The last trend from the Fancy Food Show that I want to talk about is tea. Ice tea, hot tea, blooming tea, organic tea, chai tea, flavored teas, tea infused chocolate. Tea. Tea. Tea. Tea.

There were at least a billion and a half tea booths (that is not a completely accurate statement, I lost count at around 22 and just rounded up) and most of them had some pretty pleasant teas on hand. The big show crowd pleaser was the new "blooming" teas. These teas are made by hand-tying edible flowers (like roses, carnations, jasmine, etc.) into a ball that "blooms" when placed into hot water. It's pretty gimmicky, but definitely elegant. The only catch is, you'll now have to invest in a clear teapot as well. The one pictured here is either the Jasmine & Chrysanthemum or Jasmine & Marigold from Tzuni (just one of several companies promoting blooming teas). A box of 12 tea "pearls" will set you back $19.20.

Even though there were many normal teas to try, one of my favorites came from Ineeka. Their award winning teas are grown and shipped directly from founder Shashank Goel's family plantations in India. They only use whole leaves with no added flavorings or oils. The teas are treated with love much like a fine wine and their packaging even shows it. It's like loose leaf tea inside of an ingenious tea bag that opens up and allows the tea to unfurl completely. Founder Shashank Goel was kind enough to talk to us about their start, and show us how to brew the perfect cup of delicious tea. Check out the video below to see:

To see more tea coverage, read more

With the Super Bowl just a few days away everyone is scrambling for yummy dessert recipes to serve at their parties. I know when you hear the words "Super Bowl" brownies and chocolate instantly come to mind, but what about lemon cheesecake squares? It's like lemon bars and cheesecake all wrapped into one divinely delicious little package. It's an unexpected, elegant dessert that is sure to have your crowd cheering. If you are doing brownies, the lemon cheesecake squares will pair nicely. To indulge yourself in this dessert, read more

PartySugar did a great job rounding up a bunch of drinks for the big game on Sunday (including the Ultimate Margarita). But what about something for the kiddies (or those that don't drink)? Why not serve up pitchers of non-alcoholic Mild-eyed Margaritas too? This way no one gets left out and everyone has a delicious drink to enjoy during the game. You could even add a few drops of food coloring to keep track of which one is kiddie-safe!

Mild-Eyed Margaritas
From MADD

2 cups lemon or lime soda
2 tablespoons sugar
Juice of 1/2 lime
Salt
Crushed ice

Pour soda into ice cube tray or shallow pan, freeze.
Place frozen soda in blender, add lime juice and sugar.
Blend until well-mixed.
Rub lime around rim of glass and then dip glass into salt.
Pour mixture over crushed ice and then into salted rim glasses.
Garnish with lime slice.

Valentine's Day is quickly approaching and we've all got sweeties, best pals or family members who deserve that little something special. To help you figure out what to get everyone, we've put together a bunch of Valentine's Day gift guides. Today I thought we'd start things off with a little non-traditional, non-chocolate food idea! I mean everyone gives chocolate, why not give something else?

For starters I found these adorable marzipan frogs. They're hand-sculpted by renowned New York pastry artist Rebecca Russell. A set of three cute edible frogs is available for $32.00.

Three more edible gift ideas, so read more

Hey everyone!

Come join us in the Live Chat at 11am PT / 2pm ET. We'll be there until around 11:30am.

Today we're talking Super Bowl Party Plans and the Top Chef Finale.

To join us, just click here.

We'll see you at 11am PT / 2pm ET!

A little while ago I asked you to help me with some tasty Super Bowl snacks to feed my older brother's friends, PJ and Matt, during the game on Sunday. The food has to be

• filling: PJ manages a gym and Matt coaches a college baseball team-so these boys like to eat
• simple: nothing too gourmet or fancy for these boys it is after all, a football game
• easy to make: no gadgets or crazy pots necessary.

You saved your recipes and Super Bowl snack accessories in the recipe database and Yum Market, respectively with the tag Super Bowl Snacks. Here's my top picks of what you found:

Chiefdishwasher posted a recipe for pigs in a blanket that consists of two easy store bought ingredients. Simply roll up little cocktail hot dogs in pre-made biscuit dough from the refrigerator section of your supermarket for a bite sized snack that is pure genius. I going to take the advice listed and add a tiny glob of mustard and piece of cheese.
More game day snacks, so read more

It's the week before the big game and I'm obsessing so much about the Super Bowl you'd think that I was a member of the Chicago Bear's non-existent cheerleading team. I am hosting a fantastic fiesta to watch the commercials. Oops, did I just say commercials? I meant to say football game. Even if I'm not a crazy die hard football fan (if you are - more power to you!) throwing a watching party will allow me to enjoy the show and when bored I'll busy myself by blending up another batch of margaritas. When planning an epic party of these proportions there are many factors to consider: the invitations should evoke the football-y feel, the menu chock full of stadium food, and the drinks pack an extra punch of game day goodness. Not to be forgotten are the decorations: just because the party revolves around a big screen television doesn't mean that you can't have a fabulous time decorating your house in bright blue and outrageous orange. To see how I'll change the decor of my house from everyday to game day, read more

Well, we reached the end of Top Chef Season 2! We can now stop speculating which chef is better than the other. Was the finale what you expected? Did you have money on the right candidate? Or did you just stop caring after last week?

The episode starts off with Marcel and Ilan frolicking on a beach in Hawaii. They eat fresh sea urchin for breakfast (which, although my opinion of sea urchin is not always high, I was crazy jealous of) and Marcel even gets stung by one and is forced to pee on his hand. At this point I need to stop the recap for a second and say that I have been tastefully avoiding this topic all season long, but really what was the whole Ilan wanting to pee on Marcel, how homo-erotic was that? And have you noticed it all season long?? - Okay back to recap.

The chefs are told they need to make a 5-course dinner for eight. They get to pick up their produce at a local farmer's market. They will then have four hours of prep time before heading to their respective restaurants where they will have one hour to cook. Ilan is cooking at Donatoni's Restaurant and Marcel will cook at Imari.

Full recap with big time spoilers ahead, including the WINNER, so read more