What humbly started out as a signature house dressing for one restaurant some 12 years ago is an item that can be found in specialty food stores and conventional supermarkets across the nation.

?Garlic Expressions? " a salad dressing noted for its whole fresh garlic cloves in every bottle " is the creation of Larry Croy, former chef and owner of a Perrysburg, OH-area restaurant where the salad dressing got its start.

SALINAS, CA " Star Market, here, a mid-sized, independent, family-owned store not to be confused with the Star Market supermarket chain acquired by Albertson?s a year ago, prides itself (among other things) on carrying a wide variety of fresh produce from Salinas-area growers.

The single-entity grocery store has long been a favorite outlet for products from growers in the tri-county area of Monterey, San Benito and Santa Cruz counties.

Maui Pineapple Co. made a splash at the first PGA Tour tournament of 2005 in January, showcasing its "Hawaiian Gold? brand pineapple before more than 30,000 players, spectators and volunteers at the winners-only Mercedes Championships.

The event took place on the brand?s home turf, the 18-hole championship Plantation Course of Kapalua Resort, which is also home to 2,000 acres of pineapple fields that are actively cultivated by Maui Pineapple Co.

When one thinks of foods for romance, oysters or chocolate usually come to mind. But at a recent fundraiser in Philadelphia, OSO Sweet onions proved they could be a wonderful addition to the most decadent of desserts.

At the inaugural "OSO Sweet Onion Confection Challenge," held just before Valentine?s Day at the Ronald McDonald House, top pastry chefs from the Philadelphia area were challenged to flex their culinary muscles and conjure up luscious OSO Sweet onion desserts good enough to woo the opposite sex.

With two degrees from Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, FL " one in marketing and another in management " 25-year-old Stacey Nelson is leading the way in marketing for Boca Raton-based Rosemont Farms Corp.

As Rosemont?s marketing coordinator, Ms. Nelson has been handling and directing the company?s marketing efforts since she was hired in mid-April.

That includes "dealing with ads," attending trade shows such as the PMA Foodservice Conference, "product promotion ... [and] trying to get the brand recognition out there," she said.