Radio Kitchen

November 3, 2014 - Radio Kitchen - Liberty Delight Farm

As I prowl up and down the aisles of my favorite markets, I start to cook up ideas for the week's coming dinners.  In this season of squash and beets and cabbage, I keep turning to pork as my protein of choice.  One of my all-time favorite meat guys paid a visit to Radio Kitchen:  Shane Hughes of Liberty Delight Farms.

With Halloween coming up, it's a good and responsible idea to see if you can't tempt your kids with some nice home-made treats that may be a little more healthy than some of the store-bought sweets they crave.  And Chef Jerry Pellegrino of Schola Cooking School has come up with a list of ideas for treats that will delight your kids.

October 20, 2015 - Radio Kitchen - Autumn Spices for Autumn Food

I would say that Autumn is in full swing right now, and this is a great time to be planning your meals based on what you find at the market.  Part of the fun of shopping is having plans for all the food you bring home, and part of planning a dish is knowing how to properly season it.  And as Chef Jerry Pellegrino of Schola Cooking School says, there seems to be an entire family of spices that seem custom made for the fall.  Here is a list of these marvelous spices and the foods and other spices they work well with.   Many of these spices are not in themselves sweet, but they work very well with sugars.

October 13, 2015 - Radio Kitchen - An Autumn Menu

As anyone who has visited a farmers market these last few weeks can see, it's Cornucopia Time.  I've been strolling through the farm stands, taking notes, filling my shopping bag, and going home to look up ideas in my library of cookbooks.  And as Chef Jerry Pellegrino of Schola Cooking School points out, it's child's play to come up with a nice menu for dinner these days.

October 6, 2015 - Radio Kitchen -Tomato Canning and Sauce Making

As Radio Kitchen begins its 14th year, we are pleased to announce that we are going to keep on doin' what we've been doin', and that is talking about the rich bounty of Maryland farms... and how to use it.  So let's start by giving our listeners some tips on how to capture the goodness of all those gorgeous tomatoes out there.

September 29, 2015 - Radio Kitchen - DIY Pickles

Summer officially ended last week, and although our local farms are going to be in production for quite some time, it's not too soon to start thinking about what to do with all of that produce.  And Chef Jerry Pellegrino of Schola Cooking School, as I was strolling around the market last weekend, I noticed a guy who was selling pickles.  It got me thinking.

September 22, 2015 - Radio Kitchen - Apples

There used to be a sweet little tradition in these parts:  if you wanted to get in good with your school teacher, your gave her an apple every day.  Nice idea, but if the poor teacher comes to work every day and finds a plain old Red Delicious apple on here desk, she might get a little cranky.  As Chef Jerry Pellegrino of Schola Cooking School has observed, the enterprising elementary school kid can do a lot better than that these days.  Here are some locally produced apples that have caught Jerry's eye.

September 15, 2015 - Radio Kitchen - This Book Cooks

We have a strong heritage of cooking here in Chesapeake Bay country, and I like nothing more than seeing a new cook book come along that brings all of our traditions and all of our locally grown food into one volume.  And as Chef Jerry Pellegrino of Schola Cooking School knows, that's exactly what our guest today has done.

September 8, 2015 - Radio Kitchen - Buy for Thai

One of the best aspects of the Maryland market basket is that it can support not only our indigenous cuisine, it can support cooking traditions from around the world.  And Chef Jerry Pellegrino of Schola Cooking School knows, peppers do amazingly well here in Maryland, and that suggests something:  Thai cooking.

September 1, 2015 - Radio Kitchen - Melons

It's hard to imagine a Maryland summer without melons.  This state, especially the Eastern Shore, is perfect for growing them.  We're all used to the wonderful cantaloupes and watermelons, but there are a whole lot more available now that you may not have tried.  And Chef Jerry Pellegrino of Schola Cooking School can testify the folks out there are in for a tasty treat.

August 25, 2015 - Radio Kitchen - Al's Market Report

If you love local produce, this is the Happy Season.  You'll never see greater abundance as you'll see now, and every year our Maryland farmers are working hard to bring exciting new food to the market.  Here's an idea of what's out there that will give you a fun day at the market.

August 18, 2015 - Radio Kitchen - Onions in All Their Variety

Of all the varieties of produce that are grown in Maryland, one of them happens to be ubiquitous world-wide.  And that's the onion.  I've tried and tried, but I can't think of any cuisine anywhere that doesn't rely on this most savory of vegetables.  And as Chef Jerry Pellegrino of Schola Cooking School agrees, there seems to be a special onion for every conceivable use.

August 11, 2015 - Radio Kitchen - Timpano

In 1996, a movie came out that captured my imagination.  "The Big Night" told the story of two young Italian brothers who wanted to make their little New York restaurant a temple to classic Italian cooking.  To promote their cuisine, they plan for a special dinner featuring a special dish:  the timpano.  And as Chef Jerry Pellegrino of Schola Cooking School can bear witness that yours truly figured out how to tackle this wonderful dish.

August 4, 2015 - Radio Kitchen - Corn Season

In case you haven't noticed, we'd better point out that Maryland sweet corn is in the market in a very big way.  Keeping in mind that whatever kind of weather we get during a summer, it's always good for at least some kind of crop... this has been a great year for corn.  It just doesn't get any better than this for corn lovers. Here are some of Jerry's thoughts on corn, plus recipes for flavored butters that will add to your pleasure.

July 28, 2015 - Radio Kitchen - Stuffed Peppers Rioja Style

It always happens:  I go on a trip and I try a wonderful dish and I want to recreate it at home.  In this case I was in Spain, in a lovely restaurant in Salamanca where they served us a dish of red peppers stuffed with shredded beef, smothered in a tangy pepper and tomato sauce.  The menu translated the name of the dish as Stuffed Peppers Rioja Style.

July 21, 2015 - Radio Kitchen - Maryland Peaches
    
I'm not quite sure why it is, but I don't think Maryland gets enough credit for its peaches.  This is high season for this wonderfully sweet and versatile fruit.  My favorite farmers, like Dave Hocheimer of Black Rock Orchards, are bringing their peaches to the market by the ton.  And as Chef Jerry Pellegrino of Schola Cooking School can attest, there's a lot to like when it comes to peaches.

July 14, 2015 - Radio Kitchen - Churrasco and Chesapeake Chimichuri

One of the things that I like most about Maryland-grown food is the number of different culinary traditions it supports.  Inspired by a recent trip to Puerto Rico, I went shopping for the ingredients for a well-known Latino specialty, Churrasco.  And Chef Jerry Pellegrino was the beneficiary of my cooking.

July 7, 2015 - Radio Kitchen - Blueberries

One of my favorite fruits is showing up in the market these days.  Those wonderful little blueberries are here, and that puts a smile on my face. A lot of Maryland farms have pick-your-own programs that translate into a wonderful family day in the country.  And one of the first things we come to realize is that there is an enormous number of varieties.  Whichever you discover, the opportunities for delightful summer dishes are the same.

Here's some recipes Jerry came up with.

June 30, 2015 - Radio Kitchen - All those Potatoes

Strolling around the Farmers Market the other day, I was taken by the surprising variety of potatoes available.  It seems there is some sort of heirloom action going on in Spudsville, and that's really good news.  There's nothing like jazzing up and old standby.  Here are some of the potatoes you're going to find.

June 23, 2015 - Radio Kitchen - Cucumbers  

One food that we are finding in abundance these days is one of the most modest:  the cucumber.  The flavor of a cucumber is so mild that it could stand duty as a metaphor for a quiet, unobtrusive demeanor.  But as is so often the case, the simple little ingredients of life serve as an essential backdrop for the more
flashy components of a dish.  Here are a few ideas that will make use of our Maryland cucumbers.

June 16, 2015 - Radio Kitchen - Grilling for Father's Day

One of the most enduring images of American suburban life (Al's background, as it happens) is the Dad of the Family holding court grillside in the backyard.  And for many of us,  there is something near perfect about a fiery grill, a set of tongs, a big hunk of meat and a gaggle of hungry people. So this Father's Day, we thought we'd toss out few ideas for the grill.

June 9, 2015 - Radio Kitchen - Strawberry and Rhubarb

This is high season for one of the odder couples in the food universe:  strawberries and rhubarb.  OK, we get the strawberries, but rhubarb is a different matter.  But according to Chef Jerry Pellegrino of Waterfront Kitchen, in many ways this is a marriage made in heaven.

June 2, 2015 - Radio Kitchen - Dressings for Spring Salads with Liz Nuttle

These days, if you can't go out and find the makings for a summer salad, you may not have a pulse.  This is high season for delicious locally grown produce to show up in the markets.  And as Chef Jerry Pellegrino of Waterfront Kitchen would admit, the fixings are only half of the salad.  We need the dressing too.

So we asked Liz Nuttle, owner of EN Olivier, to swing by with some salad dressing advice.  EN Olivier is one of our favorite stores, with lots of great super premium olive oils and balsamic vinegars, and other gourmet items.    

 May 26,2015 - Radio Kitchen - Spring Mushrooms

During the first few weeks of spring, fresh Maryland produce seems to spring up like, well, mushrooms.  In fact this is a great time of the year to go shopping for your favorite fungi.  And we know that cooks all over town are pretty excited about these new arrivals.  What we are finding now are the portobello, criminis, white button, shiitake, and the queen of them all, the woodsy morel.

May 19, 2015 - Radio Kitchen - Fish from the Bay

Shopping this time of year for fresh Maryland produce is a pleasure.  Spring brings us broccoli, cabbage, asparagus and tons of herbs and greens. A lot of us are thinking light, and finding a suitable protein for the plate couldn't be easier.  So while we are composing brilliant variations on the theme of spring vegetables, we can dip into the Bay for suitable partners.

May 12, 2015 - Radio Kitchen - Berry Tarts  

For fruit lovers, spring, in all its fullness, is a fabulous time to go shopping.  One of the real treats of the season are the berries that are quietly rolling into the market.  And as Chef Jerry Pellegrino of Waterfront Kitchen attests, there are lots of ways to enjoy fresh berries, and one of the best is to feature them in tarts or pies.    

May 5, 2015 - Radio Kitchen - Big City Farms

As supporters of the "buy local movement" have gotten to know the local farmers who grow their food, a curious phenomenon has emerged.  Not all farmers work on farms.  At least classic farms, as we think of them.  One operation that Chef Jerry Pellegrino has know for many years is a great example of "urban farming."

April 28, 2015 - Radio Kitchen - Baby Beets  

Maryland farmers are turning out some of their best produce at this time of year, when the emphasis seems to be on young and tender.  It's when we see a lot of the "baby" versions of our food, and one of the more interesting is the baby beet.

April 21, 2015 - Radio Kitchen - Spring Onions

While prowling through the market last weekend, I noticed that there were a lot of wonderful vegetables available that play important supporting roles in our meals.  In fact, the whole family of spring onions offers enterprising cooks a lot to work with.

April 14, 2015 - Radio Kitchen - What to Plant This Year

April brings us the bad news of tax season, and the good news of the return of gardens and farm fields.  Our friends, the Maryland farmers, have spent the winter poring over their seed catalogs, planning on how to best please their customers this year.  And of course, it's not too late for amateurs like us to do the same, and that's exactly what Chef Jerry Pellegrino of Waterfront Kitchen has been doing.