Al studied history in college and never lost my appetite for it. One thing that really appeals to me is the history of food and cooking. And here in Maryland we have quite a few Food Historians. And as he told Chef Jerry Pellegrino, one of my favorites is a local lady called Kara Mae Harris, who has written a wonderful book called “Old Line Plate”.

One of the tenets of cooking during the summer is to avoid using the kitchen oven for long bakes. Thus, we fire up the barbecue grill and cook outdoors. Every good cookout deserves a good dessert, and Chef Jerry Pellegrino has some ideas for desserts that require little or no baking that will tickle your palate.

Since the weather heated up, I found myself thinking back to vacations in San Juan, Puerto Rico. I became very fond of churrasco (grilled flank steak) and a side dish of black beans. Chef Jerry Pellegrino believes it’s wise to keep a few cans or a bag of dried black beans in your pantry.

If you’ve ever vacationed in Maine or down along the Gulf Coast, the chances are you’ve gone to a “Boil”, a feast of seafood and veggies all boiled in one big pot. Here in Maryland, there is no reason we can’t do the same thing, and Chef Jerry Pellegrino has figured out what it takes to do your own backyard boil.

I was watching a cooking show the other day and the chef was whipping up a pot of gumbo, that Louisiana specialty. Not only did it whet my appetite, it got me thinking, why not create one that celebrates Maryland’s traditions. And Chef Jerry Pellegrino will tell you, we have just about everything we need here.

On this, our big national holiday, we turn our attention to our backyard grills. The natural inclination is to go with hot dogs, burgers and maybe a little shrimp for the barbie. But there are so many other things that we can prepare on the grill that will really open your eyes. And as Chef Jerry Pellegrino will tell you, this is when we let our imagination run wild.

When I was a kid my mother always let me pick out what kind of cake I wanted for my birthday. From the time I was old enough to appreciate all the choices I settled on one in particular: angel food cake… with cherry frosting. We only had it once a year, but I loved it to pieces. And I told Chef Jerry Pellegrino that light spongy snow-white cake is still a favorite of mine.

As a whole-hearted supporter of local Maryland food and cooking, I not only cherish the food we grow, but I also truly honor the champions of the eat local movement. Chefs like Nancy Longo and Spike Gjerde have been promoting the regional scene for decades, but there is one fellow we would like to single out. And that would be Chef John Shields.

If you stop to think about it, we probably enjoy pasta all year long. As one of the most versatile foods in the world, you can take pasta in an endless number of directions. The trick is in the sauce and what sort of additions you throw in. And Chef JerryPellegrino will tell you; it wouldn’t be wrong to say “summertime is a great time to enjoy pasta”. Here are a few ideas Jerry came up with:

One of the stars of our Farmers Markets these days is the summer squash. Green ones, yellow ones, green and yellow ones, big ones, little ones… you get the idea. With all of this delicious produce at hand we thought we’d share a few ideas for fixing it at home. And Chef Jerry Pellegrino, the summer squash is nothing if not versatile.