What's on your (PHOTO) Friday Menu?

I ordered from Tsar Nicoulai Caviar based out of San Francisco after finding some of their products on Harry & David. I'm no aficionado but what we received was good and fresh. Their smoked salmon is amazing as well. They're eco-certified, which I was glad to see, and they also process and sell the sturgeon.

They have a caviar cafe in the area, too.

So it's a Russian caviar?

edit: never mind, saw the lid. It's farmed in USA

Nope, sustainably farmed in the US except for the one in the picture from Greece.

I have never tasted caviar and always wondered if I would like it. What would you recommend for a person's first try? What do you do with it? What foods do you eat with it?

I've learned a ton in the past few weeks. Turns out I'd never had caviar before since only sturgeon produce it. We got several to taste and went in good, better, best order to evaluate the differences. While I can taste the slight differences, they were all good and I'd recommend any of the ones they have. I splurged and got estate, select, reserve, and the Greek baerii. I would have been just as happy with the estate only, and I'm sure their classic is also a great product.

We kept the foods simple after researching so we could celebrate the flavors. I got the little mother of pearl spoons for serving so the flavor wouldn't be impacted by metal. Google says plastic works, too, but MoP was nice. Each time we opened a little jar, we tried the first bite pure with nothing extra. You press it against the roof of your mouth to burst the eggs. I had been expecting strong fish flavor, like anchovy. We were all pleasantly surprised at the light and creamy flavors. Some brine, certainly.

We used blini, which I didn't care for, some simple lightly salted crackers, and a rustic Rosemary cracker. Unsalted potato chips are popular for tasting and toast points. It's also recommended to have cold shots of vodka but I had sparkling cider and we tried a alcohol-free brut between the types. Some of the bites we ate with a combination of smoked salmon, Creme fraiche, and seaweed pearls.

We ended up mixing tradition and what we liked but had a really good time with it. Worth trying but not cheap!

I have never been interested in caviar but you make it sound worth tasting. I just might have to give it a try sometime.

I would say it's definitely worth tasting and the flavors are very unique. It's probably a once in a lifetime kind of event for me but I did enjoy each type with the mix of flavors. It was fun!

If it helps to know, my stepfather is not a seafood person and was convinced he hated caviar. His FOMO won out though, and he not only tried everything, he had multiple bites. His final judgment is that he'd eat it if it shows up in front of him but wouldn't go out of his way. High praise from him!

Furbabies!!!

You could do a fairy garden on it or used it for a platform for a raised bed for herbs or something; Pinterest has some cool ideas.

Thanks! I'm pretty set on a birdbath but ideas are always welcome! Just trying to figure out the best way to preserve the stump since I want to keep the bark on it.