Jane Velez-Mitchell is the author of 'iWant: My Journey from Addiction and Overconsumption to a Simpler, Honest Life' and 'Secrets Can Be Murder: The Killer Next Door' as well as 'Addict Nation: An Intervention for America' which will be published in February, 2011. She hosts ISSUES with Jane Velez-Mitchell nightly on HLN at 7p ET.

"Half measures avail us nothing." It’s a profound saying that usually applies to recovery from addiction, but, it could just as well be applied to America’s food crisis. The U.S. Senate’s passage of the Food Safety Modernization Act (S.510) is a step in the right direction, but, it fails to address the core issue at the very heart of our nation’s struggle to keep our food supply safe: the extreme and cruel confinement of animals raised and killed for food.
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5@5 is a daily, food-related list from chefs, writers, political pundits, musicians, actors, and all manner of opinionated people from around the globe.

What once was old, is new again - especially around the holidays. ‘Tis the season to disregard the glossy food magazines and opt for the comb-bound Junior League cookbooks and stained index cards to recreate Aunt Myrtle's sweet potato casserole circa 1954.

As John T. Edge, says:

These dishes aren’t goofs. They’re good. I don’t serve them with ironic detachment. I serve them with gusto. I realize, in this moment of local this and artisan that, they’re kind of retrograde. By my lights, that means they're well suited to the holiday season now upon us, when all seem inclined toward retro-pleasures.

Along with penning numerous food-centric books, John T. writes a monthly column, “United Tastes,” for the New York Times, is a contributing editor at Garden & Gun magazine and a columnist for the Oxford American. He was also a contributing editor at Gourmet before the beloved publication folded in October 2009.

He has been nominated for five James Beard Foundation Awards, and in 2009, was inducted into Beard's "Who's Who of Food & Beverage in America." John T. is also director of the Southern Foodways Alliance at the University of Mississippi in Oxford, an organization that documents, studies and celebrates the soul of Southern food - old and new.

Five Retrograde Holiday Dishes: John T. Edge
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Sink your teeth into today's top stories from around the globe.

• Something to look forward to after getting acquainted with a TSA agent: airports and airlines are boozier than ever! - USA Today

• Bravo Farms of California recently recalled all of its cheese - including cheddar sold under the Whole Foods Market name. - NPR

• From Cam’ron’s Sizzurp to Danny DeVito’s Limoncello, the best and worst of celebrity spirits. - Flavorwire

• Farm schools take root in Chicago's South Side. - The Atlantic

• If you're going to shop until you drop, you're going to need some healthy food court fuel. Here's a hint: Cinnabon is not classified as such. - Health.com

The U.S. Senate has just voted, 73-26, in favor of S.510 – the Food Safety Modernization Act. The bill offers a sweeping overhaul of the nation's current food safety regulations, empowering the FDA with oversight of mandatory recalls of potentially contaminated food, requirements for food producers to develop written food safety plans, accessible by the government in case of emergency and implementation of a food tracing system.

Get the basics of the bill and more on the vote.

While supporters and opponents of the bill agree that food safety is paramount - especially in light in this past summer's egg-based salmonella contamination that sickened over 1,600 consumers - there is considerable disagreement about the level of federal involvement that should be allowed.

On which side of the fence do you fall?

UPDATE: The Food Safety Modernization Act passes 73-25. Here is a list of how the Senators voted.

The US Senate is currently voting on the passage of S. 510, the Food Safety Modernization Act, a long-stalled bill that would introduce enhanced governmental oversight of the nation's food producers' safety systems.

Some opponents to the bill assert that it imposes the same one-size-fits all set of legislation on small farmers and producers and giant food conglomerates and factory farms alike, placing a strain on those less equipped to comply with new regulations. They also fear it will raise food prices and all $1.5 billion to the deficit, and too extremely centralize and concentrate governmental control over food producers.

Supporters claim that these measures are necessary to protect the public from compromised food, such as the salmonella-tainted eggs that sickened more than 1,600 people this past August.

Key points:

- The FDA would have the authority to issue direct recalls of foods that are suspected to be tainted, rather than relying on individual producers to voluntarily issue recalls.

CNN Radio's Jim Roope speaks with FDA's Associate Commissioner for Food Protection, Dr. Jeff Farrar about the measures the FDA can currently take.

- Food producers would be required to develop written food safety plans, accessible by the government in case of emergency. These would include hazard analysis and a plan for implementing corrective measures.

- The Secretary of Health and Human Services would be required to create a food tracing system that would streamline the process of finding the source of contamination, should an outbreak occur.

- Importers would be required to verify the safety of all imported foods to make sure it's in accordance with U.S. food safety guidelines.

Previously - Jamie Oliver says schoolkids deserve more than junk food

While you're frying up some eggs and bacon, we're cooking up something else: a way to celebrate today's food holiday and the most delicious finds on TV.

November 30 is National Mousse Day, and no, it has nothing to do with Johnny Iuzzini.

Derived from the French word of the same spelling, mousse translates to mean "foam" or "froth."

The dish can range from savory and hot to sweet and cold; light and fluffy to thick and rich - its degree of airiness is controlled by how much heavy cream or stiffly beaten egg whites are folded in.

Feel free to whip some up - and we highly encourage licking the bowl. It's the resourceful thing to do.

What's on TV?
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The Senate is expected to vote Tuesday on a food safety bill that will give more power to the Food and Drug Administration in an effort to bolster the safety of the nation's food supply.

A version of the bill was passed by the House of Representatives in July of 2009 but has languished in the Senate, a fact that has angered some food safety advocates.

Nonprofit advocacy group Center for Science in the Public Interest was one of the groups that released a report in September urging senators to pass the stalled bill.

Read Senate to vote on food safety bill on CNN Wires

More on food safety:

- An egg-spert opines on causes behind contamination

- Why there's salmonella in your eggs

- Time to unscramble food safety system

- Recalls out of reach for the FDA?

The Food and Drug Administration has limited power when it comes to food recalls, reports CNN Radio's Jim Roope. He speaks with the FDA's Associate Commissioner for Food Protection, Dr. Jeff Farrar about the measures the agency can take to get companies to remove compromised foods from the marketplace.

Subscribe to the CNN Radio Reports podcast in iTunes

Now that we've got Thanksgiving under our belts (in more ways than one), holiday season is in full swing. For some folks, it's a frenzy of merry-making and hall-decking. Others just grit their teeth and Grinch on through to the New Year.

Whichever approach jingles your bell, we've got you covered with cheer-inducing cocktails, festive nibbles, Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, Solstice and New Years traditions from celebrities, chefs and iReporters as well as sanity-saving tips for guests and hosts alike.

On the first day of holiday countdown, my Eatocracy gave to meeee: a workable cocktail strategy

It's the holidays. People are going to drop by. They just will. You might as well have something on hand to serve them.

Keep these in stock:

Sour
- Lemons or lemon juice (squeeze 6-12 and freeze in ice cube trays if you don't think you'll use it all at once)
Sweet
- Ginger simple syrup*
- Triple sec
- Maple syrup
Spice
- Cinnamon sticks
- Nutmeg
- Allspice dram
- Cardamom
- Whole cloves (a little goes a long way)
Body
- Fresh apple cider
- Box of fabulous, yet inexpensive, full-bodied red wine** (Three Thieves Bandit Cabernet Sauvignon, Black Box Shiraz or Big House Red will do the trick.)
Kick
- Dark rum – Gosling's or Meyer's
- Laird's Applejack
- Whiskey – Evan Williams Bourbon, Jim Beam Rye or Jack Daniel's
Fizz
- Prosecco
- Ginger beer***

Consider these the Garanimals of your holiday season cocktails. Just mix and match these elements - following a few basic proportional guidelines - for boundless hot and cold holiday beverages. This is not hardcore mixology or a recipe for dazzling your cocktail fetishist friends, but if they have any sense they'll just clam up and enjoy themselves.

For instance, try:

Mix & Match Cocktail (Cold)

1 oz lemon juice
1 oz ginger simple syrup
2 oz bourbon
2 oz fresh apple cider
Pinch of nutmeg
Shake over ice, strain over ice into a double old fashioned glass and top with Prosecco

Mix & Match Cocktail (Hot)

1/2 cup red wine
1 cup fresh apple cider
2 oz dark rum
1/2 oz maple syrup
Pinch of cardamom

Heat all ingredients to a simmer in a saucepan, then carefully pour into two mugs. Serve with a cinnamon stick in each.

Getting the hang of it? Classic proportions of a cocktail are one part sour, one part sweet and two parts strong (if you are indeed tippling), but feel free to shake it up and balance it out with elements of seasonal spice, freshly-pressed apples, a kiss of hearty red wine and a festive fizz of Prosecco or ginger beer. Don't be afraid to play around; all of these ingredients meld well, because they're basically the building blocks of a warm, gingery apple pie.

Just don't forget to jot down measurements as you go so you can recreate your favorites - even if you've gotten just a little bit Blitzen.

*Slice ginger into 1/4" rounds. Bring 4 cups of sugar, the ginger slices and 2 cups of water to a boil, then a simmer until it thickens. Let it cool, then pour it into a clean jar with a tight lid, straining out the ginger pieces. This is ginger simple syrup. Any that you don't use can be stored in the refrigerator for up to six months.

**Don't go wasting the schmancy stuff if you're going to go mixing it with spices, juices and booze. Good boxed wine - of which there is plenty - brings plenty of bang for the buck, has a much smaller impact on the environment, and stays fresh for weeks.

***Ginger beer is non-alcoholic. Then again, you may have already known that. Not everyone does.

Share your best combos in the comments below and give the drink a memorable name. We just might feature it in an upcoming post.

Previously: Winterized cocktail recipes

Because Four Loko wasn't stupid-inducing enough, the earth has belched forth 36-proof 'whipahol' - whipped cream fortified with alcohol. We can only assume the nadir of the stunt booze movement will be reached when Ke$ha actually succeeds in launching her line of grain-neutral dentifrices, but with any luck, that'll get held up in FDA approvals until the world wakes up from it collective hangover and can't for the life of it recall what a "Ke$ha" is or why anyone gives it money to make noises.