Nibbling Gypsy: 4-Layer Caviar Dip with Potato Chips and Other Happy New Year's Appies!

Happy New Year’s Everyone!

Hope you’re all celebrating fabulously!

Sadly, a cold/flu has done away with all our NYE plans–Wah wah! So, I’m home and taking the chance to catch up here. Make no mistake, I still plan to have a fabulous feast. (Lamb is in the works and sipping Champagne as I write!) However, Greg and I will be enjoying our food and wine cozied up in front of a movie.

One of my favorite parts of any party –whether it be a party of 2 or 200– is the appetizers. I also love creating them. So, I thought I’d compile a little list of app recipes here, just in case you happen to find yourself in a last minute search for inspiration, or maybe you’re starting the year off with a New Year’s Day party.

First though, I’m going to share something truly fabulous created by a friend. For our birthday celebration this summer (Greg’s and my birthday are fairly close together, so we usually have one party) our friend Drew brought Rosé Champagne and a caviar dip. Such a good friend.

I can best describe this as a four layer dip dressed up in diamonds and pearls – or after undergoing a movie montage makeover. I love the high-low aspect with the potato chips– ok, it’s a pretty small drop of “low.” However, if you don’t already know it, Champers is amazing with anything fried like potato chips or fries!

He was kind enough to send it to me with the purpose of sharing it with you all. This is a bit of a non-recipe, as the amounts can easily vary. Drew puts it this way: “Volumes are really down to the size of the vessel. And budget. Depending on the kind of roe chosen, this dish can get pretty pricey. But happily, no one minds having crème fraîche with chives and a hint of lemon with potato chips! So using that as a filler isn’t the worst!.”

4-Layer Caviar Dip with Potato Chips

Ingredients

Approximately 12 ounces of crème fraîche, plus another few ounces to fill in gaps
Zest of two lemons
Dash fresh ground pepper
4+ bunches chives (you need a lot of chives!), finely chopped
As much caviar as the budget allows (Tip from Drew: a good way to stretch the dish is to buy one smaller jar of paddlefish or osetra, then supplement with salmon or trout roe. I personally like an ounce of paddlefish and 4.4 ounces each of salmon and smoked trout.)
Potato chips for dipping (Per Drew: “Some people like really good quality kettle cooked chips. I think good quality chips have too much flavor, so I prefer thin chips like Lays for a higher caviar-to-potato ratio.)

You’ll also need a ceramic or glass serving dish that is about an inch deep and ideally rectangular

Instructions

1. Spread a thin and even layer (about 1/10ish inch) of crème fraîche on the bottom of the serving dish

2. Layer chives on top over the entire surface area of crème fraîche, then spread another layer of crème fraîche on top to fully cover chives. Sprinkle lemon zest and pepper fairly lightly on top.

3. Spread a layer of caviar on top, being careful to not penetrate the crème fraîche through to the chives.

Drew Tips: If you have multiple varieties, use parchment or another straightedge to guide even divisions of caviars; extra credit for a thin line of chives to separate caviar.

If you have leftover caviar, just eat it straight or pile it on. Multiple layers of crème fraîche and caviar dilutes the caviar flavor.

For extra extra credit, get your caviar from The Caviar Company. in San Francisco. They are super knowledgeable and nice.

Serve with potato chips and Champagne! (I’d say go with the real stuff for this–the caviar and Champers deserve to be together!) . . .Whether you share it with your guests or hoard it in a corner is completely up to you.

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For more inspiration, check out my most recent 8 & 20 for delicious Saffron-Tomato Chicken Croquetas now up on WineSpectator.com. These were really tasty, if I do say so!