The Food Network is taking auditions for a new television show called “Grill It.” The show will be hosted by Bobby Flay and audition videos are currently being solicited for this exciting new show.

The “most popular” audition happens to be by 2007 New York State Grilling Champion and fellow BBQ Brethren member Clint Cantwell. It’s a great audition that you can watch on the Food Network.

Well if it isn’t enough to have the most popular audition video on the Food Network Clint now has gotten a small write up in the New York Post.

What I like the most about Clint’s video is that he really captures the spirit of grilling and bbq. It’s all about the food and the fun. And teasing him about the Spice Fairy comments only makes it that much more fun.

Check out Clint’s video - maybe it will inspire you too.

Yes, it’s May, and yes, it’s finally 75 lovely, sunny degrees out, but I defy you to find a child who will reject a dumpling on the sole basis of the weather outside. I know my own kids would happily consume dumplings in weather nearly as steamy as the stew those fluffy dough pillows are swimming in.

So, if you have lingering containers of stew, chili, or hearty soup in your freezer, now’s the time to use them up, before the really hot weather sets in. Whip up a batch of these super-quick dumplings and enjoy. Younger kids can help measure and stir; older kids can make the whole thing themselves, with some supervision as they drop the dough into the stewpot.

Be forewarned — you may find yourself making chicken and dumplings or beef stew all summer long just to have something to eat dumplings with!

Parsley Dumplings for Stew

(adapted from the Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book)

• 2/3 cup flour
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley (I double this amount; you can omit if your kids think the green stuff is icky)
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/8 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons oil

Combine flour, parsley, baking powder, thyme, and salt. Stir together milk and oil and add to dry ingredients. Mix with a fork until dough comes together. Drop tablespoons of dough into bubbling stew (or chili or hearty soup). Cover pot and lower heat; simmer for 10 to 12 minutes, or until a toothpick insert into the center of a dumpling comes out clean. Do not lift the lid while the dumplings are cooking.

Makes 4 to 6 dumplings

Back in March, over my spring break, I road-tripped to Chicago with my dear friends Katie, Chris, Rita, and Steve (who needs to get a blog or something. I’m not going to be creepy and link to his facebook page). Lemme tell ya, you’ve got to really love the people you’re road-tripping with, especially when you’ve decided to make a 17/18-hour drive in one day, and you’re driving a tiny little sedan that doesn’t comfortably fit 5.

Chicago was our destination because that’s where Katie is from, and her parents were kind enough to take us in for a week. And they were kind enough to buy me candy, including a delicious box of Frango mints (I repaid the favor by buying them some chocolates at Haven’s… except Katie forgot to bring them with her when she flew home for Cubs opening day, so I still owe them one).

Frango mints have a storied Chicago history and are a sore subject for some Chicago natives who resent that Marshall Field’s was bought out by Macy’s. Chicagoans are quite proud of their city, and they should be if they are the home to these delicious chocolate mints.

I expected the Frangos to be like Andes mints or little peppermint patties or something. Instead, they’re chocolate all the way through. Rich, thick, creamy (like a thick, melt in your mouth ganache), dense, sinfully indulgent chocolate with a light smokiness and a great finish. The mint flavoring is just right; not too overpowering, but strong enough to assert its presence.

My 1/3 pound box had a generous 15 mints in it. I ate about a third of them and shared the rest, which were quickly gobbled up and praised by my friends. As I write this review and reminisce about the Frangos, I wish that I had kept them all to myself so that I could have another right now. Though, according to Cybele’s take on the dark version, they’re high in trans fat, so maybe it’s better that I spread the unhealthy deliciousness around. Many thanks to the Cobb’s for introducing me to such a tastebud delight.

Last week I had the pleasure of dining at Spezia, in Omaha, NE. Now, I have written about Spezia before, so I won’t cover that ground again. Suffice it to say, I had an enjoyable business dinner with great food and company.

However, while I was looking over my available choices from the menu, I kept coming back to the fact that I just did not want any of those things that night. Don’t get me wrong, there are some great choices on their menu. Nothing was just reaching out and talking to me though.

So I asked myself, if I order something not on the menu, will they indulge me? You cannot expect that service from just any restaurant. Large chains, including fast food restaurants and restaurants designed around good convenient food (Chili’s, Applebee’s, TGI Friday’s, etc.), often will only entertain mild substitutions.

Sometimes the limitation or restriction is more culturally oriented than it is a question of convenience. I have eaten in numerous Japanese restaurants, especially Sushi places that did not allow even basic substitutions. As if to say, this is it. This is what I make, take it or leave it.

The more a restaurant prepackages its food, the harder it is to get a substitute. You will notice that a lot of chain restaurants offer various pasta dishes, all with penne pasta. Among those pasta options which are most forgiving to freezing, thawing, variances in storage temperature and the like, penne is the most kitchen friendly. This short, round, sturdy pasta can roll with the punches. Long, delicate noodles like linguine would break apart while your penne is still plugging away. Ask one of those restaurants if your pasta can be changed to spaghetti and the answer is almost definitely, “No.”

That brings us to the best places to eat though. The food is prepared fresh, from fresh ingredients with loving care paid to little things like making your own pasta, cooking from a selection of fine ingredients and offering a variety of choices and options. These places are much more likely to indulge your urge to travel off the beaten path and onto tenuous, “can you make me this” territory.

This brings me back to Spezia. I looked around the menu to get an idea of what items were available on other dishes and to understand what may be handy in the kitchen to be tossed in my dish. I finally went with grilled chicken breast over fettucini with alfredo sauce, peas, crimini mushrooms and prosciutto.

The server worked with me to find the dish on the menu that came closest to that dish, so we could assign a price. Then she wrote up my order gladly and the kitchen did an outstanding job of preparing it. Each person I was dining with paused at least once to look at my plate and ask me, “What did you order again? That looks great.”

You may not get just any old restaurant to throw what you want in a pan over some heat, but if you are wise in your choices and work patiently and politely with the wait staff, you might get some choices that go beyond fried, baked, mashed or rice pilaf?

I’m not certain of anyone who doesn’t have some sort of continuing stress in their lives. Whether it be work-related, family-related, or health-related, it is hard to believe that anyone does not experience some level of stress in their daily lives.

With economic times as they are, ever-increasing reports of layoffs ensue. Those sort of circumstances can cause stress in those for the workers left behind. Every day, you hear of people lost in accidents well before their time is due, which can cause stress for their families.

Recently both of these circumstances happened upon my household. I felt the only way I could cope is to eat whatever came to mind, which often was food beyond my prescribed restricted carbohydrate diet. Add to that reduced sleep and reduced exercise, and I was quickly a mess.

It led me to think about whether eating intuitively was the right way to eat under the circumstances. From a personal point of view, I believe that some intuitive eating for a period up to 72 hours can be the best way to cope with acute stress. But the experience also led me to think about what I could do to break the pattern of unhealthy eating, after recognizing I had let things go too far.

Among the suggestions from the Mayo Clinic’s advice on breaking the pattern of emotional eating. Any of these ideas can be useful for someone going through acute stress, but particularly for those of us who have chronic conditions which can be affected by food intake patterns.

• Avoid caffeine and alcohol. Both substances can disrupt sleep. The quality and quantity of sleep you get during acute stress can make a huge difference in resolving the issues at hand.
• While sleep quality is imperative, exercise is important during hard times. It can help with moods as well as blood sugar control for those of us with diabetes.
• Consider whether you are truly hungry or whether your emotions are triggering you to eat something unhealthy. Taking a few moments to recognize your hunger will ensure whether you are eating under pressure or you are eating because you really want to eat.
• Avoid foods high in carbohydrates, fats, or sodium. Any of these can contribute to situations where stress levels can increase. Even if you do allow yourself some extras as far as carbohydrates, fats, and sodium go, recognize that all “good things” must come to an end and you need to follow the diet prescribed by your physician or dietitian.

Peanut butter is one of our household’s favorite staples. We love peanut butter as a sandwich spread, dip, cracker spread, or occasionally in a sweet treat. Shoot, we’ve all been known to just dip in a spoon and eat the peanut butter straight up. More recently, though, I started wondering how it would work to change up our plain peanut butter for something a little more exotic. We’ve been to a sandwich shop that sells peanut butter in fun flavors like white-chocolate raspberry and honey-ginger, so we decided that playing with peanut butter was more than possible. With a few scoops of this and a few pinches of that, we quickly came up with an all-purpose peanut butter that will last for several weeks, although we have yet to have it last more than a few minutes.

While we made this with traditional peanut butter, a natural peanut butter should work just as well, if not better. I also suspect that a peanut alternative like almond or cashew butter would taste phenomenal as well. For a real treat, top this peanut butter with apple slices for a peanut butter sandwich like you’ve never experienced before.

Cinnamon Raisin Peanut Butter

• 4 tablespoons peanut butter
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon honey
• 4 tablespoons plump raisins
• pinch of salt

Combine the ingredients in a small bowl and stir well to combine. Use as a sandwich spread or as a dip for apples or pretzels. Peanut butter will keep for about 2 weeks if stored covered in the refrigerator.

Makes enough for about 3 sandwiches

The warm days of summer are almost upon us — time to break out the white wine. Versatile as an aperitif and food-friendly, Sauvignon Blanc is as varied in style and complexity as are completely different varietals.

At a recent gathering of starving artists, the 2006 Baron D’Aliénor Bordeaux Sauvignon was a real crowd pleaser. Made from 100% Sauvignon Blanc grapes, this bone dry wine with apple on the nose and slightly herbaceous is unoaked, crisp, tart and citrusy on the palate — a vibrant acidity with a subtle mineral finish.

No small feat the plethora of Sauvignon Blanc from Bordeaux if you consider the fact that 50% of the white grapes from 1979-1986 were uprooted due to the exploding popularity of red, but at $ 7/bottle we can’t expect old vines or even a “mise en bouteille au chateau,“ can we?

About 7,207 acres of Sauvignon Blanc is planted in this region while twice as much Semillon grapes are grown here. In many cases these two grapes are blended for a deliciously complex and harmonious wine, so be an adventurer.

Perfect for a Memorial Day beach BBQ a la Bobby Flay  the Baron, as we call this best kept secret, is equally delicious with seafood or even fresh salsa. You’d be surprised how well it goes with garlic, tomatoes, avocado and cilantro. So whip up a great salsa, grab a bag of chips/crisps (no genetically modified ones, please), a big blanket, an ice chest of the Baron and meet your friends at the beach to gather up drift wood, build a fire and roast your main course for a groovy Memorial Day celebration.

When the weather gets warm and we can spend more time outside, it just seems like the perfect time to have more casual get togethers. In the summer months, it’s just so easy to ask friends to stop on by for brunch or dinner. When I saw the title of Rick Rodgers new cookbook, Summer Gatherings: Casual Food to Enjoy with Family and Friends, I was immediately intrigued.

Now, when it comes to a new cookbook, the first thing I look at are the pictures. This book does not disappoint; there are pictures of almost all of the recipes. I like to know what the finished dish should look like before I attempt it, and sometimes a picture will inspire me to try something I might not have if I didn’t know what it looked like in the first place. I agree with the saying that you “eat with your eyes”; presentation is everything.

There are recipes for everything from beverages to desserts. We adore blueberry muffins, so the Melt-in-Your-Mouth Blueberry Muffins were a perfect first recipe to try from this cookbook. This recipe uses sour cream, and it helps create a nice cakelike texture in the muffin. Each muffin was bursting with blueberries, and they were a huge hit with my oldest. I am sure I’ll be revisiting this cookbook frequently during the summer months whenever we have friends over. I have a list of recipes I still want to try, such as: Fried Stuffed Zucchini Blossoms, Grilled Chicken with Rosemary White Barbecue Sauce, Grilled Pork Chops with Fresh Asian Plum Sauce, and Fettucine with Creamy Zucchini Sauce - just to name a few.

Melt-in-Your-Mouth Blueberry Muffins

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1 cup full-fat sour cream
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
1-1/2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries

Directions:

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 10 muffin tins with paper liners. (I was able to get 12 muffins from this recipe.)

Sift the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together into a medium bowl. Beat the eggs until combined in another medium bowl, then stir in the sour cream and melted butter. Add to the dry ingredients and stir until just moistened. Fold in the blueberries. Spoon equal amounts of the batter into each muffin tin.

Bake until the muffin tops are golden brown and a wooden toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean, 20-25 minutes. Cool in the tins for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire cake rack. Serve warm or cooled to room temperature. (The muffins are best served the same day that they are baked. Freeze leftovers, stored in a self-locking plastic bag, for up to 2 months. Defrost at room temperature.)

Cookbook photo courtesy of Amazon.com.

I’ll admit it, I’m a yogurt snob. I’m picky about my yogurt. There I said it. Not just any yogurt will do. When I made a decision to live a more healthful life, yogurt started playing a big part in my new nutrition plan. I tried many kinds of yogurts to make sure I got just the right taste and consistency. I finally found my favorite and it’s by Dannon. So when the opportunity came to review a new yogurt product from Dannon, I said “Ooo-oooo Sign me up!”

Dannon’s new product has the tag line of “Light. But Not Light on Nutrients.” They could have also added “But not light on taste.” This stuff is so good. It’s creamy, dreamy good and full of fruit. It doesn’t have a tangy, strong “yogurty” taste like some brands. This tasty yogurt could be enjoyed by most anyone. Even those who might not be big yogurt fans.

According to a survey conducted by Dannon, women are committed to managing their weight. But sadly these same women also don’t have much knowledge of how to achieve their healthy diet goals. Or they sometimes turn a blind eye to what they eat on a day to day basis. In fact, according to the survey, 46% of the women do not think about the loss of essential nutrients when they cut calories from their diet. They are willing to sacrifice health for slimness. In reality, slashing calories will help you lose weight, but if you take out all the healthy nutrients in a diet, all you get is a slimmer but very unhealthy body. And folks, that won’t last long.

Dannon hopes this version of their yogurt will help women make wise nutritional decisions. 0% Plus has 50% more fruit than their regular Light and Fit 6oz. nonfat yogurt, which is also a favorite of mine. And this new version also includes healthy doses of calcium, Vitamin D and B2 in its 60 calorie, 4oz cup.

A good yogurt should be versatile. I ate the strawberry yogurt straight from the cup as part of a healthful breakfast. It rocked! Then I tried the peach flavor in a smoothie for a light slurpy lunch. Whoohooo, Dannon Light and Fit 0% Plus continued to rock! My only complaint is that the blueberry flavor doesn’t have as much fruit as the other flavors. But still, this yogurt snob approves and recommends that you give this new 0%+ variety a try.

The folks at Food Network have certainly been busy lately, seemingly lining up new series after new series for our viewing pleasure. This week, they’re unveiling yet another one, Chic and Easy with Mary Nolan. Hosted by 26-year-old Mary Nolan, the new face at Food Network actually landed her series by happenstance. She sent in a video to apply for a spot on The Next Food Network Star and landed her own series without having to go through the competition. It should always be that easy, right?

The host with no formal cooking training has six episodes already in the can, with the premiere airing on May 18th. She graduated with a Journalism degree, but growing up with her mother’s love for cooking, she’s taken nutrition and food science courses and parlayed that experience into catering gigs and a stint as an assistant at Gourmet magazine.

Chic & Easy showcases the philosophy that successful entertaining results from mouth-watering menus and an eye towards stylish, welcoming atmospheres that don’t break the bank. With easy preparation, and flavorful food that wows time and again, Mary Nolan offers accessible and inspired solutions for the unforgettable occasion. Mary’s sophisticated yet simple meals are delicious, easy to prepare and hard to forget. Whether it’s through her practical approach to using local produce, showcasing a single splurge ingredient, or impressing guests with a unique flea-market find, get ready for the party, because Mary’s crowd-pleasing and affordable ideas make entertaining your friends Chic & Easy. [Food Network]

May 18th, 9:30 am/EST - set your Tivos now.

Photo from Food Network.