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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Anyone who has watched a baking show on TV knows the bakers all come armed with an arsenal of tricks and hacks. For those of us who want to better our baking skills, it might be useful to learn something new. And Chef Jerry Pellegrino is just the guy to teach us. Here are a few ideas for better baking. -
It’s Halloween, and all over town people are putting out pumpkins. And why not? It’s the perfect season for them. Although Jack O’Lanterns don’t make for very good eating, a lot of others do. We asked Chef Jerry Pellegrino, what can we do with these amazing vegetables? -
Without doubt salt is the oldest seasoning known to man. Dating back to prehistoric times, salt has been an indispensable part of our cooking. So important has salt been that it actually was a stand-in for money. Chef Jerry Pellegrino will tell you, there is a big story here. -
I was eating at an Indian restaurant recently, enjoying some naan bread with a dollop of tabbouleh. Since the main ingredient is parsley, it occurred to me that this is one useful herb. And Chef Jerry Pellegrino will tell you, parsley shows up in a lot of things, and we’re lucky that it grows so well in Maryland. You’ll see it in every herb stand at the farmers markets. -
Of all the ways of cooking food, using water is probably the most basic. Before we had ovens and ranges, we had water and fire, and for early man, that was all it took. Chef Jerry Pellegrino can tell you, there are some tricks to cooking with water we need to know. -
This is my favorite time of the year, especially for food. The Maryland harvest is in full swing, and our markets are loaded with all kinds of great food. And as Chef Jerry Pellegrino suggests, you’d better take a big basket to market these days. -
Since most cooking is about applying heat to food, it’s sometimes beneficial to think about all the variations on that theme. Chef Jerry Pellegrino has boned up on this and can tell us what our options are when we haul out the old skillet? -
When people travel, they not only dine in fine restaurants, but they also eat a lot of what we call “street food”. A few decades ago, visitors to Mexico discovered that the beloved taco had undergone some changes. And Chef Jerry Pellegrino will tell you, it was a great decision to incorporate deep fried fish into the classic taco. -
Sometimes when I am peeling an onion, I play a little mental game: name one cuisine around the world that doesn’t depend on onions. The only one I can come up with, and I’m not certain about it, are the Innuits of the snowy north. Chef Jerry Pellegrino thinks it’s fair to say the onion is universally important. -
I haven’t been shy about chowing down on fresh Maryland corn this summer. Although I’ve been enjoying corn on the cob, I keep reminding myself that there are a lot of other ways to enjoy an ear of corn. And Chef Jerry Pellegrino agrees, if you can scrape those kernels off the cob, there’s a lot you can do.
