This is an amazing retro appetizer. I make toast rounds as opposed to toast points for aesthetic reasons – you can make them as points should you prefer. I also use Quail eggs instead of chicken eggs as I like the presentation better. As always, the difference between a good dish and a WOW dish is in the details. It’s not a complicated recipe but needs to be followed To A Tee for the WOW factor you are looking for. You can obviously use expensive caviar but I use Icelandic lump-fish caviar regularly. The texture of the roe is firm with little crunches similar to the premium brands but without the big price tag attached.

Makes: 24 pieces Prep time: 1 hour Difficulty: Medium

Ingredients

• 100 gram jar black lump-fish Caviar.
• 12 Quail eggs or 4 chicken eggs.
• 12 slices plain white bread.
• 1 red onion or sweet onion.
• 75 grams or 5 heaping tablespoons mayonnaise.
• 1 lemon.
• fresh ground black pepper.

1. Take a bottle of your favorite Vodka and put it in the freezer for at least 2 hours. The Vodka will become thicker as it chills to create an almost velvety texture.
2. Preheat the oven to 350F (176C).
3. Take the Quail eggs and hard boil them. ( If you want, go to how to make perfect hard boiled eggs every time. It the same for both chicken and Quail eggs.) Once cooled, place in a bowl of cold water. You can cut them in half just before placing them on the rounds. If you can’t get Quail eggs you can use chicken eggs. I will explain the difference below.
4. Fine chop a large red onion. (Also go to my cooking skills and tips tab to see how to properly dice an onion. ) Also known as Brunoise. If you like, you can sub out for a sweet onion as well but I prefer the added color.
5. Take a sandwich zip lock bag and spoon in mayo. Put in fridge until ready to use.
6. Take caviar and rinse in a fine sieve over cold running water for several minutes shaking the sieve and carefully stirring it with a spoon. This will get rid of any excess salt and also any extra black coloring so it doesn’t bleed afterwards. Once you have let it drain for 5 minutes place back in the jar and refrigerate.
7. Take the slices of plain white bread and cut out circles using small ring mold or if you don’t have one handy, a small glass. (You should get two pieces from each slice.) I take the discarded bread and bake to make bread crumbs. Some will point out that by doing this before toasting, the edges are pinched. I actually prefer this effect. If you prefer you can wait and cut after toasting.
8. Place rounds on a baking sheet with wire racks inserted to keep them off the sheet and allowing the air to circulate under it. The amount of time in the oven will depend greatly on the bread, the oven and the humidity. Just keep an eye on them until they start to turn a golden brown. This the important part! Do not over toast your rounds. When you pull them out they should still have a little bit of softness in the center. This is the difference between an OK toast round and a Perfect textured round. Once you pull them, place on cookie racks to cool.
9. Now for the fun part. Place the rounds on your cutting board. Take the Mayo out of the fridge and cut a very small piece out of the corner of the bag. You now have a piping bag! Apply just enough mayo to each round to cover. Then, using a teaspoon apply just enough of the fine diced onion to the top of the mayo to layer evenly. (very thin)
10. Here is where we can go two different ways; If you have the Quail eggs simply cut in half and place each half on top of the toast points cut side up, If you used chicken eggs, we are going old school and separate the whites and the yolks. Fine chop the whites, set aside in a small bowl. With a spoon, mash the eggs yolks in another small bowl until you have a smooth almost granular texture. Don’t over mash. Then take the chopped egg whites and using a teaspoon layer on top of the onion. Next layer the yolk mash.
11. Then take a small amount of Caviar and spoon a dollop on the top. Once they are all finished, generously grind fresh pepper over all of them. (Do not use pre ground pepper!)
12. For the finish, when you are ready to serve take half a lemon wrapped in cheese cloth and squeeze a few drops on each. Please note, don’t apply the lemon until the very last minute. Makes all the difference.
13. Finally, when serving, have ice cold shot glasses ready to pour the Vodka. Take the entire round in your mouth. (Yes, I know it is a mouthful but worth it.) As soon as you have eaten it, chase it with the Vodka. Heavenly.