Radio Kitchen

Spring tastes like carrots, rhubarbs and asparagus.

Here are some tips for navigating the many, many varieties of lettuce you may find at the grocery store or farmers' market.

A look at a classic French technique for cooking fish in a parchment paper pouch.

Poultry is very big business in Maryland, with huge industrial scale chicken houses covering the Eastern Shore. Poultry raising on that scale is a tad bit impersonal to say the least. At the other end of the scale—way on the other end—is the backyard hen house, an operation where the chicks are practically pets. And Chef Jerry Pellegrino, has looked into this idea.

Over the years I've tried to incorporate more and more seafood into my diet, and despite not being very adept at cooking fish, I do try. What often saves the dish is the sauce that I whip up...something I'm a little better at. And as I joked with Chef Jerry Pellegrino, what's sauce for the goose isn't necessarily sauce for the grouper.

I have to admit that the warmer weather and the abundance of fresh food at the market have given me quite an appetite. Lucky for me there is a dish that not only incorporates all that is good about spring, it actually incorporates the word itself. Chef Jerry Pellegrino is proud to say, it's a gift the Italian language has given to the world: primavera. But in point of fact, it's a dish that doesn't even exist in Italy.

One of my favorite vegetables is tremendously useful, totally tasty, and sadly overlooked. In a professional kitchen it is a ubiquitous standby, and it shows up everywhere, often without you knowing about it. And Chef Jerry Pellegrino will tell you, he wouldn't want to live without the humble little shallot.

It's time to sit back and enjoy fresh, crisp white wines that seem to hold springtime in a glass.

There are many emblems of spring: crocus, daffodils, Easter bunnies and chocolate eggs. But for foodies all over town the true first sign of spring is the asparagus.

You don't have to look too closely to see smiles on the faces of Maryland farmers. A visit to your favorite farmers market will show you all you need to know: table after table of fresh produce and protein. We've had a nice spring with just enough warmth and a fair amount of rain, so, Chef Jerry Pellegrino says, it's a great time for Marylanders to go shopping.