Jerry Pellegrino
Host, Radio KitchenExecutive Chef Jerry Pellegrino of Corks restaurant is fascinated by food and wine, and the way they work in harmony on the palate. His understanding of the two goes all the way to the molecular level, drawing on his advanced education in molecular biology. His cuisine is simple and surprising, pairing unexpected ingredients together to work with Corks' extensive wine offerings.
His restaurant is set in a quaint 1849 rowhouse in Baltimore's Historic Federal Hill and he has transformed it into what Baltimore Magazine called "a miniature utopia for wine lovers". But wine is just half of the equation. Corks is a restaurant where diners can be swept up in Chef Pellegrino's passion for food and wine and discover the distinctiveness of ingredients and the way they work together.
Chef Pellegrino is a member of the local board for the American Institute of Wine and Food, Vice Chancellor Culinare of the Baltimore Bailliage of the Chaine des Rotisseurs, certified by the Court of Master Sommeliers and often featured in cooking segments on local television. Under his guidance, Corks has been named one of Baltimore's top 65 restaurants every year since opening in 1997 and has been given "The Wine Spectator" award of excellence.
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The Ravens sketchy start to the season notwithstanding, I’m really glad football is back in town. One of the best parts of our football traditions is the Tailgate Party and all the tasty things we get to gobble down. And Chef JP well knows, high on the list of Tailgate standouts are sausages fired up on the grill.
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Ahhh.Feel that chill in the air?Remember how blazing hot it was just a few weeks ago?Autumn is here and we’re all feeling refreshed and invigorated and ready for a change of pace.I recommend that perhaps you should go rummaging through the basement and dig out that relic from long ago, the fondue pot, because the time has come for a little bubbling cheese and a cold glass of wine.
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When I go shopping at the farmers market I almost always drawn to the stands that have the eggplants, because these days they come in such an amazing range of colors and shapes. And Chef Jerry Pellegrino told me, it used to be that people shied away from cooking eggplant, but we seem to be making some progress on that front.
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If we’re talking “entry level” proteins, it’s hard to get more basic than ground beef. It’s one of those products that exists as an after-thought; it’s what you get after all the other good stuff has been cut up and packaged. But Chef Jerry Pellegrino will tell you, ground beef is still a worthy subject for discussion because it is so versatile.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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!
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I’m in heaven these days because we are swimming in fresh picked corn. I tend to really load up on corn on the cob during those summer months when we can get it. But Chef Jerry Pellegrino will tell you, corn on the cob is just the start… there’s so much more you can do with fresh Maryland corn. And Chef Jerry Pellegrino offers a primer on using summer corn.