This week on a holiday themed episode of Straight From the Source, host Clay Gordon gives listeners some very useful gift buying advice when it comes to chocolate. Which chocolate is the best value? Does the box and presentation matter? What's the best place to STORE chocolate once you buy it? Clay shares his unique perspective and makes the case for high-end chocolate as a thoughtful and appropriate gift for any holiday. Find out whether or not you should freeze chocolate and why Clay will never be able to resist a Reeses Cup! This program was sponsored by Heritage Foods USA.

"There is a direct correlation between freshness and quality." [6:24]

"If you take the box of chocolate and put it into the back of the fridge and take out a piece when you want it - you're creating conditions that will reduce the life of the chocolate the fastest." [24:06]

--Clay Gordon, Host of Straight From the Source

Dave Arnold is back from Senegal with another episode of Cooking Issues! Joining him in the studio is Peter Kim of the Museum of Food & Drink. Tune into this episode to hear Dave talk about milk- both cow and human. Is it ok to freeze milk? And should you drink alcohol if you are breast feeding? Later, Dave and Peter offer some suggestions for creating non-alcoholic drinks that taste and feel like real cocktails. Find out how to infuse nut flavors efficiently, and how to make large-format ice at home. Hear Dave and Peter talk about some of their favorite food and drink from West Africa, and learn why West African cuisine and flavors has been largely neglected in high-end restaurant kitchens. Thanks to our sponsor, Chefsteps.

"Human breast milk is vastly water, so you would assume that a mother's milk is close to her blood alcohol level." [15:20]

-- Dave Arnold on Cooking Issues

This week on Let's Eat In Cathy hosted Matt & Allison Robicelli, the married cupcake geniuses behind Robicelli's Cupcakes. Their mission was to take the high end buttercream frosting and cake baking techniques found in expensive wedding and "event" baking and bring them to the cupcake-eating masses. Robicelli's are widely considered to be THE BEST cupcakes in NYC and beyond, and one taste or even a glance at their incredibly varied and complex cupcake flavors will confirm this. This episode was sponsored by Whole Foods Market. New York City’s Craft Beer Week is just around the corner, beginning Friday, September 24th and running through Sunday, October 3rd. To kickoff the annual series, Whole Foods Market Bowery is hosting a beer and food pairing event in their Beer Room. Oskar Blues is on tap and Chef Jacques Gautier of Park Slope’s Palo Santo is cooking up one of his South American delights to accompany. Food tasting goes from 5 to 7 and beer will continue til 9. With a Craft Beer Week passport get $3 off a 64 ounce growler fill. Meet Chef Gautier Friday, September 24th and enjoy some special tastes, on tap and from the kitchen.

Photo: Cupcakes from Robicelli's Cupcake