By Sara Moulton

Published: Tuesday, February 19, 2013, 9:00 p.m.
Updated: Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Watching the Oscars, like the Super Bowl, has become almost an unofficial holiday, an occasion when tens of millions of us get together for an old-fashioned TV viewing party, complete with abundant food and drink.

But the two events require rather different menus. The noshes on Super Bowl Sunday would be a tad too rustic for the refined experience of the Oscars. An Oscar party calls for slightly more elevated fare, and I can think of no hors d'oeuvres more appropriate than blini topped with caviar.

Back during the early '80s, I worked at a restaurant in New York that served great buckwheat blini (basically, tiny savory pancakes) topped with osetra caviar and creme fraiche. The blini recipe was pretty involved, and not the healthiest choice. The batter called for both yeast (and the time it needed to do its job) and whipped cream.

For my Oscars party, I wanted to develop a simpler, leaner version of that pancake, but I had a hard time finding buckwheat flour. Instead, I came up with a flavorful alternative using whole-wheat flour and buttermilk. All I had to do was adapt one of the zillion recipes for buttermilk pancakes made with white flour.

Happily (if unsurprisingly), the whole-wheat flour made the blini taste subtly like wheat, which I prefer to the blandness of a white-flour pancake. I also was happy to swap in buttermilk, which is low in fat, for the heavy cream we used to use. In combination with the baking powder and baking soda, the buttermilk made the little pancakes light and airy.

Be forewarned, though, that this batter is thicker than your usual pancake batter. I managed to lighten it up when I was testing it by adding more buttermilk, but decided finally that doing so masked the taste of the wheat. So I kept it as is. By the way, be careful not to over-mix this batter: It'll turn out tough. Better to take it easy; it's OK if there are a few lumps in there.

As for toppings, I decided more is better. The result is not simply a tasty little pancake, but a tasty little pancake topped with smoked trout (or smoked salmon, if you prefer), plus the caviar of your choice (though I'm partial to the color and pop of salmon roe), plus yogurt flavored with horseradish and lemon, and finally, at the summit, sprigs of fresh dill.

You can serve these on a platter, already assembled, or allow your guests to build their own perfect bites by wrapping the blini in a cloth to keep them warm, and serving them alongside little bowls of the toppings. By the end of the night, you might end up with an Oscar of your own.

Blini With Smoked Trout, Caviar and Horseradish Cream

Start to finish: 35 minutes

3⁄4 cup plain non-fat Greek yogurt

1 tablespoon bottled horseradish, drained

1⁄2 teaspoon grated lemon rind

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1⁄2 cup whole-wheat flour

1⁄2 cup flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1⁄2 teaspoon baking soda

Pinch of salt

Pinch of sugar

1 cup buttermilk

1 large egg, lightly beaten

2 tablespoons butter, melted (or vegetable oil)

Nonstick cooking spray

3⁄4 cup flaked or chopped smoked trout or salmon

2 ounces salmon roe (or the caviar of your choice)

1⁄4 cup fresh dill sprigs or chopped fresh chives

Heat the oven to 200 degrees.

In a small bowl, mix together the yogurt, horseradish, lemon rind and salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

In a medium-size bowl, whisk together both flours, the baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar. In another medium-size bowl, combine the buttermilk, egg and butter. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until barely combined (it is OK to see a few lumps). The batter will be thick.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Coat the skillet with cooking spray and add the batter by level tablespoon amounts. Do not crowd the pan. Let the blini cook until the bottoms are golden brown, for 2 to 3 minutes. Flip and cook on the second side until golden brown, for about 2 minutes. Transfer to a baking sheet and place in the oven to keep warm. Repeat with the remaining batter.

When all of the blini have been cooked and you are ready to serve, arrange them on a serving platter. Top each with some of the smoked trout, horseradish-yogurt blend, a dollop of caviar and fresh dill.

Makes 24 blini

Nutrition information per serving: 50 calories; 20 calories from fat (40 percent of total calories); 2 g fat (1 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 30 mg cholesterol; 5 g carbohydrate; 0 g fiber; 1 g sugar; 4 g protein; 140 mg sodium.

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