There's something irresistibly festive about caviar -- it can make any occasion extraordinary. If you can't afford fine beluga, that's OK; Romanoff Caviar, from the T. Marzetti Co., costs less than $3.99 for a two-ounce jar of lumpfish caviar, and $5.99 for a two-ounce jar of whitefish caviar.
Marzetti has some suggestions for serving caviar: Fill mushroom caps with onion-flavored sour cream dip and caviar, or hollow out cherry tomatoes and fill with sour cream, top with caviar and sprig of dill. For more ideas, send a self-addressed, business-size envelope to T. Marzetti Co., Consumer Response Department, 1105 Schrock Road, P.O. Box 29163, Columbus, Ohio 43229-0163.
Folks on the run who barely have time to eat, much less prepare a meal, can pick up tips and recipes from a new show on Channel 8, the Howard County Community College-based cable station in Columbia. The show is called "Fastfoods," and it's produced by L. Joan Allen, who also serves as co-host for the three- to seven-minute segments, along with a local cookbook author or chef. The Stouffer Harborplace Hotel's Guy Reinbold appears on the first segment, preparing rockfish several ways. The segment airs twice a day on Saturdays this month, and more often on weekdays.
A little night eating
The next time you get up in the middle of the night for a peanut butter and dill pickle sandwich or a sack of microwave popcorn, take a little pride: You're following a tradition that began with the court of Louis XIV, when plates of sweet green peas were delivered to courtiers' rooms at night so they could nibble them before going to bed. Or so say the authors of "Midnight Snacks," the mother-son team of Carol and Andrew Schneider (Clarkson Potter, $15). The book includes recipes, some as simple as mixing butter and herbs or spices to flavor popcorn, and others are more elaborate. Here's one of the fancier recipes; it takes a while to bake, but it's a snap to prepare. The only measuring container is the empty yogurt cup, so there's little cleanup.
French Yogurt Cake
Makes 1 9-by-13-inch cake
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Empty 1 8-ounce container of plain yogurt into the bowl of an electric mixer. Rinse and dry the container. Fill it 3 times with sugar and 3 times with flour, adding each containerful to the bowl. Beat on low speed. Add 3 eggs and mix well. Add 1 teaspoon baking soda. Fill container halfway with corn oil. Add and beat until batter is smooth.
Pour the batter into a greased 9-by-13-inch baking pan and bake for 45 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.