Nicholas Gavin is the Culinary Creative Director of ChefSteps, where he develops recipes and is responsible for making all the food look beautiful. Nick has worked at ChefSteps for over a decade; he and ChefSteps co-founder Grant Crilly worked together at Modernist Cuisine. Nick has worked in professional kitchens both in the United States and abroad, most notably at Mugaritz in San Sebastian, Spain.

Nicholas Gavin

Blini come in all shapes and sizes, although in the States we typically think of them as delicious little vehicles for caviar and <a href="https://www.chefsteps.com/recipes/creme-fraiche">crème fraîche</a>. Our <a href="https://www.chefsteps.com/recipes/buckwheat-blini">Buckwheat Blini</a> are perfectly designed for that purpose, but after all the work we did on <a href="https://www.chefsteps.com/guides-tools/buttermilk-pancake-parametric">buttermilk pancake varieties</a>, we came up with this tangy spin on the classic. With slight adjustments to the batter from our <a href="https://www.chefsteps.com/recipes/buttermilk-pancakes">Precision Buttermilk Pancakes</a>, these blini are the perfect foil for caviar or silky slices of <a href="https://www.chefsteps.com/recipes/smoked-salmon-nova">smoked salmon</a>.

Buttermilk Blini