Caviar Pie

Both my granny and Pam and Dad have made this fantastic appetizer since...FOREVER. It is definitely part of our family food repertoire. Once I moved to Colorado I realized this old school appetizer may just be a popular favorite in our circle. Growing up, I remember thinking Caviar Pie was special for a few reasons...

1. Preparation: You have to chill overnight before adding the toppings- anything that takes that kind of forethought, must be impressive.
2. Caviar: This ingredient brings thoughts of hundreds of dollars an ounce, Marilyn Monroe and champagne ...even though this recipe simply uses a $7 jar of Romanoff caviar.
3. Presentation: The finished product adds color to any spread, is always a topic of conversation and looks like a little piece of food art.
4. Event: We normally were able to enjoy this at our traditional Christmas Eve bash, New Years and other festive holidays.

Really this recipe takes the most basic ingredients and is not difficult at all. You do need to have a spring form pan and clearly you need to purchase a jar of caviar, but I bet you have everything else in your refrigerator. While nothing says football like chicken wings...tomorrow Packer and Steeler fans will be expanding that thought to also include caviar.

From my table, granny's and dad and Pam's to yours...

Caviar Pie
Ingredients:

• 3/4 C chopped green onions
• 6 hard boiled eggs
• 3 T mayonnaise
• 8 oz cream cheese, softened
• 2/3 C sour cream
• 1 jar caviar (I just purchase the Romanoff black whitefish)
• 1 C chopped parsley
• 1 lemon, thinly sliced, then cut slices in half
• 1 red cherry pepper
• Baguette, sliced

Directions: This is very visual, so try to follow me here!

• Coat your spring form pan with non stick spray
• Chop eggs and mix with mayo. Spread in the bottom of the pan.
• Top with chopped green onion.
• Beat cream cheese and sour cream together until smooth.
• Drop by tablespoons onto onion layer. Using the back of a spoon, gently spread the mixture evenly (so you don't see the onion).
• Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. (if in a time crunch, 3-5 hours will work)
• Pour caviar into a strainer and rinse. Set on paper towel.
• Place the spring form pan on a platter that is the same size or larger than the bottom of the pan. Open the pan and remove the sides.
• Thinly slice the lemon. Then cut each slice in half. Set aside.
• Using a toothpick, lightly draw 6 even slices/triangles.
• The toppings: Triangle 1 - Fill with chopped parsley. Triangle 2: Leave blank. Triangle 3:Fill with Caviar. Triangle 4: Parsley. Triangle 5: Blank. Triangle 6: Caviar.
• Take each half slice of lemon and cover the outside layer. So essentially you are covering the outside of the pie like you are tiling a wall. The lemon slices will stick to the sides of the pie.
• Take the red cherry pepper and place in the center.
• Serve with the sliced baguette
• Take your cocktail knife, dig in and spread on the bread. Yum.