A $10 Blue Plate Special has been added to the bar menu at Press in St. Helena on Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Thursday nights.

While chocolate tacos may sound decadent, this is actually a no-cholesterol recipe. The dark, crisp chocolate tortilla provides a textural and flavor contrast to the sweetness of the ripe, fresh fruit. My husband John’s favorite food groups are pasta, pizza and hot dogs, but I can even get him to eat fruit when it’s surrounded by chocolate and topped with an icy smooth fruit sorbet!

Simple, sustainable food is the hallmark of wine country’s newest dining destination, The Restaurant at Bardessono, the recently opened “green” luxury resort in Yountville.

“Chocolate for Breakfast” was 16 years in the making, says author Barbara Passino.

These waffles start with a fluffy batter and become thick and slightly crispy when cooked, the better to stand up to the ice cream filling. They are best made as soon as the batter is prepared, before the egg whites start to deflate. Should the object of your affection be late arriving at the breakfast table, keep the waffles warm in a 200 degree oven and spread the ice cream on when you see the whites of his eyes (or hers, of course). One of our guests told us she fills the waffles and freezes them, serving them like ice cream sandwiches after they’ve thawed for 15 minutes or so. Ours never seem to make it to the freezer

Eager to enlarge on the dining experience at Oxbow Market’s Pica Pica Maize Kitchen — wine country’s only eatery specializing in Venezuelan street food — partners Adriana Lopez Vermut and Luis Sosa have added to the menu.

David Jackson, formerly of La Residence Inn in Napa, deserves credit (or blame) for our finding Oak Knoll Inn in 1992, and is the person I’ve turned to for help too many times to count. In addition to his skills in restarting water systems in the middle of the night, laying marble and fixing just about anything that can go wrong, he makes superb chocolate chip cookies. I begged for the recipe as they’re perfect to eat in bed. Or for dessert. Or as a snack. Or standing on your head for that matter. And if you’re only going to have one cookie (like that’s going to happen) shouldn’t it be huge?

Chocolate is the ultimate taste of love. In addition to its incomparable flavor, chocolate delivers a delicious boost to our health. And what better way to say “I love you” than with a mouth-watering gift that just happens to be healthy too? Here’s how chocolate and a few other star ingredients make for doubly scrumptious treats:

Good-quality balsamic vinegar is the key to this frozen version of a classic Italian dish. Perfect served as dessert or as a between-course intermezzo, it’s loaded with vitamin C.

1 1/4 cups lightly toasted* chopped walnuts, divided