Blini needs some bling!

We went to a New Years Eve party hosted by fellow foodies. Each guest brought an appetizer or dessert. So I trotted out my Semolina Blinis...

Naked Blinis

But they needed something to wear, so being the food-fashion stylist I fancy myself to be, I got to work...

Trust me, you're gonna want to see how this all turns out after the jump...

I thought they needed a bold and seductive foundation...

Grilled Fennel Spice Rubbed Pork Tenderloin

Pork getting ready to adorn some blinis

 But first I had to prep the little darlings with a base of cream cheese...

Blinis getting ready for greatness

Blinis - all set with the basic, ready for the BLING!

Now that I had them dressed with the basics, it was time to bring out the big guns... a trio of fruit based toppings.

First...

Persimmon with Dalamatia Fig Spread and Cracked Green Peppercorns

 And then two more...

Mango/Pomegranates/Chives & Cuties/Sour Cherry Preserves/Cracked Mixed Peppercorns/Cumin

So with three dazzlingly different embellishments it was time to style the blinis for their big debut...

Of course I couldn't style them properly without all my bling on

So off we went...

Semolina Blini with Fennel Rubbed Grilled Pork Tenderloin and Persimmon Fig Cumin Chutney

Semolina Blini with Fennel Rubbed Grilled Pork Tenderloin and Mango Chive Pomegranate Chutney

Semolina Blini with Fennel Rubbed Grilled Pork Tenderloin and Cutie Sour Cherry Cumin Chutney

BUT as every good food-fashion stylist knows, you can add all the bling you want, but if the finishing touch isn't right, the whole thing sinks into mediocrity.

You can accuse me of a lot of things, but settling for mediocrity is NOT one of them...

So, like the common base, I finished with a common top... CHIVES; I wanted to use peashoots, but wasn't in the mood for another trip to Trader Joe's!

Persimmon with Chive

Mango with Chive

Cutie with Chive

Thankfully, my decked out blinis were well received and the party was a smash thanks to hosts Ray and Mark...

 And their children...

Selina

Louis

And one final thing, just to add to your hunger...

Opera Torte

This was made by pastry chef extraordinaire Mark Polischak...

Mark and Colin... Colin is thanking Mark for the dessert ;-)