Despite the fact that Valentine's Day has passed, my brain is still in a chocolate state of mind. I've eaten a lot of chocolate lately, so when I received a pouch of assorted Hershey's Extra Dark Chocolates, I was eager to try them.

At 60 percent cacao, Hershey's Extra Dark falls somewhere in between the brand's iconic Special Dark, which is only 45 percent cacao, and its newer Cacao Reserve, which has 65 percent cacao. Hershey's describes Extra Dark as a "velvety smooth, rich dark chocolate" with "just the right balance of taste, aroma, and sweetness," and has been touting it as a healthy source of antioxidants. The chocolates come in a slew of flavors, including raspberry, blueberry, cranberry and almond, pomegranate, and cranberry macadamia. To hear what Party and I thought of the different flavors, read more

At the Governors Ball, the majority of the stars will be sipping sparkling wine, so stock up on more affordable bottles of Cava or Prosecco. Place wine buckets around the room and fill with ice and bottles. Arrange champagne flutes or saucers nearby. Besides sparkling wine, three specialty cocktails will be poured at the Oscars afterparty. Select one to serve your friends. I like the Golden Rush, a concoction made with orange-flavored vodka, lemon juice, and sparkling wine.

Instead of mixing one libation at a time, prepare a large pitcher. For those who don't drink, serve a mocktail of cranberry juice mixed with lime soda. To check out the recipe for the Golden Rush, read more

The South Beach Wine and Food Festival hosted by Food Network and Food and Wine magazine kicks off today in Florida. One of the hottest tickets is to the wildly popular Burger Bash hosted by Rachael Ray. In October, I checked out the New York competition that Katie Lee Joel won with her Logan County Burger.

Tonight, Joel will defend her title against last year's South Beach winner, Michael Schlow. Since I won't be present at the SOBE Burger Bash, I decided to treat myself by making Schlow's monster of a burger. The Schlow burger is more complex than Joel's burger and involves fried onion rings, melted cheddar cheese, and a creamy horseradish sauce. The recipe says that the 9-ounce patties make "two fat-boy burgers" and trust me, after eating one of these babies (I made it through half), you'll feel like a fat boy.

However, this incredible burger is worth it. It's a masterpiece of flavors: the crispy onions are slightly caramelized, the lightly seasoned ground beef is tender, the mayonnaise is tangy and provides a much-needed moistness. If you or a loved one is a burger fanatic, make this burger. There's a reason it won the Burger Bash — quite simply, it's absolutely delicious. Want the recipe? Please, read more

Yes, you can— but you may not want to. According to the USDA, when raw meat is thawed in the refrigerator, it is safe to refreeze it without cooking. For this reason, it's perfectly OK to purchase, say, a previously frozen piece of salmon from Trader Joe's, and then put it in your freezer when you get home.

But if you refreeze thawed poultry or meat, you will be compromising quality of taste and texture. Not only does meat lose water during the defrosting process, but refreezing it also creates ice crystals within the structure of the meat that alter its fibers, leaving an unfortunately dry cut of meat.

Of course, like all raw animal protein, the true safety of the product will depend on whether it's been properly handled. The best ways to defrost raw meat are in the refrigerator, in cold water, or in the microwave — not on a room-temperature kitchen counter.

Got a burning question? Contact us.

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Traditionally, a Reuben sandwich is made with meat; however this vegetarian version removes the meat and uses tempeh instead. Similar to tofu, tempeh's made from soybeans. In this recipe the tempeh is cooked in a mixture of apple cider vinegar, soy sauce, black peppercorns, and caraway seeds. Then it's placed on a piece of bread and topped with the classic Reuben fixings: Russian dressing and sauerkraut. To check out the recipe, read more

When it comes to culinary controversy, there are few things more divisive than the fatty duck liver known as foie gras. The reason? The allegedly inhumane "gavage," or force-feeding process, which involves placing a metal tube down a duck's throat to deliver large amounts of food. In fact, the 5,000-year-old French delicacy has had such a bad reputation that it was once banned in Chicago, and will be banned in California by 2012.But in a recent investigative piece, Village Voice contributor Sarah DiGregorio visits the nation's biggest foie gras farm, Hudson Valley Foie Gras, and finds the process to be relatively inoffensive. She writes:

The sights could not have been more different from the horrifying images I'd seen on the Internet . . . the actual process with the tube didn't seem to bother them . . . Each waddled calmly away, looking unfazed: no breathing problems, no vomiting, and no trouble walking. Their feathers were fairly clean, and I didn't see any lesions on their feet or bodies . . . If I had seen with my own eyes that Hudson Valley produced foie gras by abusing ducks, this article would have turned out very differently. But that just wasn't the case.

I found myself relieved to read at least one perspective demonstrating that the production of foie gras was far less harmful than PETA and its opponents have portrayed it. Were you surprised by DiGregorio's investigation? What impact do you think this will have on the foie gras industry?

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