STERLING COOPER BLINI AND CAVIAR

SEASON 1, EPISODE 6

“Babylon”

In 1960, the still relatively new state of Israel was looking to boost its tourism industry. Americans, especially Jewish Americans, were infatuated with the Jewish state; Leon Uris’ 1958 book Exodus, a novel about the birth of Israel, had been a major bestseller in the United States for two years.

In the course of shopping for an advertising agency to launch a major advertising campaign to promote tourism to Israel, two officials from the Israel Ministry of Tourism, Lily Meyer and Yoram Ben Shulai, as well as Nick Rodis, an executive with Olympic Cruise Lines, pay a visit to Sterling Cooper. When Roger Sterling, glib and feckless as always, introduces Yoram to Don Draper as “urine,” Yoram is obliged to correct Roger’s pronunciation. As they take their seats, Roger reaches for the iced bowl of blini and caviar that has been set out on the conference room table along with a tray of Mai Tais (see Trader Vic’s Mai Tai).

“Caviar and blinis; Mai Tais,” says Roger. “We’re thinking about a land of exotic luxury.”

“We’d like to think that if Beirut is the Paris of the Middle East, Haifa could be the Rome,” adds Nick, who explains that his cruise line is charting its most luxurious ship along “all the wondrous ports of the Israeli Riviera.”

Blini, or thin pancakes, are more closely associated with Russia and the Baltic States than with Israel; blini is the Russian word for pancake, after all. But many Israelis, including many who first settled Israel, have their roots in that part of the world.

Russian blini are typically eaten with fish (smoked, pickled, or salted) or, as at the Sterling Cooper conference table, with that ultimate symbol of culinary luxury, caviar. As Alexandra Kropotkin, the author of The Best of Russian Cooking (1964) from which this recipe for blini and caviar is adapted, writes, “Many Russians drink straight vodka with blini pancakes.” Now that’s a recipe we know Roger would enjoy.

Blini and Caviar

ADAPTED FROM THE BEST OF RUSSIAN COOKING
BY ALEXANDRA KROPOTKIN (CHARLES SCRIBNER’S SONS, 1964)

¹⁄₂ cup sifted all-purpose flour

¹⁄₂ teaspoon baking powder

³⁄₄ cup milk

¹⁄₂ teaspoon sugar

3 tablespoons sour cream, plus additional for topping blini

1 egg

Butter for frying

Caviar for topping

1. In a large bowl, sift the flour and baking powder together. Add the milk, sugar, and sour cream. Beat the egg until frothy, add to the batter, and stir well. Let batter stand for 20 minutes.
2. Melt butter on a griddle or large skillet. Fry small (2–3 inch) pancakes in very hot butter. Drain on paper towels. Top each blini with additional sour cream and caviar before serving.

YIELD: APPROXIMATELY 16–20 BLINI

See color insert.