The two reigning champs of a hot dog eating contest joined their challengers for a weigh-in as they hope to devour their way into the record books Wednesday in New York City.

Joey "Jaws" Chestnut and Sonya "The Black Widow" Thomas, the male and female champions respectively, will defend their titles at the annual event in Brooklyn.
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Ray Isle (@islewine on Twitter) is Food & Wine's executive wine editor. We trust his every cork pop and decant – and the man can sniff out a bargain to boot. Take it away, Ray.

Fourth of July is one of the biggest outdoor bashes of the year. (For one thing, shooting off fireworks indoors is always a sketchy idea). And unless you’re a Revolutionary War reenactment actor - in which case, you’ll be eating dried beef and fire cake, a not-so-tasty mix of flour and water scorched over a campfire - then you’re probably heading down the classic hamburger, hot dog and potato salad route.

So what to bring along for the wine drinkers? (The beer drinkers are legion and can fend for themselves.) Look at it this way: It’s hot. So, whether white or red, you want something that will taste good at least moderately chilled down. Also, it’s a picnic. Save your cash for the Roman candles and buy something inexpensive. And finally, it’s July 4. Pour something from the U.S. After all, there are more than 6,500 wineries in America - certainly one of them must be producing something you’d like.
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Food says so much about where you’ve come from, where you’ve decided to go, and the lessons you’ve learned. It’s geography, politics, tradition, belief and so much more and this week, we invite you to dig in and discover the rich, ever-evolving taste of America in 2011. The week will culminate with a Secret Supper in New York City, and Eatocracy invites you to participate online starting Monday July 11th at 6:30 p.m. E.T.

Douglas Jones works at CNN International

We were at a lake in east Tennessee on U.S. Independence Day weekend when someone’s grandfather brought out three glass jars and started passing around the flavored moonshine. In these parts, it wasn’t a surprise.

We had just returned to camp and already the barbecue grills were sizzling. The coolers were open and you could hear that crisp rush of ice falling as hands pulled out more cold beers.

We were three Americans from CNN who went to Tennessee to show a group of international journalists a bit of Americana on the most American time of the year: 4th of July weekend.

Fresh out of the lake water and still drying off, our group was exhausted after a trip on the Tennessee River catching catfish with our hands. It’s a practice called catfish “noodling” or “grabbling”.
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Joey Chestnut has won his 5th consecutive mustard-yellow belt at this year's Nathan's July 4th International Hot Dog Eating Contest at Coney Island.

He ate 62 hot dogs in ten minutes, six shy of his world record of 68.

Adding intrigue to this year's competition, one-time reigning champ Takeru Kobayashi, who was effectively locked out of the competition due to a contract dispute with Major League Eating, wolfed down 69 frankfurters at an offsite event in New York.

Read Joey Chestnut wins Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest for fifth time

CNN contributor Pete Dominick and Eatocracy's managing editor Kat Kinsman talk with Newsroom's Deb Feyerick about the annual Nathan's Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Competition, a survey on beach behavior and the aesthetic appeal of the mankini.

Food says so much about where you’ve come from, where you’ve decided to go, and the lessons you’ve learned. It’s geography, politics, tradition, belief and so much more and this week, we invite you to dig in and discover the rich, ever-evolving taste of America in 2011. The week will culminate with a Secret Supper in New York City, and Eatocracy invites you to participate online starting Monday July 11th at 6:30 p.m. E.T.

There's nothing quite so American as gathering your friends and family to celebrate Independence Day with a classic cookout.

We polled Eatocracy readers a while back, and nearly 38,000 votes later, it seems that the ultimate summer menu would consist of a burger (cooked medium and topped with cheese, lettuce and onions), potato salad, corn on the cob and watermelon, washed down with plenty of ice cold beer.

Only in the U.S.A., right?

Well, not quite. While those dishes may now be synonymous with American life, liberty and the pursuit of a really great picnic, like most of the citizens themselves, often their origins are elsewhere.
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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.

Ladies and gentlemen, start your grills - July 4 is (of course) National Barbecue Day!

What better way to celebrate this summery birthday for our country than gathering your loved ones in the backyard and sitting down to the cookout to beat all cookouts?

Whichever barbecuing mentality you buy into, get the grill going and rejoice in that sharp sizzle of your favorite meat or vegetables across the grate. You can dig a pit and have an old-fashioned barbecue, wheel out the grill or smoke chicken, pork or beef until it falls apart in your hands.

However you celebrate today, whether you're quaffing lemonade and frying chicken, serving grandma's famous baked beans and potato salad or shoveling down apple pie while watching a baseball game, enjoy the Fourth, best of all American traditions.

Happy Fourth of July, dear friends! May you enjoy your favorite foods with your favorite people, and of course, watch some fantastic Fourth fireworks.

What will you be doing and how will you be celebrating?  Tell us below!

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. We ran this one from pitmaster Drew Robinson a little while back, but it seemed appropriate to revisit it for National Barbecue Day.

For many, barbecue is the ultimate leveler.

When asked about bridging racial and societal gaps in the South, Southern Foodways Alliance director John T. Edge once responded with, "... There's hope in barbecue."

Southern cookbook author Virginia Willis also believes in the power of smoked meat, adding: "BBQ exist[s] without borders. Every nation under the sun throws meat on fire."

As it turns out, chef/pitmaster Drew Robinson of Jim N Nick’s Bar-B-Q takes his cue from the same school of thought.

Five Reasons Why Barbecue is Important: Drew Robinson
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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.

We admit it - there are far worse problems in the world than having too much grilled goodness around, but by Tuesday, even the most dedicated cooker-out can get sick of Sunday's ribs. Luckily, chef Patricio Sandoval of Mercadito Restaurants is here to help you transform leftover chicken, shrimp, steak, vegetable and pork drudgery into a festive second-chance feast.

And yep - he's sharing recipes to boot.

Five Ways to Use Grilled Leftovers: Patricio Sandoval
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