I love caviar. I like the way it pops between my teeth; I adore its slightly salty taste in combination with a rich spoonful of sour cream on homemade blinis or crackers. I like the fact that if I'm in a situation where I'm enjoying caviar, I'm probably also sipping a flute of champagne along with it, listening to classical music, and relishing the rare opportunity to be with adults involved in a conversation where there is absolutely no discussion of ways to murder, mutilate, or malign Barney the Purple Dinosaur.

I also like paying my mortgage.

In the spirit of compromise, I'm happy to use Icelandic red and black lumpfish caviar in lieu of that mortgage-busting Russian stuff (increasingly rare and now gathered primarily from farmed fish as Caspian Sea sturgeon populations dwindle). It's affordable, it's tasty, and it "pops" just as nicely when used in simple yet elegant appetizers like New Potatoes with Lumpfish Caviar.

New potatoes with lumpfish caviar image ©2008 Kari Diehl, licensed to About.com.