Memphis Grilled

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Naturally, Memphis was on the list when the Travel Channel went looking for locations to film “American Grilled”. In a city famous for its many grilling chefs, it doesn’t hurt to have the show label you as a star Master Griller. Those are impressive bragging rights and the $10,000 prize money doesn’t hurt either.

The title of the episode is “Battle on Beale Street” with Clint Cantwell beating out three other contestants to be declared the winner. This is the show’s first season and it’s filmed on location in different cities across the country. It’s similar to the format of the Food Network’s “Chopped”. Local ingredients are used as mystery ingredients and one of four contestants are eliminated in three rounds. A panel of three judges makes the decisions of who moves forward after each round. Clint Cantwell was the one still standing at the end of the Memphis episode.

Clint’s Story Chef and judge Kelly English complimented Clint for his unique and nontraditional use of the mystery ingredients bologna and red cabbage in round one. Clint came up with a bacon wrapped smoked bologna with mustard and a grilled red cabbage sauerkraut. Clint commented that his goal was to showcase the local ingredients in the best way he could think of.

Clint has a background in grilling but only recently moved to Memphis from NYC. However, he’s originally from Texas so he was showing New Yorkers a thing or two about grilling while he was there. And he’s not brand new to Memphis either. His wife’s parents live in Memphis and Clint and his wife have been coming to Memphis BBQ contests for many years.

Clint entered his first BBQ competition in Long Island, New York in 1997. After that, he has been competing in dozens of competitions every year. While in New York, Clint organized the competitive BBQ team “SmokeInDaEye” that caught the attention of Kingsford Charcoal. The company hired him to help develop and edit the blog grilling.com. A part time job he still does today. By career, Clint owns and operates a public relations business. One of his clients is the Memphis Barbecue Co.

Making the Cut for the Show The original interview process was done long distance via Skype.

The original group was narrowed down and those making the cut were brought to the network. When Clint made the first cut, he knew he had a real chance at being on the show. In preparation for the contest, he did try practicing a little at home. However, he said there wasn’t much he could really do to prepare because no episodes of the show had aired and he had no idea what the cooking set up would be, the time restrictions he would have to work within, or what curve balls might be thrown at him. About the only thing he could do was to experiment grilling some unusual ingredients.

Winning the “American Grilled” Grill Master title in Memphis isn’t Clint’s first experience with television. He has also appeared on CNN, Fox News, Nightline, Food Network, Spike TV, Newsweek, SeriousEats.com, Eater.com, Today show online, and others. Clint continues traveling the country in search of the people, places, and tastes behind our shared grilling culture. One thing you can say about Clint is that he takes his grilling and BBQ seriously. Clint is now one more grilling legend hailing from Memphis.

Make Real Estate Buying Work For You

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Purchasing a home is probably going to be the biggest financial decision in your life. Always make sure that you're fully informed before you put your money down. Check out this article and find out what you're missing about buying real estate.

If you're considering buying a house in a new neighborhood, don't just take the real estate agent's description of the area. Find out about crime levels from the local police department, pick up the local newspaper and visit the local grocery store. You can find out a lot about the local area by doing these three things.

Go to as many open houses as you can to gather as much information about them as possible. This information can prove invaluable when you move on to the next home. You can use the pricing information and the features in the different homes to compare them to find the one that is going to be the best deal for you.

When buying a home try to buy one that has enough space if your thinking about making additions in the future. You may only need one bedroom now, but you might want to buy a home with more so that you will have room for guests and/or new additions to the family.

If you are buying your first home, be sure to get all of the information you will need about the property so you can be sure to make the right choice for you. For example, is there a Homeowners Association? It is important to know the rules and regulations of the association and if there are any fees that you will be responsible to pay. If fees are charged, what do they cover? What are you getting for your money? By getting as much information about the property up front as you can, you will minimize your chances of regretting your purchase later.

It's important that you're working hard to make the right decision. Take advice, but don't let others make the decision for you. Take advantage of these tips, they will assist you in your decision-making. You can find the right property, and even save some time and money in the process.

Students Face Challenges Over Home Buying

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Buying your first home is never a cheap process and most of us will initially struggle, but it is much more difficult for students who can graduate with substantial amounts of debt. This means they often need to earn substantially more money in order to buy a home. An estimate by RealtyTrac found students typically need annual salaries of approximately one third more compared to those first time buyers without student debt. This equates to around $8,700. ReatlyTrac arrived at this figure by taking the median home price for each county and state, and calculating the minimum amount needed to qualify for a loan on this home. This assumed the buyer had a 20% deposit and was based on a 30 year 4.13% loan.

The article in the Wall Street Journal does point out that this figure is dependent on where the student is living, and the average amount of student debt can vary from state to state. Interestingly, some of the areas with the most expensive housing also have the lowest rates of student debt. A good example is California, where house prices are amongst the highest in the country, yet it has one of the lowest levels of student loan debt. Those states where graduates with student loans need to make more income to qualify for loans, compared to those without debt include Pennsylvania at 49%, Ohio at 53% and Michigan at 55% and Rhode Island at 56% and Connecticut at 58%. In comparison, students in California only need to earn 12% more than graduates without student loan debt. This figure is 17% for New York and Virginia, rising to 19% for those in Wyoming, and to 20% for graduates in Utah. The good news is that graduates with student loans, and who are earning the median household income for the US are able to afford the monthly payments on median priced homes in 96% of the markets analyzed by RealtyTrac. Apparently a graduate with a bachelor’s degree can expect a starting salary averaging $45,000, but is likely to have an average of $33,000 debt, a figure that has tripled in the last two decades. However other figures show that graduates who have managed to find well-paid jobs are pretty lucky, as around 40% of those unemployed are millennials, and many are either college age or recent graduates. In addition, recent graduates with student loans seem to find it harder to build wealth.

Homeowners Have Big Interior Design Plans, But Few Will Achieve Them

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Only 2 percent of more than 1,700 home owners in the U.S. and Canada surveyed recently by the remodeling website Houzz say they have achieved their design vision for their homes. On average, most home owners say they’re only halfway there with the home’s décor.

Forty-four percent of the home owners surveyed say they would like to do a complete overall of the décor of their homes, while 36 percent say they just want to refresh their existing décor.

What’s guiding their décor decisions? Personal style and comfort, the survey finds, while basing decisions on current design trends is a low influencer.

Younger home owners tended to say more often than older home owners that they wanted to get more “bold and dramatic” with their décor choices, such as incorporating wallpaper and brighter color schemes.

Among some of the survey’s findings:

• White paint is the most popular wall covering.
• Artwork is sprucing up more wall décor. One-in-five of home owners say they use art prints and original art to decorate their home’s walls.
• Accent walls remain popular but are most likely to be reserved for the study/home office, followed by a kids’ room or the master bedroom.
• Solids are the most popular fabric choice, followed by classics like stripes and florals. However, home owners under the age of 45 are more than twice as likely to use Chevron patterns than home owners over the age of 45.
• Hardwoods are the most desired flooring throughout a home, but 38 percent of home owners also said they planned to add carpet in the master bedroom.
• Nearly two-thirds of home owners are creating living rooms in the master bedroom by adding seating, a fireplace, or even a mini-fridge, the survey found.
• Dining rooms are getting more use and attention. Nearly three quarters of home owners surveyed say they use their dining room on a weekly basis. They most want to decorate the dining rooms with rectangle tables in dark wood or glass tables, with seating available for up to six people.