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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Cooking is filled with all sorts of little tricks and hacks that can give you a better finished product. One of the most useful, but perhaps trickiest to master is using gelatin. So, we asked Chef Jerry Pellegrino, what are some of the most important things to know about cooking with gelatin? -
There always seems to be a lot of dinner parties and get-togethers in the winter months. People like to sit around munching on appetizers before dinner, and usually one of the most popular is a pâté of some kind. Chef Jerry Pellegrino will tell you, as good as they are, they are something we can have fun making at home for ourselves. -
For those of us who love a good steak, our list of go-to cuts is pretty short: New York strip, rib-eye, and sirloin rule the roost. But Chef Jerry Pellegrino would encourage folks to try out a few of the less well-known cuts. Al has embraced them and has been happy to widen his repertoire. -
This time of year, it’s easy to get stuck in a rut with heavy stews, thick soups, and ponderous roasts. Much to the chagrin of many, salads seem to take a back seat, mainly because folks associate salad fixings with warmer times. But Chef Jerry Pellegrino reminds us that opportunities abound for winter salads. -
The world of food is often a world of fads, some of which actually stick around for quite some time One of the best and most welcome developments is the rise of Korean Barbecue, and Asian take on an All-American tradition. Chef Jerry Pellegrino, a fan of Korean Barbecue, wants to get the word out. -
Years ago, a group of boastful friends who lived in Federal Hill decided to put their culinary talents to the test. The task set down for them was to produce the best Cassoulet ever seen in Baltimore. And both Chef Jerry Pellegrino and I were there to witness the outcome. -
Even though we are in the dead of winter, most of Maryland’s orchard farmers still have fruit from last season on hand. That’s why we can still see a lot of apples in the market as well as a few pears. We’re always on the lookout for new ideas for preparing local food, and Chef Jerry Pellegrino has a great idea to share with us. -
Dyed in the wool Marylanders don’t need to be told that these chilly winter months are prime time for our great specialty, Chesapeake Bay oysters. I happen to love them shucked right out of the shell, but being clever cooks, generations of Marylanders have conjured up dozens of outstanding recipes. Chef Jerry Pellegrino has uncovered a few of the most tempting oyster dishes from the Old-Line State. And it’s amazing that back in colonial times they used to pull out oysters as big as your shoe, and no one went hungry. -
All of Maryland’s meat producers have clever ways of using the meaty bits that don’t make it into a prime cut. Chances are our beef, pork and turkey producers channel a lot of those random scraps into the grinder. Aside from hamburgers and meat loaf, there are some other interesting things to do with ground meat; and Chef Jerry Pellegrino, you are going to instruct us in making super deluxe meatballs. -
We’ve been talking about big festive winter dinners, and although some sort of roast is likely to take center stage, we can also whip up so pretty impressive side dishes. And Chef Jerry Pellegrino likes to take a simple ingredient like our Maryland potato and dress it up a bit.
