I'm not usually into kitchen gadgets. I like simplicity and I do things the old fashioned way. I don't even own a microwave. On a recent trip to New York a friend of mine gave me a gadget for a gift. It is called a Pancake Pen and it includes a recipe for making Blini. Blini are small, yeast-leavened, buckwheat pancakes that originally come from Russia. Classically they are served with sour cream and caviar or smoked salmon. It's no surprise that I've never heard of a Blini until now. The joy of the Pancake Pen is that it has a small spout at the end to control the amount of mixture that comes out and you can make all kinds of fun shapes, letters or just plain rounds. A few days after we returned home from our travels I unpacked the Pancake Pen and made a special breakfast to celebrate our home coming. Although I didn't go as far as serving caviar my very plain blinis were more creative than gourmet and every bit as appreciated. 
