Chocolate truffles covered with rose petals.
Photo courtesy VosgesChocolate.com.

Now, you can take a literal bite of it, with the new Le Chocolat en Rose truffle collection from Vosges Haut Chocolat.

The pink Champagne truffles are made from 65% cacao dark chocolate flavored with Piper Heidsieck brut rosé Champagne, then rolled in fragrant rose bud poudre (crushed rose petals). Twelve pieces of Le Chocolat en Rose truffles are $39, 20 pieces are $53, at VosgesChocolate.com.

If you’re not familiar with edible roses, they’re a delicacy used to make jams, sorbets, pastries, confections and other foods throughout the Balkans, India and Iran (or more romantically, Persia). But as those countries don’t have a tradition of chocolate-making, creative American chocolatiers have incorporated rose water and/or rose petals—with delicious results.

We can recommend plenty of beautiful Valentine chocolates without roses, too.

The cucumbers can be puréed and strained, or seeded and finely diced; then mixed with yogurt, herbs, and sometimes, olive oil.

There are variations of tzatziki throughout the Middle East, where the sauce is used as a side dish to meals with meat (another of its many names is tarator). The acidity of the yogurt is a counterpoint to the fat of the meat. Tzatziki is also used to top souvlaki and gyros (in the U.S. tahini, a sesame seed sauce, is more often used with these sandwiches).

The classic yogurt-cucumber spread is a new way for Americans to accent a chicken, turkey, pork, ham or veggie sandwich, or as a side or sauce with the meat. Instead of using whole-milk yogurt tzatziki, it is quite low-calorie when made with fat-free yogurt.

• Click here for a tzatziki recipe. You can be creative with it, adding your favorite herbs (such as mint) and chopped olives.
• There’s also a raita recipe, and an explanation of the differences between tzatziki and raita.

A pork chop with low-calorie yogurt-
cucumber sauce. Photo courtesy National
Pork Board.

Planning a Super Bowl Party? Or have you volunteered to bring a dish to someone else’s?

Jambalaya is fun, filling and easy to make for a crowd.

Jambalaya was created when Spaniards living in the Latin Quarter of New Orleans couldn’t afford saffron, due to the high import costs.

So they created a New World version, which became jambalaya (jamón and jambon are the words for ham in Spanish and French, respectively; “alaya” came from “paella”).

Get a yummy jambalaya recipe as well as a brief history of this popular Creole and Cajun dish.

So, serve a “skinny” cheese course. If you present self-serve selections—large wedges or wheels on a tray—the temptation exists for people to help themselves to 500 calories or more of cheese (not to mention the bread or crackers).

Instead, pre-plate the cheeses for everyone, with a one-ounce slice of one great cheese and a bit of gourmet salad greens lightly tossed with vinaigrette. Put one large crouton (a slice of toasted baguette) or specialty cracker on each plate to avoid the temptation of a bread basket.

• Drizzle a chunk of Parmigiano-Reggiano with aged fine balsamic vinegar and a small frisée salad.
• Serve a fine blue cheese or a goat cheese with a drizzle of quality honey, some red grapes and dressed field greens.
• How about a wedge of Brie or Camembert with a plump fig and a few walnut halves with a baby arugula salad; or your favorite Cheddar with a fan of apple slices and red-leaf lettuce?

Serve large wedges of cheese and people will
help themselves to large portions. Instead,
pre-cut and serve just one or two slices to
everyone. Photo courtesy Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board.

Have fun devising your own combinations and garnishes. Add a basket of fresh fruit to the table to finish your meal.

• Read our Cheese Condiments article for more ideas.

Now, lovers of the Hershey’s classics Almond Joy, Hershey’s Special Dark and York Peppermint Pattie can enjoy their favorites as hard-coated Pieces Candies. We love all the originals, so can’t wait to try the new versions.

For the next two weeks, you can mail in a full-size candy bar wrapper from Almond Joy, Hershey’s Special Dark Chocolate Bar, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup or York Peppermint Pattie. If you are one of the first 25,000, you’ll get back a coupon to exchange for a free bag of the corresponding Pieces. Now if that’s not a reason to go out to buy a candy bar, what is?

E.T., come back. There are three more kinds of Pieces waiting for you to try!

Find more of our favorite candies in our Candy Section.

Reese’s Pieces now has three crunchy, chocolaty siblings! Photo courtesy of Hershey’s.