Al Spoler

Although the best Riesling may grow in Germany, other regions are having great success with the ultra-classy varietal. Click the links below to purchase Al and Hugh's recommendations at Kenilworth Wine & Spirits.

There's an old saying that if they give you a lemon, make lemonade.  It seems to me you can say the same about the invasive Blue Catfish, a scourge of the Chesapeake Bay. And Chef Jerry Pellegrino will tell you, if there is one thing we've learned about this fish, it's that it is very tasty to eat.  So in this case revenge can be served piping hot.

To stir up interest in luring the Blue Catfish to our dinner plates, the folks at Maryland's Best Seafood are holding a contest to find the best recipe.  But before you start experimenting, here's a little basic knowledge.

It's a perfect wine for the season and Al and Hugh have their recommendations for some delicious Pinot Noirs for under $25.00.  Click the links below to purchase Al and Hugh's recommendations at Kenilworth Wine & Spirits.

As our region's markets slowly wake up this spring, we begin to encounter all sorts of tempting food. With items like fresh baby spinach sharing space with the last of winter's butternut squash our minds start conjuring up recipe ideas. One of the best ways to make use of fresh Maryland produce is to become adept at making ravioli. Chef Jerry Pellegrino of Schola Cooking School points out, it's no exaggeration to say the possibilities are endless.

Here's some tips about making ravioli.

Al and Hugh give their picks for some notable chablis. 

At long last the moment is at hand, the culinary equivalent of baseball's Opening Day.  This coming weekend will mark the return of the Baltimore Farmers Market under the old JFX.  And for Chef Jerry Pellegrino of Schola Cooking School, this means that his cooking classes will have a lot of great local food to work with.

Maryland's farms are just about ready to start cranking out good fresh food this spring, and very quickly we're going to be washed away in a food avalanche. Since we can't possibly eat everything we'd like to buy, we have to have a plan B. There's no better expert than Chef JP of Schola Cooking School, and he says it's never to early to start thinking about preserving the bounty.

Al and Hugh discuss an assortment of interesting wines that you'll want to pick up this season. 

Spring is the season of eggs, themselves symbols of renewal.  It's also a great time for casual Sunday morning brunches. Al suggested and Chef Jerry Pellegrino of Schola Cooking School agreed, there are certainly more than a few million egg recipes that would do well for an informal little brunch.  And for best results, you'll want to use fresh Maryland eggs.

Al and Hugh give a rundown of some of the best Maryland wines.

With St. Patrick's Day looming large more than a handful of people are contemplating beer and how to best use it.  Now if I were making a list of things to do with beer, numbers 1 through 9 would be to drink it.  But slot #10 would actually be how to cook with it.  And as Chef Jerry Pellegriono of Schola Cooking Schol notes, we use various liquids in millions of recipes, why not use beer?

Off the top of his head, Jerry came up with four great uses for beer in cooking:beer batters, especially tempura, which takes advantage of beer's carbonation; braising liquids which utilize beer's natural acidity; in stew and chili recipes, which like the richness of a darker beer; and in baking where you can take advantage of some of the exotic flavors that are found in today's beer.

Al and Hugh give some picks for light and bright wines to have on your table this spring.

The first spinach, which often has been exposed to cold crisp air, is often the sweetest.  Besides its marvelous flavor, spinach is, as Popeye averred, really healthy for you.  It's a great nutrient delivery vehicle, and the only caveat we can offer is not to over-cook it. Al and Chef Jerry Pellegrino give two spinach recipes that'll keep you feeling strong and satisfied!

Al and Hugh give their picks for some French reds you can trust. 

If any of us are competent home cooks, it's because we have accumulated hundreds and hundreds of small little lessons on how to do it right. And if you spend as much time talking cooking with Chef Jerry Pellegrino of Schola Cooking School as Jerry do, you will pick up a think or two. Here are just a few of hundreds of tips Jerry has complied.

This is the season of the root vegetable, the heartiest and most die-hard of Maryland produce, the food that just keeps on giving. And Chef Jerry Pellegrino of Schola Cooking School will tell you, perhaps one of the best ways to enjoy winter root vegetables is in a root vegetable soup.

Al and Hugh recommend some Ogier wines from the complex Rhone Valley. 

Having been in Spain last Spring, Al came back with all sorts of ideas about serving tapas to his friends when they came over.  One might think tapas are warm weather concepts to, but it ain't necessarily so. There are cold winters in Spain, but that doesn't mean the tapas hibernate. 

Al and Hugh discuss some interesting Grenache wines from France. 

Chef Jerry Pellegrino of Schola Cooking School and I invited a long-time friend of the show, Liz Nuttle to come on and tell us how the creative application of oils and vinegars can make a huge difference.

Say oil and most people think olive oil, especially the authentic extra virgin kind.  But most oils come not from fruit (which the olive is) but from nuts and seeds.  Some of the most popular include our favorite, roasted sesame seed oil, almond oil, hazelnut oil, sunflower oil, grape seed oil, macadamia nut oil, peanut oil, pumpkin seed oil, soybean oil, flaxseed oil, and walnut oil.

Al and Hugh give their picks for Spanish Garnachas, a red grape variety. 

I sometimes wonder if the concept of long, slow cooking didn't develop in the bleak mid-winter.  There's something about filling your home, hour after hour, with the aromas of something tasty bubbling away in a kettle. One such dish that I try to make at least once a winter is goulash, that soul satisfying stew of slowly cooked beef and onions...and of course a bowl full of spices. And Chef Jerry Pellegrino of Schola Cooking School can vouch for this, it should come as no surprise that goulash comes in about a million different versions, as is typical of most simple, irresistible dishes.

During these cold, dark weeks I like to pass the time cozying up with some of my old cookbooks.  One book I return to time and again is called "Scheherazade's Feast" by Habeeb Salloum.  The book finds inspiration in the cuisine of the medieval Arab world, including the region of Morocco. The recipes are adapted for the modern kitchen, and as Chef Jerry Pellegrino of Schola Cooking School can attest, Moroccan cooking is outright fabulous. And to boot, it pairs up extremely well with locally produced Maryland meats, seafood and vegetables.

Hugh and Al give us the lowdown on a new value wine distributed by the well-known Pacific Northwest winemaker David "Merf" Merfeld.

One type of fortified wine that has fallen off the radar is Madeira. Al and Hugh tell us more about the wine and give their picks. 

A few weeks ago we offered our listeners a long list of handy holiday gifts for home cooks.  One of our suggestions was the new sous vide systems that use a submersible wand to handle the temperature control side of things.  So guess what?  I ended up getting one for Christmas, and I've already used it a couple times.  With Chef Jerry Pellegrino of Schola Cooking School at my side with advice, I am confident that I will master this technique.

A little heavier and a little higher in alcohol content, these are the beers you want to warm up with this winter.

How are those New Year's Resolutions going? I wonder how many of our promises involve food? Lose weight, cut down on this and that, eat fewer snacks. Maintaining a healthy diet is a fantastic way to contribute to your health, and Chef Jerry Pellegrino has noticed, once a new approach to eating sets into your lifestyle, it becomes a habit and pretty easy to stick to.

This year we are going to concentrate on minimizing fats. One great technique is to cook "en papillote", i.e. cooking in parchment paper. Kitchen grade parchment paper is pretty easy to find in quality grocery stores.

Al and Hugh revisit wines they tasted in 2017 that deserve a mention. 

The first few weeks of the New Year are a perfect time for dining with friends. To make your dinners a little more festive you can dress up your desserts by whipping up a few creative tarts and pies. Chef Jerry Pellegrino has some great ideas.