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.

Peanut butter and jelly: It's the salty-sweet combination immortalized in lunchbox lore that we always come back to.

And chances are, if you were a peanut butter-loving kid, you're now a peanut butter-loving adult.

Case in point, meet Lee Zalben. Zalben - appropriately nicknamed “The Peanut Butter Guy" - is the founder and president of Peanut Butter & Co.

While Zalben agrees nothing can replace the traditional PB&J sandwich, he's certainly not opposed to creating delicious riffs on the childhood classic.

These recipes are downright nutty by nature.

Five New Twists on PB&J: Lee Zalben
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If you must waffle on Valentine's Day, don't make it about who you're taking to dinner. The "where" is a lock: Waffle House.

WALB reports that some Waffle Houses across the chain's 15-state span are tossing tablecloths over the formica and chrome, dimming the lights, pouring alcohol-free sparkling drinks and emphasizing menu items like ribeye and eggs, porkchops or T-bones in addition to their perhaps better-known breakfast fare.
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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.

Editor's Note: Jeff Faile is the bar manager of Fiola in Washington, D.C.

Before I was lucky enough to meet my wife and get out of the rat race otherwise known as the dating game, I dreaded Valentine’s Day. I hated being on the other side of the bar while all the happy couples celebrated their love, rubbing my face in it. Each February 14, I’ll admit it, I was bitter.

Looking back on it, there’s nothing wrong with it. To really appreciate finding “the one,” you have to experience the bad. So, let’s be bitter together.

Five Bitter Drinks for Valentine's Day
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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.

Editor's Note: Raised in Versailles, France, Dominique Crenn is now the executive chef of Michelin-starred Atelier Crenn in San Francisco.

French fries (or frites, as the French will say) are loved by many, including the queen herself, Julia Child, who once said, “Potatoes are strange animals.”

The French fry has a long history in the human diet. When I think of them, I recall my mother's crisp, perfectly salted, skin-on frites - never greasy, and made each Sunday with the Brittany-grown potato in my childhood home.

Because I grew up with what were surely the best and truest frites in the world, I tend to have very strong opinions on this matter, as admittedly, I have on many food matters. There will be no ordering of French fries anywhere unless I have done my homework. And just because an ingredient, like the potato, is “common” or humble does not mean that it should not be respected and cooked well.
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Bad news, hungry hip-hop fans. As many of you speculated, Bon Rappetite, the world's first rap themed eatery, does not actually exist. The gloriously pun-filled website Bon-Rappetite.com is currently the closest you will get to such dishes as the Waka Flocka Flambe. That's right, if you can stop thinking about the Talib Quali-i you'll have to make it for yourself.

But take heart, because the people behind the site feel your pain. "I wish it were real" says Everett Steele a web designer and one of the co-creators of Bon-Rappetite.com.

The hip-hop fan and Atlien (that's Atlantan to the uninitiated) adds, "I have no desire to be a restaurateur but Ludacris, if you are listening, Usher, Drake come down to Atlanta, give me whatever is in that case or what you keep in that room and I will build a restaurant around it."
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What makes a drive-thru such an easy target for pranks? People love posting videos of their drive-thru mischief online, and we’ve collected some of the best. These videos just may give you a new appreciation for fast food drive-thru employees.

Sonic song – This musician sings for his supper at a Sonic drive-in. Giorgio Fareira freestyled his $34 order. The video has more than half a million hits on YouTube, and it’s not bad publicity for his band, The Interstate Life.

See more at Gotta Watch: Drive-thru internet shenanigans

You can't help but be stunned by the visual splendor when walking around the Western Cape region of South Africa, in towns like Stellenbosch. Immediately you see why this part of the African continent is so well suited for the wine making craft, which was recently my mission for "Inside Africa."

The mountain ranges here reach upwards of 1,500 meters, circling a valley of rolling hills packed with rich soil. Winds become funneled forces of nature, sending gusts of clay and other minerals over the landscape. This kind of weather and topography help give Western Cape grapes their unique taste - but to make really good wine people have to be smart.

Read - A journey through South Africa's stunning wine region on CNN Inside Africa

Previously - Bunny chow (carrots possibly included), Spice up your diet, Nigerian-style and Yam-tastic!

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.

Editor's Note: Patrick Connolly is the Executive Chef at The Kitchen NYC. Patrick’s brother, Dan Connolly, is a starting offensive lineman for the New England Patriots.

Generally speaking, the Super Bowl is about three things: food, drink and excessive partaking of each (for a Sunday). This year is a little different for me as my youngest brother Daniel is the starting center for the Patriots (he’s the guy who hikes the ball to Gisele Bundchen’s husband).

Normally, I’d be spending the day in the kitchen then plopping myself on the couch with a sandwich the size of a coffee table just in time for a butchered rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner" by an American Idol. This year, however, I’ll be spending the day with my family on the heated streets of Indianapolis and plopping myself on a cool plastic seat in Lucas Oil Stadium.

So, as I lose my voice during yet another big championship game I’ve road-tripped to, I hope you will enjoy two or 20 cold beers, something nice between pieces of bread and a big ol’ plate of nachos. Perhaps Doritos and shredded cheddar in the microwave is your style? Or maybe you’re a nacho overachiever and pull off a nine-layer dip? But if you’re looking for something a little outside the box, may I suggest one of the following:

Five Nacho Variations
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There are no rules when it comes to food for Moto sous chef and "Top Chef: Texas" contestant Richie Farina.

Tune in to CNN at 2 p.m. E.T. on Sunday, February 5, to see more of the avant-garde cuisine of Richie Farina and Homaro Cantu on The Next List.
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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.

A nervous drinker walks into a bar...

OK, we got nothing - but what we lack in punch lines, we're about to make up for in advice.

Whether you're a bona fide professional bartender or just like to stir things up as the barkeep in the comfort of your own home, you're likely to encounter a guest who doesn't quite know what to make of modern cocktail culture.

As a bartender at a busy hotel bar, Jamie Sanford from Vesper Bar at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas regularly serves cocktail fetishists and booze neophytes alike – and manages to make both feel just as welcome.

Learn his tips to set an anxious drink orderer - and drink maker, for that matter - at ease.

Five Ways to Put a Nervous Drinker at Ease: Jamie Sanford
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