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.

Some folks assert that Memorial Day weekend is the official beginning to grilling season.

While those folks are sitting indoors twiddling their spatulas until May, we'll be out stretching our toes in the freshly mowed grass and perfuming the air with eau de charcoal.

A burger is certainly an excellent, inaugural item to set aflame to, but the world is your (grilled) oyster; beef up your repertoire with Pat LaFrieda's favorite, grill-friendly cuts of meat.

LaFrieda is one of the stars of Food Network's "Meat Men" and the owner of Pat LaFrieda Meat Purveyors, a 90-year-old wholesale butchery that supplies more than 500 restaurants with every cut of meat you can imagine.

Five Picks Of Meat To Purchase for Grilling Season: Pat LaFrieda
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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.

If you can eat it, you can stack it between two pieces of bread.

Peanut butter and jelly and grilled cheese are layered masterpieces in their own right, but who are we to limit the infinite works of the esteemed sandwich artist?

Ratha Chaupoly and Ben Daitz of Num Pang Sandwich Shop want to brighten up your spectrum of sandwich possibilities.

Five Ways to Spice Up Your Sandwich:
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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.

Has a non-cookbook ever sent you scrambling kitchen-ward?

For legendary and James Beard award-winning chef Norman Van Aken, literature often beelines straight from his brain to his stomach.

He says of the delicious bond: "The strands of fate and history pull us in circles we may never fully comprehend, but they are there. And why I’m a chef is moved, most surely by all of the ‘levers’ moved by the pencils, pens and typewriters of these artists and many more."

Five Non-Cookbooks that Influenced My Cooking: Norman Van Aken

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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.

The Italian food most Americans love - spaghetti and meatballs, baked ziti, sausage and peppers - is as red-blooded (and red-sauced) American as it is Italian.

In authentic Italian food, whole fish, game and offal are customary; and a great deal of the country's culinary landscape embraces cocina povera, or “peasant cooking," as well as living off the land's fresh fruits and vegetables.

This simplicity - sometimes from unexpected ingredients - plays a key part in living la dolce vita, according to David Rocco.

Rocco is an Italian cookbook author and the host of “David Rocco’s Dolce Vita” and "David Rocco’s Amalfi Getaway” on the Cooking Channel.

Five Surprising Components of the Italian Dinner Table: David Rocco
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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.

Now that spring is upon us, produce is both good and plenty.

But, as the old adage goes, "all good things must come to an end." (The name's Downer. Debbie Downer.)

That's when Aaron Deal's pickling recipes come in handy.

29-year-old Aaron Deal is a former James Beard Awards "Rising Star" semifinalist and executive chef of the soon-to-open River & Rail Restaurant in Roanoke, Virgina.

Five Reasons to Pickle and Preserve Fruits and Vegetables: Aaron Deal
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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.

Over the weekend, Kentucky became the only number one seed to make it to this year's Final Four. While the Wildcats celebrate their Big Dance victories alongside Louisville, Ohio State and Kansas, most of us are crying over our busted brackets.

Eat your March Madness emotions through the rest of the tournament - Italian-style - with chef Doug Psaltis, Executive Chef of RPM Italian in Chicago, Illinois.

Five Cicchetti (Italian snacks) to Munch on During March Madness: Doug Psaltis
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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.

It'd be a tragedy for you not to try the wines of Greece, that is if Andrea Englisis has a say in it.

Englisis is co-owner of Athenee Importers, the largest importer and distributor of wine, spirits and beer from Greece and Cyprus in the United States. She also holds the Diploma in Wine and Spirits (DWS).

Five Greek Wine Alternatives: Andrea Englisis
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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.

In their book, "The World in Skillet," authors Paul and Angela Knipple reveal that because America is a nation built by immigrants, traditions from Uganda, Liberia, Brazil and beyond can be traced to the food people think of as being "American" - or in this case, "Southern."

"We were inspired to write the book because of the diversity we see in the South, but looking back to everyone we talked to, we realize that essentially everybody's the same no matter where you go," says the husband-and-wife team.

Let's take a dip into America's melting pot without stepping north of the Mason-Dixon line.

Five Old World Ingredients You Should Know and Use from the South: Paul and Angela Knipple
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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.

When Andrew Zimmern tells us we ought to try a particular food, we screw up our courage and do it. His travels as host of "Bizarre Foods" take him to some far-out places and sometimes challenging cuisine, which he always tackles with an open mind, and a wide-open mouth.

Zimmern has seen it all, eaten most of it, and believes that with slight adaptation of the American palate, we can change the world. As he says, "You can change the world one plate at a time. If we can take better advantage of the global pantry and eat from a wider variety of choices we would do more to combat food poverty, our damaged food production system, obesity and other systemic health and wellness issues than any one single act I can imagine. Here are some suggestions, but be creative. It works."

Five Foods That Can Change the World: Andrew Zimmern
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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 can all agree March 17 is a lovely day for a Guinness.

But if you're feeling the Irish spirit a bit more strongly like Jason Henry, general manager of  The Second Floor in Dallas, Texas, you might have better luck with a wee bit of whiskey.

Five Reasons Why You Should Be Drinking Irish Whiskey on St. Patrick’s Day: Jason Henry
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