Radio Kitchen

 Not all holiday feasts have to center on platters of roasted meats or poultry.  There is a simpler, and in many respects, more intimate way of dining, and it involves little more than cheese and bread.  And Chef Jerry Pellegrino will tell you, fondue is one of the more sensual ways to dine, in my opinion. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Holiday season is upon us and that means we can expect lots of dinner invitations.  If you’re wondering what to bring to help things along, may I suggest a home-made pumpkin pie.  And Chef Jerry Pellegrino agrees that a well-made dessert, made from scratch, is always welcome? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

All of us want to sit down to a dinner of tender, flavorsome food, and there are many ways to pull that off.  One of the most reliable is braising, which is the long, slow cooking of meat in a savory bath.  It sounds simple, and if you know the tricks, it really is.  So, Al is hoping that Chef Jerry Pellegrino will share with us some of the essentials of preparing a good braise. See omnystudio.com...

Having just gotten back from a two week trip to Portugal, and I have all sorts of stories to tell.  Not the least of them are my stories about the food and wine I tasted.  All of the restaurant food we ate seemed to have been prepared from family recipes, perfected by generations of grandmothers.  As I told Chef Jerry Pellegrino, a few of these really stuck in my mind, and so I’m going to try them...

Chances are most of us have a younger person or two in our lives, and not all of them are adept at the ins and outs of running their own kitchen.  Stocking up the pantry with the basics is a crucial step.  So, Chef Jerry Pellegrino has come up with a list of helpful things we can get for these novices. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Thanksgiving is just around the corner and a lot of us are looking for some new ideas.  Although it may not be part of everyone's traditional dinner, a lovely bowl of hearty autumn soup is a welcome idea.  And as Chef Jerry Pellegrino has noted, the makings for good Thanksgiving soups are all around us. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I would guess that in the kitchens of people of a certain age you're bound to find a cast iron skillet tucked away somewhere.  Many are cherished heirlooms, while some are newly purchased, which I think is a wise investment.  So, I asked Chef Jerry Pellegrino what do we need to know about cast iron?   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There is a certain restaurant in Baltimore that I like to visit for lunch, and nearly all the time I start off with the same dish:  avocado toast.  It's so light and tasty I can't resist it.  I told Chef Jerry Pellegrino I decided I'd try to make it at home, and it turned out to be a bit trickier than I thought. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Anyone who has watched any of the dozens of baking shows on TV has marveled at the flaky magic of multi-layered dough.  There seems to be several types in play here, so I asked Chef Jerry Pellegrino, to teach us the different kinds and how to make them? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is prime time for our Maryland farmers markets.  We still have a fair amount of summer produce hanging around, and the best of the autumn harvest is just arriving.  I paid a visit to one of Baltimore's markets this past weekend, and  as Chef Jerry Pellegrino knows oh so well, the joint was jumping. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When it comes to shopping for squash, we are definitely in a transition period.  Yellow and green zucchini are still around, but the winter squash are rolling in.  The nice thing about winter squash is that they are sort of hollow inside.  And as Chef Jerry Pellegrino will tell you, that means they are ideal for stuffing. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

That little nip in the air reminds me that it's time to start adjusting our daily menus.  It's the perfect season to introduce a little warm, tasty treats to the breakfast table. So we can't blame Chef Jerry Pellegrino for thinking about biscuits and gravy? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Okay, so the kids have been back in school for a few weeks and the thrill has rubbed off and now they're kinda bored with the whole thing.  So that means it's time to break out the big old mixing bowl and get the young un's to help whip up a bunch of cupcakes.  And Chef Jerry Pellegrino, I doubt there is anything that brings out more of a kid's creativity than making cupcakes. See omnystudio.com/l...

While baked beans are rarely the star of any meal, they quite often are the favorite supporting dish.  Canned beans are just great, but I'm struck by how easy it is to make your own, and custom tune them to your own taste and creativity.  To Chef Jerry Pellegrino, the concept of baked beans does allow for endless variations. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

These days I couldn't be happier.  Football season is back and all the tradition and pageantry of the sport is in full swing.  And of course that includes tail-gating, that All-American celebration of sport and wretched excess.  I was curious what Chef Jerry Pellegrino might have to offer to the party? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In an effort to establish a healthier diet my wife and I have resolved to eat more fish.  I still have a lot to learn about cooking fish, but I am already pretty proficient in making sauces.  So I asked Chef Jerry Pellegrino, if a sauce for fish might be a good bit different than a sauce for meat, correct? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As an avid gardener I know how much pleasure my garden can be when it's in full bloom.  It's a feast for the eyes, and it always improves my mood just to gaze upon it.  My colleague Chef Jerry Pellegrino will take that concept of floral beauty one step further by putting some flowers right on the plate. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I'm very familiar with Chef Jerry Pellegrino's penchant for pickling late season produce to keep it available for the cold winter months.  But on the many cooking shows we watch; you always see competing chefs whipping up a pickle in just seconds... or so it seems.  So, I asked Jerry to tell me how is pickling for the table different? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

During the Covid pandemic a lot of us tried our hand at baking and all around the country grocery stores were running out of flour and yeast.  Well, there's more than one way to bake a loaf of bread, and more than one grain we can use.  Chef Jerry Pellegrino, has dug back into history and came up with some ancient grains. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A while ago when we were in England, we had a wonderful dish the restaurant called "white bouillabaisse".  It bore a passing resemblance to the Provencal original, but it was a delightful take on it.   Chef Jerry Pellegrino helped me flesh out this idea of making this dish. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With cook-out season in full swing many of us are eager to move beyond simple burgers and hot dogs and try something a little more involved.  Enter the marinade, a popular method of increasing flavor in things that we grill while at the same time bringing a little tenderness into the picture.  As I told Chef Jerry Pellegrino, I know what a marinade is but I'm not sure how it works. See omnystudio....

With cook-out season in full swing many of us are eager to move beyond simple burgers and hot dogs and try something a little more involved.  Enter the marinade, a popular method of increasing flavor in things that we grill while at the same time bringing a little tenderness into the picture.  As I told Chef Jerry Pellegrino, I know what a marinade is but I'm not sure how it works. See omnystudio....

A few weeks ago we were having dinner with a friend who had cooked a beautiful leg of lamb.   Staying in a traditional mode, he also had prepared mint sauce, but this wasn’t the jelly kind, this was the real deal.  Chef Jerry Pellegrino will tell you, when it comes to herb-based sauces, mint is just the beginning. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There's no doubt about it; we love anything creamy that crosses our palate.  I can remember my first Panna Cotta in Italy, and I was immediately seduced by its rich creamy texture.  Chef Jerry Pellegrino points out to us, there are so many other ways of getting something creamy on a spoon.                One of the first great desserts you'll come across when you start dining out on French cuisine...

Every time I walk by Woolsey Farm's stand at the farmers market, I can't help fixing on the lamb and all the things I can do with it.  The lamb cubes in particular summon up images of  steamy Moroccan stews filled with succulent meat, copious spices and morsels of dried fruit.  Chef Jerry Pellegrino agrees with me: although many people may not try cooking Moroccan, once they try it they love it. S...