Before the big 40th birthday celebration in LA, there was the early birthday celebration with family. And with that celebration came Dom Perignon and caviar! All of that took place right before a big birthday dinner of fried chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans, and cooked apples with a three layer homemade chocolate cake to follow. It was an amazing evening!!
Let's start with the champagne. My mom purchased the bottle earlier in the week and the story is crazy! As she browsed the selection of champagnes, looking specifically for Dom Perignon, one of the guys at the store asked if he could help. She stated which bottle she wanted and they said, "It's behind lock and key. We'll be right back." As they came back with the bottle, my mom was told that they would just carry it for her to the front. "We get it to the front. After you pay for it, it's up to you get it out of here in one piece." Can you imagine? Asking for assistance with a bottle of champagne, having it be in the back behind lock and key, and then to have it carried for you to the front of the store? This stuff better have been worth it, right? Well, it totally was!!
It was a smooth sip with very little bubbles. We normally drink Moet & Chandon or Perrier Jouet, which is just a lovely, but it does have a little more fizz. And I realize that number 37 was to drink a glass, but I think I had about three! Hey, it was my birthday celebration!!
Cheers to being 40....almost!
Then came number 35, the caviar. I was much more nervous about eating this than drinking! But, I was going to try something new. This is a new chapter in my life and I am going to try and do things differently. Conquer fears and try new things. This was definitely something new that I feared!
I just couldn't imagine eating fish eggs. That's when my dad said, "You eat the ones that come from a chicken." So true! But these were different. They were tiny, and black, and they just looked disgusting! But I was going to do this!
My mom purchased the caviar at Dean & Deluca and worked with George, their expert on caviar. My mom followed his instructions to the letter, and I would assume we did it correctly. You place shaved ice (we didn't have any so we used small cubed ice) in a small bowl and then place the caviar inside the ice.
In another small bowl, add Creme Fraiche. Creme Fraiche is a very mild form of sour cream so it won't over power the taste of the caviar.
George told mom to serve the caviar on little Blini's. So she did! They are basically little pancakes.
Now it was time! My dad took a Blini, added a thin layer of Creme Fraiche, a tiny spoonful of caviar and passed it over. (Note: do not use metal to serve caviar. All you will taste is the metal. The best way to serve is traditionally on a mother of pearl spoon, but George said a porcelain version was fine.)
Here we go! Joel said I probably wasn't supposed to fold it like a taco, but I thought it was better to hide the evidence!
First bite....
I'm not sure what I thought it would taste like, but it didn't taste like what I thought it would taste like. I think I thought it would roll around on my tongue, since it's a small, round egg. But it didn't. My dad thought they tasted saltier than he expected. I just ate it!
I will tell you this. I wouldn't order it at a restaurant, but if someone served it a party, I wouldn't pass it up. Make sense? I would, however order the champagne again, but I'm not going to spend the kind of money! Can you imagine how they would present it in a restaurant though? Could be pretty impressive!
So, numbers 35 and 37 are now complete! I'm making headway, even if I had less than a week left! Still one more to blog about with a few little ones to talk about!
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