In honor of my Grandfather, J. Howard Beck, on his 100th birthday, we made an updated but still honest version of borscht and blini (he was born in Poland, specifically in the shtetl of Rozvadof) that I think he would have enjoyed. Having beet salad and red cabbage already in the fridge, I added the last half pint of lamb demiglace from the freezer, as well as some broccoli stalks, and simmered it for an hour or so and then stick-blended it into a nice smooth purée with buttermilk. While it was cooking, I made some blini (not with buckwheat flour, but still good) with the rest of the buttermilk, parmesan, and lemon zest. For the blini, a sauce of yogurt creamed with anchovy, truffle salt, and pepper, which did a decent job of substituting for caviar and sour cream. Lacking Slivovitz, we cracked a 1999 Turley Moore “Earthquake” vineyard zinfandel, which was fitting juice for the architect of our family. Sort of like Maneschewitz by way of a Côte-Rôtie. L’Chaim.
