviar is often garnished with hard-boiled eggs, so why not the reverse? To enhance the taste of the eggs, cook them until the yolks are still a bit soft so they can serve as the basis for the sauce. (This obviates the need for mayo, which would mask the eggs’ flavor.) As this dish is all about the egg, use fresh farm eggs if possible. And if you wish to keep the price down, inexpensive salmon roe will substitute well for the caviar—and it looks beautiful, too.

It was in Paris in the 1960s that I first tasted buckwheat blini. My friend Nanou took me to a tiny, chic Russian restaurant near the Champs- Élysées. Russians, many of them Jews, came to France at the end of the nineteenth century, not long before the Russian Revolution, and congregated in restaurants like this one. We ordered the elegantly presented blini, and ate them daintily with smoked salmon and crème fraîche. Twenty years after Nanou died, her son Édouard got married. The wedding party took place at Maxim’s, where we drank lots of champagne and danced until the wee hours of the morning. I was touched to taste blini with smoked salmon and crème fraîche, the same appetizer that Édouard’s mother and I had enjoyed so many years ago. For me, it was as though she were present at the wedding. This recipe was adapted from Lynn Visson’s The Russian Heritage Cookbook.

People love these, and the salmon caviar gives this classic an updated twist.