Thousands of cookbooks were published in the last year, but which ones are really worth buying? The International Association of Culinary Professionals, or IACP, tackled the question as it announced its cookbook award finalists for 2012 today.

Among them: plenty of cookbooks from top restaurant chefs, like Jean-Georges Vongerichten, John Besh, and Andrew Carmellini, as well as new books from reputed publications such as Fine Cooking and Cook's Illustrated.

Cookbook winners will be announced on April 2 in an award ceremony hosted by Mo Rocca, where the honor of best cookbook of 2012 will also be announced. To see the entire list of award winners, keep reading.

Mars Inc., candy-maker and Willy Wonka to your favorite checkout counter candy bars, has announced it will stop selling any candy over 250 calories by the end of 2013. This includes king-size editions of favorites, such as Snickers, Milky Way, Twix, M&M's, 3 Musketeers, Dove, Mars, and Galaxy.

Although there's speculation that this move is financially motivated, Mars maintains it's a movement towards a healthier eating effort: "Mars has a broad-based commitment to health and nutrition, and this includes a number of global initiatives," the company said.

It's hard to know whether this'll make a difference, considering studies show portion-controlled packs might actually make people eat more. Will you be stocking up on king-size candy?

• Taco Bell's Doritos Tacos go nationwide March 8 — HuffPost Food
• So very cool: grape leaf chips — Nation's Restaurant News
• Getting to know ground cherries — Al Dente
• Groupon's testing out a VIP program — The Consumerist
• Try chef Norman Van Aken's authentic Trinidadian souse — Food Republic
• How to cook with black currants — Vegetarian Times
• Taste tested: Birthday Cake Oreos — So Good

Nearly as big as the highly anticipated Oscars on Feb. 26 is Elton John's AIDS Foundation Oscars party, hosted annually by the musician and his husband, David Furnish.

Guests at this year's fête will be fed courtesy of Cat Cora, who'll be pulling out all the stops with an all-out global-inspired menu. I spoke to the Iron Chef about what she's making for this bash (and her tips for hosting your own Oscars viewing party at home!), as well as what's in the pipeline for her this year (hint: it involves several restaurant openings and a new show on Bravo!).

YumSugar: What's on the menu for this year's Oscars party?
Cat Cora: We're going to do a fantastic Italian salad — a tricolore, with arugula, some beautiful endive, and radicchio, composed with a pureed pistachio vinaigrette — just to start off nice and light. Then we're going to offer a baby tomato and bocconcini salad with a Bloody Mary vinaigrette, sesame-encrusted lamb meatballs, a filet tenderloin of beef, and a really good sea bass choice. We'll finish things off with a silky chocolate dessert or a pear and apple tartlet. It's going to be really over-the-top.

YS: Who are you most excited to run into?

Find out the answer — and more on Oscar-night party planning — when you keep reading.

We love Sevimel's interpretation of the classic dish bangers and mash. We're OK with any way to get more cruciferous vegetables into our diets!

Ever wonder why they are called "bangers"? It's not for the reason you might think!

Find out the reason behind the name of this well-known dish and get the recipe when you visit her blog. Upload your incredible food photos in our Savory Sights community group.