• A beer expert vs. a wine expert.
• If you ever have to roast a sucking pig, here's how to do it.
• A foodie road trip to Jamaica.
• Three outdoor escapes, in Montana, Wisconsin, and California.
• A list of what to drink this summer.
• Here are 15 simple condiments you can make, along with 12 healthy fruit desserts (including the Concord Grape Granita, above).
• This month's recipes include: Sunflower Seed Dip with Dill, Sweet and Sour Carrots, Buttermilk Chicken with Crispy Cornflakes, Grilled Mini Meat Loafs, Vietnamese Chicken Salad, Four Citrus Salsa, Hot Dogs with Grilled Coleslaw, Chocolate Fondue with Fruit and Grilled Pound Cake, and Zen Sangria.

From college campuses to groups of friends, dining "clubs" are sprouting up to build new friendships, nurture old friendships, and simply find good places to eat.

Do the words "real life" on a cookbook really mean the recipes are manageable in real life? Real Life Entertaining: Easy Recipes and Unconventional Wisdom by Jennifer Rubell has 25 menus that definitely do-able, with recipes like: Tex-Mex Breakfast Mess, Salsa, Chicken with Garlic Cloves and Rosemary, Mashed Potatoes with Figs and ParmesanWarm Mustardy Potatoes, Grilled Skirt Steak with Orange-Mint Chimichurri, and Watercress and Goat Cheese Salad with Dijon Vinaigrette.

At the farmers' market, blackberries are ripe for the picking and making a Blackberry-Basil Tart. Also, pick up fresh fruit to make Sangria. When looking for watermelons, it's ready when it thumps a B-flat.

Everyone still hot? Good. Beneto has a little post worth investigating. It covers drinks he is consuming in a hot, hot, hot Spain which makes a good follow-up to yesterday's post on Summer Cocktails.

Beneto details several drinks that are currently the hot ticket in Madrid. We have Kalimotxo - basically, Coca-cola and red wine blended fifty-fifty, typically without ice and its Sprite variation Pitilingorri. Then there is Tinto de Verano - a type of "spritzer" a mix of red wine (sometimes white) and Casera, a sweet soda water with a hint of citrus followed by Rebujito - a mix of Manzanilla sherry, ice and 7up and finally Zurracapote - Sangria made with lemon, sugar and cinnamon (without the brandy).

Some great links and background details make for a great post. I say, in this sticky/hot weather, lets go Spanish!

Sangria is a Spanish drink, not a Mexican one, yet it is still one of the most popular beverages served during Cinco de Mayo celebrations in the US. Instead, suggests Julieta Ballesteros, owner of the new Crema Ristorante in New York's Union square, opt for the Mexican alternative: agua loca. The name means "crazy water" and makes the Spanish punch look tame by comparison because it doesn't water down its fruit and alcohol base with any filler, unlike many sangrias, which may use soda water for a light carbonation. As Ballesteros explained to the New York Times, "You're always told, when you start drinking, that mixing different kinds of alcohol will make you crazy."

And the strong drink is not called "crazy water" for nothing.

The recipe below is an adaptation of the one served at Crema. It makes nearly 3 gallons of the drink, so it might be best to scale it back a bit for home use. If you're already having a Cinco de Mayo party, though, it could be just the thing to spice up the night.

Pour 1 bottle of extra dry Champagne or sparkling wine into a blender. Add 1 c. tightly packed fresh basil, 1 Tbsp. freshly grated lime zest, juice of three limes and 3 Tbsp of honey or simple syrup. Blend until smooth and serve over ice.