Have sun beams started to pierce through your kitchen windows? That’s Mother Nature telling you spring is here and it’s time to bring some freshness into your kitchen. COOK has started to see green with all the seasonal vegetables becoming available to chefs. I’ve compiled a list of the best tips and advice that I’ve seen and heard from chefs that have come through our space for you to use this springtime! Read on to add these spring cooking tips into your diet.

Tip #1 Ramp Up Your Grill

Recently at COOK we had a private event with a menu by Scott Megill, resident chef at Grace Winery in Glen Mills, PA. Scott likes to use fresh, local ingredients as much as possible when cooking. With spring starting (even if it doesn’t feel like it) Scott decided to make use of a seasonal vegetable loved by many chefs – ramps. Essentially a species of wild onion, ramps are found in early spring and highly sought after by chefs due to their limited growing window, approximately late April to early June. Ramps have a strong garlic and onion flavor and can be cooked in a number of ways. Scott kept it simple and prepared them his favorite way, grilled with a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper. The grilled garlicky spring vegetable was a bright addition of pungent green to Scott’s pork chop and farro dish.

Tip #2 Eating Healthy Isn’t Chard

Cameron Stauch author of the book Vegetarian Viet Nam visited COOK to give guests a taste of his cookbook as well as his actual cooking. This class was a perfect spring preview as Cameron has a wealth of vegetarian cooking knowledge and experience – he’s even cooked with nuns and monks in Vietnam! Cameron made a duo of leafy green rolls that would compete with any spring roll. If you are looking for an alternative wrapper that will help you both cut calories and increase your vegetable intake, look no further. To make the leafy rolls Cameron blanched his dinosaur kale and rainbow chard for 10-30 seconds and then transferred them to an ice bath. He then trimmed the vein of his piece of rainbow chard, which he recommends to be 7-8 inches in order to hold your fillings. Then simply add your fillings, roll the leaf, tuck in the sides and finish rolling.

Tip #3 You Scream, I Scream, We All Scream For Ice Cream

Was it just me or did you also hear the cheerful tune from the ice cream truck driving around your neighborhood last week? While I am always in the mood for some ice cream, the hotter weather makes the delicious treat that much more compelling. Extremely talented pastry chef and ice cream mad scientist Aurora Wold of Aurora Grace Chocolates filled up COOK guests with four courses of ice cream and sorbet during her “Ice Cream for Dinner” class. Her mint chocolate chunk ice cream was a huge hit, using steeped fresh mint tea and homemade chunks of chocolate. After making the mint tea, Aurora covered the pot with plastic wrap for an airtight seal so that the mint wouldn’t oxidize and therefore become bitter. Her tip for making the chocolate chunks melt in your mouth was to break up a chocolate bar and gently melt it with some neutral oil (such as canola). This will prevent the chocolate from getting too hard and crunchy when the ice cream is frozen.

Tip #4 Say Aloha to Spring!

Beach season is on the horizon, and while this tip may not be the healthiest for you, it sure is delicious. Kiki Aranita and Chris Vacca of Poi Dog brought in warm vibes and the feeling of summer with their Hawaiian and Filipino inspired dinner. For the main course Chris shared an important tip with COOK guests regarding how he prepared the Filipino pork belly adobo. Before searing the pork belly on both sides, Chris shallowly cut into the fat layer to create a crosshatch pattern of about 1 inch squares. This pattern allows for the fats to render out of the belly, naturally basting the meat. Although Chris then went on to braise the meat in an oven for hours, you could throw the crosshatched pork belly on the grill and it will cause the skin to crisp up and create that wonderful crackling texture. I caught up with Kiki after class and got her to share the simple Filipino adobo recipe with me: garlic, vinegar, black peppercorns, bay leaf and shoyu.

Tip #5 Gills and Grills

Before serving up those burgers, consider a healthier alternative, fish! Michael Vincent Ferreri of Res Ipsa put on an Italian fish feast at COOK this past week. He told guests his favorite, and in his opinion the best, way to cook seafood was on the grill. He stressed the importance of buying fresh fish and said to look for firm flesh with an ocean smell. By grilling the seafood you maintain the freshness of the fish. Michael likes to grill swordfish fillets particularly because they are a meaty cut and hold up especially well on the grill top. When grilling your fish, don’t move them around too much on the grill grate. Allow them to cook on each side long enough to achieve the grill marks. Not only will they be more visually pleasing, but they will also develop a bit of a crust, providing a great textural contrast to the fish’s soft interior.

Happy spring everyone!