The Metropolitan Cooking and Entertaining Show, billed as “the only award-winning consumer event in the nation for cooking and entertaining enthusiasts of all ages and skill levels,” rolled into Houston’s Reliant Center this past weekend, drawing larger-than-expected crowds despite the drizzle. And while most visitors seemed to have come for the sole purpose of laying eyes on the show’s headliner Paula Deen (the line to hear her salty chatter seemed to stretch forever), for me the real show was on the arena floor, checking out the vendors and sampling everything I could find.

Outside of the usual cookware (waterless fry pans, jalapeño grills, Vitamix blenders and the like), the food vendors seemed to fall largely into three basic categories: salsas, toffees and balsamic vinegars and olive oils. An odd trio, to be sure, but it kept me very happy as I wandered up and down the aisles that were not at all crowded, allowing me to get to the samples without having to either (a) wait or (b) gently shove somebody out of the way.

In the salsa category, I tasted a lot of good salsas. In particular I was highly impressed by the Dread Head Chef’s dessert chips and salsas. Owned and created by Michael Weinstein, the cinnamon tortilla chips, dusted with cocoa powder, were a perfect match for his luscious pineapple-banana-pecan nut salsa.

As to the toffees: I sampled at least five. When did toffee start trending? My favorite by a long shot was from the Great Texas Pecan Company. It was crunchy (versus the soft melt-in-your-mouth kind), with little nubbins of roasted pecan on top. Fortunately, I was able to restrain myself, took only two samples and resisted the temptation to buy a box. Four ounces wouldn’t have been enough, and even the large package would have been gone by the time I traipsed back to the car.

And who knew dark chocolate balsamic vinegar was not only a real product but delicious to boot? The Olive Branch came with 30 different balsamics (ranging from a delicious 18-year-old traditional to pomegranate to honey ginger) and 28 different olive oils, but my favorite was the dark chocolate balsamic – slightly sweet vinegar with a dark undertone of chocolate. I can only imagine how good it would be drizzled on ice cream or strawberries.

My favorite find though, and one that I actually whipped out a credit card for was … peanut butter. This was peanut butter taken to a whole new level from All Natural Peanut Butter & Co. (available at Whole Foods and other select markets). Imagine the best peanut butter you’ve ever had mixed with dark chocolate (like a Reese’s cup but soooo much better). Or mixed with white chocolate. Or mixed with maple. I’m almost embarrassed to admit I bought six jars. But as I sit here and type this article, eating spoonfuls of white chocolate peanut butter directly from the jar, I don’t regret it one little bit.