Jelly Roll Cake

For the last few weeks, we’ve been concentrating on a whole slew of savory dishes that celebrate Spring.  Today we thought we’d delve into something on the sweet side, and indeed, we have settled on a well-known dessert that should be a staple in everyone’s kitchen.  I asked Chef Jerry Pellegrino, …

Icons of Spring Cooking

Wrapping up our coverage of the culinary possibilities of Spring cooking, we thought we’d offer some odds and ends ideas for the most iconic ingredients of the season.  I asked Chef Jerry Pellegrino if we could whip up something with lamb, asparagus, strawberries, rhubarb, spring potatoes.  Probabl…

Asparagus and Morels

Last week we talked all about Spring-time’s signature vegetable, the asparagus.  As it turns out we barely scratched the surface.  Spring is also the season for the king of mushrooms, the noble morel.  And Chef Jerry Pellegrino will tell you that asparagus and morels are natural partners.  Whereas …

Asparagus

As it happens, Maryland, and in particular the sandy Eastern Shore is Nirvana for asparagus.  This time of year, always brings a bumper crop of these delicious spears to the marketplace.  And every year we try to find new ways of cooking them.   And Chef Jerry Pellegrino, says it’s not too hard to …

What’s Up with Ramps?

Natives to these parts are well aware of a member of the onion family that seems to be virtually unknown more than 100 miles from the Potomac.  I’m talking about “ramps” and don’t feel bad if you know the name but have never tried them.  Chef Jerry Pellegrino loves them and says that our ramps are …

Spring, Mexican Style

With the arrival of Spring, I have started to cast about for new ideas.  For some reason, out of the blue, I wondered how Primavera is interpreted by Mexican cooking.  In general, we grow a lot of what we need for Mexican cuisines here in Maryland, and as far as Chef Jerry Pellegrino is concerned, …

Do-It Yourself Pretzels

I love watching a lot of the TV cooking shows, because not only are they educational, but they can also be very entertaining.  One show in particular tickled me.  The task at hand was to make home-made pretzels… and nobody could remember how to create the pretzel shape.  As it happens, Chef Jerry P…

Lamb Shanks

Spring has officially arrived and that triggers all sorts of events In the Maryland marketplace.  This is of course the season of lamb and many of us are dusting off our cookbooks, looking for recipes.  One of Chef Jerry Pellegrino’s favorite dishes is braised lamb shanks, which he used to cook to …

Meatloaf

My mother was quite adept at whipping up great family dinners in no time at all.  One of her favorite dishes was that old stand-by, meatloaf.  I’m not sure what her recipe was but I do know it involved a lot of bacon and catsup.  Luckily for us, Chef Jerry Pellegrino knows quite a bit about meatloa…

St. Patrick’s Day Cooking

As winter grinds to a close we all look forward to St. Patrick’s Day, the annual celebration of all things Irish as well as the impending arrival of spring.  Our Irish friends are nothing if not traditional, and their big day has a number of foods associated with it.   Chef Jerry Pellegrino can giv…