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.

It's easy to mock the "bork bork bork!" of The Muppets' Swedish Chef, but internationally acclaimed chefs like René Redzepi from Noma, the number one restaurant in the world, and Magnus Nilsson from Fäviken Magasinet continue to rock the culinary world with their Scandinavian roots – and flavors.

And with the help of Aquavit executive chef Marcus Jernmark, you too can forage your way as a real Swedish chef in your very own home.

Five Ways to Go Scandinavian: Marcus Jernmark
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Emily Smith is a researcher at CNN. She grew up in Cape Town before moving to the United States and recently wrote a South Africa travel guide for CNN Travel. Her previous article explored how a childhood trip to Disney World gave her an even greater appreciation for fresh food back home.

I grew up in South Africa and moved to the United States. Atlanta to be exact. Home of fried food and sugary drinks.

I hated the food when I first got here. It didn’t taste the same as home, in that it didn’t taste like anything. Chicken was bland no matter how well seasoned it was. The bread was the worst. I love white bread. Adore it. We hardly ever had it growing up, but I think to help ease the transition from South Africa to America my parents allowed my sister and me to eat it.

I distinctly remember sitting down for lunch the first Saturday we were here. Mom had made the lunch we always had Saturdays – fresh bread with a platter of meats and cheeses and salad type stuff from which everyone would make their own sandwich. Simple, but a comfort food back then. I lifted the warm baguette filled with ham and cheese and lettuce and mayo to my mouth preparing myself to taste home and instead got the yeasty, vinegary reality of sourdough bread. I hated it.
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Every town has a Dot's Restaurant. It's the place where everyone goes to catch up on local goings-on over coffee and pancakes, the menu hasn't changed for eons - and the regulars would just as soon that it didn't.

Dot's Restaurant in Wilmington, Vermont has been dishing up pancakes, burgers and comfort food to hungry locals and tourists alike for decades. The building - the oldest in town - was built to house the local post office in 1832. It transformed into a general store in the 1900s and became the Village Square Diner in 1930.

It weathered Wilmington's Great Flood in 1938, underwent a renovation to recover from the water damage and continued to serve patrons as Dairy Bar and Dot's Dairy Bar before John Reagan took over on 1980 and shortened the name to Dot's.

When Hurricane Irene swept through the East Coast this weekend, it left behind a trail of destruction. Not only did its raging flood waters wash away cars and homes and buildings; it swept away memories. Dot's building, pictured above (see Facebook for a picture of its current condition), suffered terrible damage as a result of flood waters and its future remains uncertain.
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Sink your teeth into today's top stories from around the globe.

• Assessing a storm's destruction via The Waffle House Index. "If you get there and the Waffle House is closed? That's really bad." - Wall Street Journal

• Planting African produce where tobacco once grew. - NPR

• Society is officially obsessed with grilled cheese. - Mental Floss

• You can now shoot feral pigs from helicopters in Texas. - New York Times

• Lost in the doldrums? Grab a watering can and hoe. - Salon

Or you could just make a sandwich or perhaps a Caprese salad

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

Start the month off right and get it poppin' - September 1 is National Cherry Popover Day!

Lighter than air, popovers are the stuff dreams are made on. If you've lost that mystic recipe, a light egg batter similar to Yorkshire pudding is the basis.
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We are utterly thrilled when readers want to hang out and talk – whether it's amongst themselves or in response to pieces we've posted. We want Eatocracy to be a cozy, spirited online home for those who find their way here.

Consider the daily Coffee Klatsch post as your VIP lounge – the primary comments thread for readers who'd like to chat about topics not related to the articles we're running. That way, everyone knows where to find each other, and each post's comments section remains on topic.
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