Being a connoisseur is time-consuming. Deciphering which caviar or wine is slightly better than the next requires the kind of know-how that takes years to master. Many busy people forgo the "foodie" lifestyle completely rather than invest the time.

But why not think outside the wine bottle when it comes to being a connoisseur? Start with often-overlooked areas — the ones you are already familiar with or those in which you would like to delve deeper.

Who, for instance, wouldn't want to dive deep into the subjects of chocolate, soda pop or pasta? All are worthy of exploration and tasting parties. Once I went to a dinner where we compared olive oils from all over the globe by tasting a potluck of wonderful dishes prepared with them.

Ingredients that seem mundane are portrayed differently when studied carefully. For example, take the lettuce family and its cousins. There's a huge variety that would open up an exotic world of everyday recipes, as your palate becomes adept at determining flavor and texture differences.

I recently enjoyed trying the different flavors in a dish from "Williams-Sonoma Salad" (Oxmoor House, $17.95). The treat shows off escarole, an endive that's part of the Cichorium botanical family. If you make one salad with escarole and others with Belgian endive and curly endive, you'll taste the flavor differences — escarole is the most mild of the three. A warm bacon-mustard vinaigrette is the perfect accompaniment.

You can find items worthy of your quick connoisseurship in the convenience store, drugstore or supermarket. Check out some of these new products:

— Starbucks new chocolate division makes a number of products, including a 2.64-ounce box of Chocolate Tasting Squares from which you can compare milk, dark and mocha chocolates. The mocha chocolate is made with Starbucks Guatemala Casi Cielo coffee, which is noticeably flaky in every bite.

— Lipton offers a premium long-leaf red tea called African Sunset made with real pieces of strawberry, orange leaves and passion fruit flavor. Red tea is also called Rooibos, since it stems from South Africa's Rooibos plant where it was discovered centuries ago. Check this out against Celestial Seasonings' Rooibos African Orange Mango tea; you'll see the flavor nuances.

— Think chewing gum can't be gourmet? You may reconsider after you taste Trident's Splash gel-filled line featuring flavors like Watermelon-Spearmint and Strawberry-Lime, in addition to a four-variety pack specifically meant for comparison tasting. Or try Ice Breakers' Ice Cubes sugar-free gum in melt-in-your mouth fluffy incarnations such as Strawberry Smoothie and Raspberry Sorbet.

WARM ESCAROLE, EGG AND BACON SALAD

4 slices thick-cut bacon, chopped

1/4 cup olive oil

1 clove garlic, bruised

1 tablespoon whole-grain mustard

2 tablespoons, plus 1 teaspoon, red wine vinegar

4 eggs

2 heads escarole (Batavian endive), tough outer leaves removed, torn into bite-sized pieces

Salt, to taste

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Yields 4 servings.

Bring small saucepan of water to boil. Add bacon; cook 5 minutes. Drain, transfer to paper towels; blot dry. When cool enough, dry saucepan and place over medium-low heat. Add oil, garlic and bacon. Cook, stirring occasionally, until garlic is golden and bacon is crisp, about 3 minutes. Be careful not to let garlic burn. Remove from heat and carefully discard garlic. Stir in mustard and 2 tablespoons of vinegar.

Choose a large, wide pan with a tight-fitting lid. Fill with generous amount of water, add the 1 teaspoon vinegar, place over high heat and bring to rolling boil. Turn off the heat. Working quickly, crack each egg and release it just above surface of water, letting it ease into water and spacing eggs evenly. Immediately, carefully cover pan and let eggs stand undisturbed for 3 to 4 minutes, depending on how runny you prefer the yolks.

Place escarole in large bowl. Bring vinaigrette to boil. Pour over escarole; immediately toss to wilt leaves slightly. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Toss again; arrange on plates. Using slotted spoon, transfer a poached egg to the top of each salad and serve.

— "Williams-Sonoma Salad" by Brigit L. Binns (Oxmoor House, $17.95).

WHITE CHOCOLATE-COCONUT COOKIES

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 sticks butter, softened

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

1 egg

1 cup quick cooking oats

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 cup shredded coconut flakes

8 ounces white chocolate, melted

3/4 cup toasted, shredded coconut flakes

Yields 2 1/2 dozen cookies.

Preheat oven to 350 F.

In small mixing bowl, whisk together baking powder, baking soda, flour and salt. In large mixing bowl, cream butter and brown sugar together until light and fluffy with hand-held electric mixer. Beat in egg. Add dry ingredients; beat until just combined. Fold in oats, vanilla extract and shredded coconut flakes.

Form walnut-sized balls of mixture; drop 2 inches apart onto parchment paper-lined sheet pans. Bake in preheated oven for about 10 minutes until bottoms of cookies are golden brown. Carefully remove from oven; cool completely.

When cookies are cool, dip them halfway into melted white chocolate and then into toasted shredded coconut flakes. Set them down onto parchment paper-lined sheet pans to dry completely.

— "Paula's Home Cooking," www.foodnetwork.com

Lisa Messinger is a first-place winner in food writing from the Association of Food Journalists and the author of seven food books, including "Mrs. Cubbison's Best Stuffing Cookbook" and "The Sourdough Bread Bowl Cookbook." She also writes the Creators News Service "Cooks' Books" column. To find out more about Lisa Messinger and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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