Spring is officially here, and all sorts of little green things are poking their heads up through the soil. Among the daffodils and crocus are the tender little tops of herbs that are making an early arrival.

With our long-awaited Springtime finally at hand, it’s a good time to mentally shift gears and begin to cook a little differently. Various foods that we haven’t had access to all winter long are now available, and Chef Jerry Pellegrino will tell you that spinach is leading the parade.

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.