Need a gift for your valentine that is personal and luxurious? What about something delicious that you can share?

Gourmet food gifts, with options as varied as restaurant-quality steaks to European chocolates to wine and cheese baskets, are the new trend. According to a new study by FoodNavigator-USA.com, food gifts have skyrocketed in popularity, increasing by 47 percent between 2004 and 2006. While the demand for other gift categories has been slowing down, food gifts are becoming the first choice for many consumers.

“Our online sales increased by 66 percent last year,” says Ed Scavuzzo, president of the Kansas City Steak Company, an online food retailer specializing in high-quality steaks and seafood “We shipped over one million packages of our Kansas City beef in 2007, and we are expecting even larger increases in 2008. We have just completed the introduction of our redesigned Web site that is more functional, more informative, and easier to use. This new Web site will help us continue to provide expert service to our individual, as well as our corporate gift buyers. We offer a 100 percent satisfaction guarantee, so our product and our service have to be superior.”

Gourmet gifts of food are becoming the first choice of online consumers because of the high quality of products and the ease of ordering. There is an incredible range of products available from online specialty food retailers that are offered nowhere else. From fine chocolates and decadent desserts, to hard-to-find smoked meats and cheeses, to steakhouse-quality steaks and seafood, the list goes on and on.

Whether you want a personalized snack basket, a regional wine selection or a gourmet meal featuring top-of-the-line filet mignon, poultry, or seafood, your gift can be found from the easily-accessible convenience of your own computer. A click of the mouse at any time of day or night can provide you with customized gifts, complete with a personal greeting.

“Everyone enjoys receiving a gift of top-quality gourmet food,” Scavuzzo says. “It is a gift that is easy to give, easy to receive, and can be shared.”

For expert advice and ideas, visit www.kansascitysteaks.com.

Courtesy of ARAcontent

What better way to say ‘I care’ than to prepare a Valentine’s Day dinner? Many of us don’t get the day off from work. So it can be the perfect way to give the usual chef the day off. It also provides a stellar opportunity to not only make someone’s favorite dish, but add romantic touches through the whole evening.

Dinner for two…. What could be more romantic?

- Prepare It Yourself

Personally, the stuffed chicken breasts sounds like a winner. Delicious. Easy to prepare. And full of all those things that make the heart go zing.

Ingredients:

2 medium chicken breast halves
1 tart apple
3/8 cup apple cider
2 oz Brie
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Pre-heat the oven to 400°F/200°C. Separate the chicken skin from the breast. While waiting for the oven to heat, prepare the stuffing.

Warm a skillet over medium heat and pour in the olive oil. Chop up the apple and add, along with the cider, salt and pepper, and the thyme. Cook for about 5 minutes.

Now stuff the chicken breasts by folding in the ingredients under the loosened skin, including the Brie. Put everything into a 13 in. x 9 in. baking dish and cook for 35-40 minutes.

For dessert, make life easy on yourself. Go for the Tiramisu.

Ingredients:

4 oz cream cheese
1 pkg vanilla instant pudding
1 square of semi-sweet baking chocolate
1-1/2 cups cold milk
1/3 cup French Roast coffee
6 oz. Ladyfingers

Beat the cream cheese until it’s softened and gooey. Add in the milk and continue blending, then pour on the dry pudding mix. Blend for 1 minute. Sprinkle on the ladyfingers and top with coffee.

Layer a 9-in baking dish with ladyfingers, followed by pudding mix until the ingredients are used up. Refrigerate for an hour.

- Have It Done For You

If you simply don’t have the time, there’s always a fine restaurant, of course. Valentine’s Day specials are just that, special. You can rent a ride in a Rolls Royce for the evening and be treated like the cream of society. Then go in and have some, in the form of cream in your coffee, halibut in cream sauce, or whipped cream on dessert.

Or, stay in and have the meal prepared by a professional chef. There are lots of freelancers around that will be happy to cater or prepare a meal on the spot. Add a server and you and your Valentine can enjoy the special restaurant treatment without stepping outside the house. That leaves you that much more time for the after dinner celebration.

Around the world, love is the same. But wines carry a distinctive character that only the soil and climate of that region can produce.

There are still those who insist that chocolate doesn’t pair well with wine. We beg to differ. Tell that to someone who has tasted a fine Spanish Madeira while munching on the best French truffles. The robust, fruity taste of this heavy red stands up well to even the darkest chocolate. Neither overpowers the other.

Or, consider how romantically perfect is a pairing of fine strawberries with a delicate Champagne from Champagne, the famed region in France that gives its name to this sparkling wine. Be bold and go against tradition. Dip the strawberries in chocolate sauce.

Even a fine Gewürztraminer, a light German wine, will be appreciated by lovers around the world. Think romance and Germany may not come first to mind. But Goethe and Schiller were THE romantic poets/playwrights of the 19th century - when Valentine’s Day was invented. Indeed, this flavorful, dry white is the perfect way to say ‘I love you’. You can just say it to the glass while that special someone is near enough to hear.

But, you protest, Valentine’s Day is associated with red. No argument there. Have it both ways. Go with a superb Cabernet Sauvignon made in the heart of Portugal. Too strong? Select a delicate rosé from California and serve it with some roses.

No, you need something a little more passionate. Never fear, there are lots of choices. A French Framboise with an infusion of raspberries will provide the fruity red that says ‘Meet me after work’. There’s nothing more passionate than a wine with the exact ingredients needed to celebrate this day dedicated to love.

Some of that French influence migrated to Canada generations ago. Try a fine Chardonnay from Quebec and find out why this region - making wine since the 1800s - produces wines that lovers have truly loved for the past 25 years.

New Zealand is known for its passion, as well. Thankfully, that comes in liquid form ala the great Syrahs from down under. Say shazam and a shiraz will appear that will light your heart on fire.

Surely, you haven’t forgotten about Italy? No country in the world is more closely associated with romance, after all. It also happens to be one of the major wine producers. Methinks, that’s no accident. Enjoy a superb Merlot from Tuscany and you’ll soon know what love is all about.

And, while we’re on the subject of geography and wines…. America has its own distinctive contribution to the world: Zinfandel. If this hearty red doesn’t get your blood racing, you probably shouldn’t be celebrating Valentine’s Day at all.