Al Spoler
Host, Cellar Notes and Radio KitchenAl Spoler, well known to WYPR listeners as the wine-loving co-host of "Cellar Notes" has had a long-standing parallel interest in cooking as well. Al has said, the moment he started getting serious about Sunday night dinners was the same moment he started getting serious about wine. Over the years, he has benefited greatly from being a member of the Cork and Fork Society of Baltimore, a gentlemen's dining club that serves black tie meals cooked by the members themselves who are some of Baltimore's most accomplished amateur cooks.
His most rewarding immersion in cooking came through his work as a television director at MPT. Spoler served as off-line editor and assistant director on two series featuring the legendary French chef Pierre Franey. He also worked with Mexican chef Patricia Quintana, and with Bed and Breakfast expert Gail Greco on her series "Country Inn Cooking". Al says traveling all over the US visiting country inns and taping recipes that they prepared in little makeshift television kitchens was an incredible education.
Spoler's tastes in cooking are influenced by regional tradition and contemporary casual French fare. Never slavish to recipes, he is never happier than improvising a Sunday dinner with whatever ingredients come to hand.
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One of my favorite meat dishes is pork chops, often with sauerkraut and sautéed apples. Now as much as I love them, pork chops can be a bit tricky because of all the meats I know, they’re one of the easiest to dry out. -
Beaujolais the classic easy going, easy drinking wine, and quite easy to understand. -
Of all the vegetables out there, few are as essential as the good old carrot. Simple, basic and indispensable, the carrot is often an unsung hero in thousands of recipes. And Chef Jerry Pellegrino reminds us, carrots may be Bugs Bunny’s favorite snack, but they’re incredibly useful for the rest of us. -
There are times when big heavy reds just don’t seem quite right, so that’s when you turn to lighter red wines for refreshment and pleasure. Al takes a look at several. -
We like to visit various ethnic restaurants quite often and usually my favorite part of the meal is the flat bread with some kind of vegetable spread to smear on it.And as Chef Jerry Pellegrino noted, we here in Maryland are perfectly set up to make our own spreads at home. -
Oregon continues to make solid strides in wine quality as it sends more and more labels into the market.This week we take a look at Pinot Gris, that very popular white wine that offers a great alternative to Chardonnay. -
It’s one of the Loire Valley’s most attractive whites.Vouvray is something of a chameleon, changing its character and flavor profiles easily. Hugh looks at this alluring wine and has some recommendations. -
I’m willing to bet that a lot of us had a Mom or Grandmom, or special aunt who liked nothing more than pulling out that big old cast iron skillet and whipping up something totally amazing. And Chef Jerry Pellegrino will confess he has had a chance to tuck into more than a few summer desserts that were cooked up in those skillets. Jerry offers these thoughts. -
Last week it was strange reds, this week it’s strange whites. Al takes a deep dive into some overlooked wine regions and their treasures. -
Going up and down the aisles at the market these days is a tad overwhelming. For instance, look at all the cucumbers. There’s a million of them available and probably not enough salads in our future to make good use of them. So Chef Jerry Pellegrino has an idea, one of his favorite techniques comes in: making pickles!
