Old-World Romance. Luxury Caviar Experience at Home!!
Each Spring we drive to New Orleans and stay at the Windsor Court Hotel. We usually leave on a Friday morning and look forward to one thing the entire drive - caviar and live jazz in the hotel’s Polo Club that night. This year, we decided to recreate the evening at home for Valentine’s Day. We are definitely a - stay at home couple - on that night so I wanted to make it more romantic than our typical meal rotation.
First, we had to source the caviar. Spencer was in charge of that. He’s typically in charge of researching items and buying them. He loves the research and choices - I get overwhelmed and lose interest. Threatening to buy the first item I see without reading the reviews makes his eye twitch so I usually give him the list. He ordered Ostera caviar from Marky’s in Florida. I arrived quickly and extremely fresh. I consulted the menu from the Polo Club to refresh my memory of what we typically order. Their Caviar Service Royale 200. Described as Osetra Caviar with traditional accompaniments. Cheese and Charcuterue includes 2 meats, 2 cheese, marcona almonds, pickles, honey, and grilled sesame toast. And always - hand cut frites with garlic aioli.
After menu consultation, I set out to create a luxurious experience at home. True caviar comes from sturgeon roe and is graded by its texture as firm pearls, clean brine salty flavor, color, consistency, and freshness. The rarity of the fish and labor intensive harvesting establish it as a luxury. Part of caviar’s luxury comes from how it is served. Traditional etiquette includes mother of pearl spoons as metal can alter the flavor, served over crushed ice. Paired with blinis which are essentially small pancakes. Creme fraiche, think a richer, creamer French sour cream. Often served with champagne or chilled vodka. The ceremony of the meal elevates it beyond simple food. Caviar has a short shelf life. In the refrigerator. It is to be opened and served immediately and placed in a bowl of ice. Spencer’s office has Sonic ice so he brought home a tumbler full. We decided to serve ours in the glass jar and set it in a bowl of ice. Many caviar serving dishes require transferring the caviar into the serving dish. I like keeping it in the jar and displaying the lid.
The Polo Club serves their caviar with potato chips and we love that. I think it is such a fun accompaniment and I personally prefer the crunch over a soft blini. There’s something also very fun about pairing a yellow bag of lays potato chips with the elevated excellence of caviar. Spencer’s favorite indulgence is tatar tots. Well, tatar tots hand fried in duck fat. Of course, I had to add these. I bought black pepper and garlic frozen tots, cooked them in the oven until they were soft and just starting to brown. Removed them from the oven, gently smashed them into a small disk then pan fried them in my le creuset cast iron skillet in jarred duck fat until they were golden brown. Mouth watering and addictive!
Let the caviar rest 3-5 minutes before serving so it isn’t ice cold. It’s traditional to open the caviar and try the first spoon scoop without any toppings. Literally a spoon full of caviar. This allows you the first and truest taste. Then comes the creative part - building your bite. Start with a smashed tot or chip - creme fraiche smeared slightly, caviar and toppings.
I served Scout and Cellar’s Gallivant Bubbly White and Gallivant Chardonnay. I’m a firm believer that the best wine is the wine you enjoy. All caviar advice suggests staying away from heavy red wines but you’ll always find a Cabernet Sauvignon opened with our dinner. The Gallivant Bubbly White may have been a touch too sweet when a dryer Brut is usually served. But a girl has to stay on brand and this is the house special.
The traditional accompaniments are purple onion, hard boiled egg, and chives. All of these diced very small because we don’t want to over-garnish the bite.
I like to set my table a day or two in advance so I’m not in such a rush. Plus it gives me time to picture it in my head and add anything that I might need. I started pulling out my solid white plates both dinner and salad size - square shaped for something different. I gathered my crystal champagne flutes and small crystal goblets. Cream table-cloth and solid white table napkins with gold G napkin rings. Pulled my glass serving bowls for the caviar, ice, and accompaniments. A silver butter knife and glass serving dish for the creme fraiche.
My round wooden cutting board and peach jade cheese knives for the charcuterie board. A crowd pleasing board is blue cheese, sharp cheddar, manchego or gouda. Meats are usually hard salami and prosciutto. I buy two packages of prosciutto - one is served cold cut and the other is baked to heavenly perfection. Open the second package and slice in half. Take each half and twist into a ball and place on parchment paper. Cook until crispy. You won’t be able to stop eating them. Marcona almonds are my favorite nut to serve and I always buy castelvetrano olives. Bright green and never stuffed. Usually something else pickled as well. The pickled sides always go in their own serving dishes. I never want their juices to leak on the cheese and meat. Let guests decide that combination on their own plate.
The Polo Club charcuterie board listed honey and sesame toast. For the toast, I already had some nice sliced sprouted bread so I toasted it slightly in the toaster, then brushed it with sesame oil and grilled it on my small le creuset griddle for the perfect marks.
Dessert is never my showcase. I rebel against the precision of baking! “Don’t tell me what to do” is what I’m screaming in my head - at the recipe. I'll buy a dessert so fast your head will spin - unless I want to spend all day and my mental capacity of concentration. You can find me listening to great tunes, dancing, and pouring those emotions into my entree. Cooking wild, free, and defiant. This evening’s dessert was frozen macaroons and frozen chocolate covered strawberries, all the Sam’s variety. If we have guests, I try to purchase from a local bakery and I have a few favorites.
To finish the table I needed low votive candles light and a gorgeous floral arrangement. My original Valentine’s arrangement came from Whitten Farms and was gorgeous. Between Rugby matches and trips to our lakehouse - I needed fresh flowers. That very morning I reached back out to Whitton Farms to see if they were - by chance - doing a pop up in Jonesboro. She graciously responded they were not but recommended Generations Florist on Main Street. I expressed what a classy move I thought it was to recommend someone else. I quickly found the number and text Generations. Within hours, I had met with the owner, picked out my stems, and described my occasion. The creation still is breathtaking! A delightful collaboration.
Lightening and music make the evening and should never be overlooked. Our dining table light is bright so I dim all the other overhead lights and use lamps. Plus, the gas fireplace makes the room comfiest. Dinner party music should never compete with the conversations. Lower volume is best. I prefer playing an acoustic instrumental cover station. Acoustic keeps the volume low and has a lovely melody. Instrumental eliminates any other words or voices in the room. Covers make it interesting. I love watching guests recognize the acoustic instrumental covers and sing along. Sometimes, we play “name that tune” throughout the evening.
The evening was spectacular! Every moment was romantic and fun. Entertaining at home is my love language and this evening was a perfect expression of it.
#southernluxury #caviar #homeentertaining #oldworldromance
