Radio Kitchen

With the holidays coming the opportunities for family fun are abundant. With the kids hanging out getting underfoot, it's a good idea for parents to have some kind of group activity to keep the young people occupied and happy. Chef Jerry Pellegrino can tell you from experience, home-made pizza night is a great idea. And who better to talk about the intricacies of pizza than Will Fagg of Tiny Brick...

With Thanksgiving approaching it's time to take a look at recipes for side dishes that might get you out of your ordinary rut. Perhaps the most emblematic vegetable for this season is the butternut squash, which is among the most versatile items in our pantry. Chef Jerry Pellegrino will tell you, this tasty winter squash just begs to be doctored up. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy informat...

So the days have gotten really short, and the night has gotten so much longer, and I for one am standing in the need of a little comfort. When Chef Jerry Pellegrino told me he wanted to talk about bread pudding, I was all ears. In my book, bread pudding is pure comfort. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Last week Al started talking about his excellent Italian adventure in Piedmont, in the foothills of the Alps. One of the most exciting parts of his trip was a visit to the Il Melograno Cooking School in Turin where Chef Giadda Bosco presides. He had a lesson in making fresh pasta from scratch, and he found it a humbling experience. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A few weeks ago we were looking for something different in the protein department for dinner, and my girlfriend Vickie suggested we make some meatballs. So I bought the fixings and made them up, and they were pretty good, but Chef Jerry Pellegrino tells me could have done better. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Watching a Ravens game is very much a sacred ritual for me. I have to have my man cave set up just right. I have to have the right beverage and of course, I have to have the right food. So of course several times a season I fix up some hamburgers for the crowd. They're usually pretty good, and nobody complains. I told Chef Jerry Pellegrino that I could be doing better. So he came up with just a fe...

It's no exaggeration to say that Mexican and Hispanic food have become well established parts of our cuisine. Folks who have traveled south of the border have encountered incredible variations on the rudimentary dishes we can get here. One of the most popular of authentic dishes to emerge is fish tacos. Chef Jerry Pellegrino points out that Marylanders should be thrilled to find another use for ou...

These last weeks of summer are some of the best for the enjoyment of local produce. Every vegetable under the sun is out there, and there simply isn't a better time to enjoy fruit. Apples, peaches, pears, plums, and melons and crying out for love. Chef Jerry Pellegrino will tell you, one of the best things you can do to capture those fruity flavors is to learn how to make sorbets and granitas. See...

This is the season of the tomato avalanche. At markets, grocery stores and in your neighbor's backyard, tomatoes are coming up like nobody's business. Al asked Chef Jerry Pellegrino, 'what are you supposed to do with a paper bag containing 20 red ripe tomatoes?' His answer: make gazpacho. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's no secret that our Maryland farmers are cranking out the year's best produce right now. Every time Al visits the market and sees table after table of gorgeous fresh vegetables, he starts ransacking his brain for ideas on how to cook and serve it. Chef Jerry Pellegrino has said that one place to look for inspiration is the Mediterranean, where fresh vegetables are the cornerstone of cooking. S...

Maryland farmers are now producing an incredible variety of exotic and delicious melons. As Chef Jerry Pellegrino has learned, there is a lot to choose from. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What a great time of the year for fans of Maryland's farmers markets. This is high summer, and the stalls in the marketplace are groaning with fresh produce. Al made a tour of the Waverly farmer's market last week and took some notes. And Chef Jerry Pellegrino will tell you, at this time of year, if you can't find it in the market, you probably don't need it. See omnystudio.com/listener for privac...

There's a vegetable out there that is sadly neglected and as far as Al is concerned, it's an undeserved fate. The poor little radish isn't feeling much love these days, which is a shame, because it is a very tasty little veg. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Al and Chef Pellegrino give some ideas for summer salsas you won't be able to stop snacking on! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is high season for salad lovers, so what better time to be creative and make your own salad dressing! Al and Chef Jerry give some tips and tricks. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The season of spring lends its name to all manner of food. Spring onions, spring rolls, and especially spring lamb. Just coming into the market at this time of year, spring lamb is a succulent flavorful meat that fits in perfectly with this season of gentle dining. And spring lamb has a well deserved reputation for being far milder than its more mature associate, the tough old leg of mutton. Let's...

If travel is one of the finest ways to broaden our minds, then Chef Jerry Pellegrino must have one of the broadest minds in Baltimore. The reason being, Jerry has gone about as far away as a man can get from our city on the Bay. He made it down to Melbourne, Australia to visit with his fianc\u233\ues family. While in The Antipodes, Jerry got an eyeful of the Australian way of eating. Jerry shares...

Chef and Al talk about the endless possibilities for delicious french toast. Sweet to Savory. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As the spring markets open up, we'll start seeing some old friends. The artichoke is coming back for a few weeks, and it's a time to enjoy this surprisingly versatile vegetable. And as Chef Jerry Pellegrino jokes, a lot of people just sort of look at an artichoke and say, ----yeah, what do I do with it?---- See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The weather is just starting to warm up a bit, and our collective sap is starting to rise. If you feel like taking on a few little projects in the kitchen, it's a good time to start baking. Chef Jerry Pellegrino has some timely tips for our listeners. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A few weeks ago our friendly neighborhood nutritionist Courtney Ferreira was on talking about healthy choices in eating. One thing she mentioned was cauliflower, which is apparently quite a little nutrition bomb. And Al and Chef Jerry Pellegrino agree that cauliflower may have gotten something of a bum rap and being way too bland. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Here in the last few weeks of winter it's hard to imagine that we can support our local farmers, but with several farmers markets open year-round around the state, it's possible to do just that. This is the season of the root vegetable, the heartiest and most die-hard of Maryland produce, the food that just keeps on giving. And Chef Jerry Pellegrino of Schola Cooking School will tell you, perhaps...

Right this moment in the dead of winter, we need to remind ourselves that warmer days lay ahead. Our poor old backyard grills are in sorrowful hibernation, just counting down the days until we fire them up for a barbecue. But why wait? Chef Jerry Pellegrino loves grilling and making barbecue. But one thing that impresses him is that as you go around the country, barbecue means different things in...

Travelling has always had a big impact on the way Al Spoler eats. As he moves around the world in his travels, he encounters all sorts of new things to eat, many of which he attempts to replicate back home. Al and Chef Jerry Pellegrino of Schola Cooking School invited Cynthia Glover, one of their favorite travelers, to be join them for this episode. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy informat...

Eating healthy always seems to be a little more difficult in the winter months. Most of the locally produced food items just aren't available, and the tendency is to eat heavier, more filling food. For Chef Jerry Pellegrino and me this is a conundrum, which is why we've asked nutritionist Courtney Ferreira to be with us today. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.