Ellen's Iconic Caviar Pie

Probably the only recipe you'll ever get from me 💫

I always miss my mom, but it definitely hits differently around the holidays. Growing up, no matter how busy or stressed or burnt out she was during this time of year, she brought the GLAMOUR to the season—elaborate florals, themed Christmas trees, midnight artichokes with champagne. While Dad was busy nailing Santa and stockings, Mom handled the vibes.

One year, she spray-painted dozens of blue and silver pomegranates and built structured wreaths and detailed evergreen garlands with them. Another time, she bought boxes of beautiful Mexican hand-blown glass hearts and covered the tree with their weighted, glowing decadence. At my parents' restaurant, she hand-painted, cut, and strung hundreds of iconic gold stars from the ceiling annually. Most famously, when I was about 10, she and I spent weeks painstakingly hand-making dozens of copies of an illustrated children's book we wrote together in which all our loved ones were different magical woodland characters.

Whether it was the holidays or just an average Wednesday, my mom Ellen had the magical touch to make any day and any event classy, exciting, and special. No matter how broke my parents were, I never had a clue because she could turn any budget into something absolutely fabulous. Her creative excellence knew no bounds.

And the food… dear god, the food. She made classic popovers and Swedish pancakes for Christmas morning, Beef Wellington for dinner, eggnog from scratch (my job was stirring,) and THE most incredible gingerbread you’ve ever tasted (people still talk about it, years later.)

To help bring a little bit of her magic to your festivities this year, I’m sharing one of her few recipes I have actually written down, and one that I can actually make: her iconic caviar pie. I guess technically, this was my grandmother, her mother’s recipe - an extremely 1960s style of hors d’oeuvre - but my mom perfected it and brought it to fame in our circle. So serve this with good company and cue Zou Bisou Bisou on the record player. This is perfectly paired with cocktails, so pop some bubbles or shake up some martinis for Christmas or New Year's Eve to make a splash.

Caviar Pie sounds fancy, but actually isn’t. (win/win.) It’s basically like a deviled-egg adjacent dip dressed in a tuxedo. I’ve brought this to all kinds of events with all different types of guests and it’s consistently a fan favorite. In fact, in a sad-but-cute full-circle moment, this is now my mother-in-law’s favorite dish, and she requests I make it every Thanksgiving. She didn’t get to meet my mom before she passed away, so it’s really special to me that I carry this tradition into my new extended family. Ben’s 4-year-old cousin called it “salty and delicious.” (That was before we told him it was fish eggs…)

Ben and I on two Thanksgivings with our pie

Ironically, as if they knew I was sharing this and wanted to beat me to it, NY Times Cooking shared their Caviar Pie Recipe two days ago, which is especially weird because, basically, no one has served this since JFK was president. But then again, my mom was always ahead of the curve. I can tell you right now, though, our recipe is better because it uses crème fraiche, not cream cheese. However, it may be helpful to cross-reference since neither my mom nor I are known for explaining recipes very well. (Her because she was an intuitive cook, me because I’m a terrible one.)

Photo stolen from the NY Times because I really needed professional help to capture this. Photo: Kelly Marshall Food Stylist: Samantha Seneviratne

The recipe below is from EBVS herself (please note the use of a whisper as a cooking measurement) but with a couple of tweaks and additions from me! (For example, she made hers upright in a springform pan which I, a non-cook, do not currently nor plan to own. So my friend Marly taught me how to make it upside down in a pie tin. It sounds weird but honestly works great.)

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🥂 Ellen’s Caviar Pie 🥂

This is a recipe of my mother’s that we always enjoyed. It is a simple dish and MUST be prepared in advance, so it’s perfect for a cocktail party. Make the caviar pie the night before the party, and then concentrate on the martinis! ~ Ellen

Ingredients:

• 9 eggs, hard-boiled

• 1 red onion, finely diced*

• 16 ounces crème fraiche** (most grocery stores sell this one)

• 3-4 tablespoons mayonnaise

• 1 tablespoon finely diced parsley

• Cracked pepper

• 4-6 ounces black caviar ***

• ¼ lemon

• 2 boxes of round water crackers (Carrs is the way to go! I usually do one box plain and one box cracked pepper)

*(from Tarreyn) I have also made this successfully with both shallots and green onions instead of red onions. To quote EBVS herself, “Why use an onion when you can use a shallot?!”

**(from Ellen) You can either purchase crème fraiche or make it yourself. It needs to be made a day in advance of making the caviar pie. Simply whisk together 8 ounces of sour cream and 8 ounces of heavy whipping cream. Cover the bowl tightly and let sit on the counter overnight. In the morning, whisk again, cover, and refrigerate until ready to use.

***(from Ellen) Any kind of caviar can be used. However, the better the caviar, the better the dish, though high-quality caviar is NOT a must. (We usually use this one)

Recipe:

This dish is four simple layers - think like a layered dip or trifle. From bottom to top: egg salad, diced onion, crème fraiche, and caviar. Since we’re building it upside down, then flipping and topping it with the caviar at the end, you’ll work backward when layering into your pie tin (crème fraiche > diced onions > egg salad.)

1. Hard boil the eggs, then peel and place into a bowl. Using a fork, slice and mash them until they’re a kind of chopped mushy egg salad consistency.

2. Now make an egg salad with the chopped eggs, mayonnaise, pepper, and parsley. Make it firm and not overly moist. Set aside.

3. Finely dice your red onion. Trust me, you want the chunks to be tiny and delicate. Set aside.

4. Now we prep your pie tin to layer: tightly place saran wrap covering a pie dish.

5. Add the first/top layer into your pie tin: spoon in your crème fraiche, covering the entire bottom of the pan with a thick layer.

6. Add the diced red onion, fully covering the crème fraiche to create your second layer.

7. Build the bottom/third layer by filling the rest of the tin with your egg salad, pushing it down gently so it’s firm and fitted.

8. Wrap tightly with saran wrap or tinfoil and chill in the fridge anywhere from 2 hours to overnight. (The longer it chills, the firmer it will be structurally.)

9. Right before you’re ready to serve, remove the pan from the fridge. Place your serving plate on the top of the pan/bottom of the dip and CAREFULLY FLIP over so the pie tin is on top. Carefully remove the pie tin and saran wrap so your three-layered dip is on the serving plate.

10. Spread a thin layer of caviar on top, covering the entire top of the pie.

11. Squeeze a whisper of lemon juice on top and garnish the center with 3 thin lemon slices and a sprig of parsley in the center.

12. Surround with crackers for dipping.

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Voila! There you have it, one of my most treasured heirlooms. I’m happy for this to be out in the world because my mother was not a gatekeeper, and would be so thrilled if any of you made and enjoyed this. Please let me know if you do! ✨