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.

Tonight's forecast: cloudy with a chance of meatballs.

Spiced ground meat, shaped into balls, before being braised, baked or fried is well-rounded comfort food at its finest.

But if you're not quite sure how to get the ball rolling, Daniel Holzman and Michael Chernow of The Meatball Shop and The Meatball Shop Cookbook can give you a little nudge in the right direction.

Five Tips for Great Meatballs: Daniel Holzman and Michael Chernow

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Sink your teeth into today's top stories from around the globe.

• Whether you're in the cakey or fudgy camp of thought, these baking tips will earn you some serious brownie points. - Sydney Morning Herald

• Five exotic spices you've probably never tried and most definitely should. - Food Republic

• Triple the Oreo, triple the fun? - Chicago Tribune

• Cartoon characters on junk food + nagging children = unhealthy decisions by parents. - The Baltimore Sun

• On back-to-school dinners and loss: "Instead of looking at dinnertime as yet another chore, seize it for the gift it really is." - Food Network

• Embrace the iced coffee nerdery with this cold-brew how-to. - America's Test Kitchen

A table for four at New York’s storied “Elaine’s” restaurant is available and no reservation is required. However securing that hard to get table and its four chairs from the iconic Upper East Side restaurant will probably cost you several hundred dollars. Tables, chairs and other items from the now-shuttered famed literary and celebrity haunt will be going up for auction on September 20th.

Doyle’s Auction house will host the auction featuring the contents of not only the restaurant, but also personal artwork, books, memorabilia, furniture, decorations, fashion and accessories that the legendary owner, Elaine Kaufman who died in December 2010, collected or was given.
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While you're frying up some eggs and bacon, we're cooking up something else: a way to celebrate today's food holiday.

Never fear, today isn’t custard’s last stand - August 17 is National Vanilla Custard Day.

Give a hearty hurrah for the simple decadence that is vanilla custard! Just because it’s vanilla doesn’t mean this cousin to pudding can’t throw a mean flavor rave.
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