FN Dish – Food Network Blog: Go behind-the-scenes at Food Network featuring your favorite chefs, shows, recipes, events and more.

Choose your favorite meat or use a combination of shrimp, chicken or steak as you cook up this sizzling dish paired with tortillas and toppings like salsa, guacamole and sour cream.

Get the recipe: Gold Medal Sizzling Fajitas

Browse Food Network’s Cinco de Mayo feast for more Mexican-inspired recipes.

On Monday, May 9, Tom Colicchio, Emeril Lagasse, Gail Simmons, Andrew Zimmern, Anne Burrell and many others in the food industry — will don their best as they join the James Beard Foundation at its annual Restaurant and Chef Awards Dinner.

In honor of the Rising Star Chef of the Year Award, we’re chatting with the 2011 nominees in this category. Yesterday, we caught up with Christina Tosi of Momofuku Milk Bar in New York City. Today, we’ll get to know Thomas McNaughton, chef at flour + water in San Francisco. McNaughton says that the Beard Awards, “Are a testament to the people that I’m surrounded by, not only in the kitchen but in our organization. It feels humbling to be among such talented peers.”

FN Dish: The theme of this year’s awards is “The Ultimate Melting Pot,” so what is your favorite type of ethnic cuisine?
TM: Korean

Find out what classic rock band Thomas would love to cook for »

Iron Chef Morimoto is serving up recipes to aid his Japanese homeland in Keep Recipes for Recovery, a 21-recipe cookbook filled with Japanese classics, fusions, haute cuisine and more. Donations start at just $10 –proceeds will go to The American Red Cross to help Japan recover from the devastation of the recent earth quake and tsunami. Last month, Chef Morimoto made his singing debut at The Thousand Hearts benefit concert to raise funds and awareness for the survivors of the tragedy. You can still donate to the benefit through Thousandhearts.org and see his vocal performance on YouTube.

Would you like to meet Chef Aarón Sánchez? In honor of his partnership with Cacique, the largest Hispanic cheese brand in the U.S., you and one lucky friend could have Sánchez “crash and cook” in your very own kitchen! To enter, visit and ‘like’ Cacique USA’s Facebook page from Apr. 13 to Aug. 31, 2011: http://www.facebook.com/CaciqueBrand.

Find out what Guy Fieri is up to »

Marcela’s beer-battered halibut is fried to a golden crisp and then topped with shredded cabbage and salsa for the ultimate fish taco.

Get the recipe: Baja Style Fish Tacos

Browse Food Network’s Cinco de Mayo feast for more Mexican-inspired recipes.

On Monday, May 9, Tom Colicchio, Emeril Lagasse, Gail Simmons, Andrew Zimmern, Anne Burrell and many others in the food industry — will don their best as they join the James Beard Foundation at its annual Restaurant and Chef Awards Dinner.

While categories like Best New Chef and Best New Restaurant tend to steal the spotlight, one category to keep your eye on is Rising Star Chef of the Year. According to the Foundation, “This award is given to a chef, age 30 or younger, who displays an impressive talent and who is likely to have a significant impact on the industry in years to come.” Past winners who hold this title include Nate Appleman and Andrew Carmellini.

Starting today, we’ll get to know each of the 2011 nominees up for this category a little better.

First up: Christina Tosi from the famed Momofuku Milk Bar in New York City. Tosi, who worked at WD-50 and Bouley before Milk Bar, is now known for her outrageously addicting desserts like Crack Pie, cereal milk soft serve ice cream and recently cake truffles.

“It’s an overwhelming honor to be singled out in a city and country of so many great chefs,” Tosi said when we asked her how it felt to be a James Beard nominee. “The awards have always been a great opportunity to get to know what’s going on in kitchens around the country, make new friends and celebrate one another’s passion for food, hard work and dedication to the job and industry.”

Find out what Christina can’t live without and the one person she’d love to cook for »

When you think about it, dough is just a mixture of flour and water. Yes, we usually use fancy flours and extra ingredients, such as eggs or yeast, to transform dough from its original simplicity into pasta noodle or bread varieties, for example. Still though, making dough need not be an intimidating process. In fact, here are four fool-proof recipes for classic doughs – bread, pizza, pasta and doughnut – that you might typically purchase instead of making from scratch. So bake a loaf of bread, roll out your own pizza dough and fry your own doughnuts because with recipes like these, there’s no need to make a trip to the store.

Move over, counter space-hogging bread maker. Ellie Krieger’s Whole-Wheat Cinnamon-Raisin Bread from foodnetwork.com uses no special equipment and is still so simple to make and consistently produces swirly good results. Best of all, it is far healthier than its sugar-laden counterparts from the grocery.

Read on for more recipes

Creamy risotto is mixed with Bibb lettuce, Parmesan cheese and fresh lemon juice and can be served as a light main or hearty side — perfect for Mother’s Day. Tangy Italian cheese and asparagus top this Italian classic for an extra burst of flavor.

Get the recipe:  Risotto With Asparagus

Browse more of Food Network’s Mother’s Day recipes.

Cinco de Mayo is right around the corner and who better to commence the holiday celebration than Marcela.  This Saturday morning, she’ll kick off her new season of Mexican Made Easy with a Cinco de Mayo celebration starring actress and cookbook author Eva Longoria — together they’ll make Eva’s Chunky Guacamole and Strawberry Daiquiri.

Tune in: Saturday at 9:30 a.m. eastern/8:30 a.m. central

Prepare for Cinco de Mayo with: Cinco de Mayo Recipes, Mexican Essentials and Mexican Cooking 101

We all strive for the perfect roast chicken — juicy meat and a perfectly browned, crunchy exterior. This recipe combines parsley, cilantro, tarragon, dill, garlic, olive oil and chopped walnuts  — a mixture that is rubbed over and under the skin, sealing in flavor. The chicken is basted with its own drippings, creating that crispy skin everyone craves.

Get the recipe: Herb-Roasted Chicken with Melted Tomatoes

Browse Food Network’s chicken recipes for more dinner ideas.

Last Thursday, the second season of 24 Hour Restaurant Battle premiered, promising an all-new set of contestants aspiring to open their own restaurants –- all in just one day.

We asked three of the judges to talk about the new season, the drama we can expect and advice they can share. Last week, Alison Brod gave us her advice from a public relations standpoint. Today, we’re talking with Gabriella Gershenson, a senior editor at Saveur magazine.

Tune in tonight for a new episode of 24 Hour Restaurant Battle at 10pm/9c.

FN Dish: For the new season, what are some changes we can expect?
Well, you’ll be seeing more of the original four—Alison, Scott, Geoffrey and myself—but there are also some great additions to the judges table. For instance, David Sax, a deli expert and contributing editor at Saveur magazine, where I work, joins us when two Jewish-style restaurants face off.

FN Dish: What is the most common mistake you come across?
Some chefs serve dishes that they have never attempted before coming on the show. Huh? I don’t get that. Second most common: chefs who don’t taste their dishes before serving them.

Read Gabriella’s one piece of advice to the contestants »