The Chopping Block Cooking Blog

It's Dungeness Crab Season

Some of the things I miss most about living in the Bay Area are Dungeness Crab season, “Karl” the Fog and the salty air. Recreational crab season in the Bay Area starts in early November and can ...

5 Step Survival Guide for a Homecooked Thanksgiving

Nothing tests your culinary and kitchen management skills like hosting Thanksgiving dinner at home. For Americans, it is arguably the most important meal of the year and certainly has the potential ...

The Instant Pot is made for Indian Food

Anyone who knows me knows I'm kind of obsessed with my Instant Pot. There are a few foods that I will never make outside of the Instant Pot again such as hard-boiled eggs, pulled pork, lentils and ...

6 Things You Didn’t Know About Cooking Thanksgiving Dinner

Arguably the most important meal you’ll eat this year is rapidly approaching. Turkey Day. The Gobble Feast. Thanksgiving. Every year, Thanksgiving becomes a friendlier holiday to me, especially when ...

How to Make Fresh Cranberry Juice

My friend and colleague Liz Songer recently brought me the most beautiful gift of two giant bags of fresh cranberries from her annual trip to Hayward, Wisconsin. She usually takes her trip to ...

Popovers: A Fun and Delicious Alternative to Rolls

I just found out that we are hosting Thanksgiving this year, and while that can be a bit daunting, my husband Mike and I are excited for the challenge. I say challenge because our condo is quite ...

All Hands on Pie

Pie season is upon us and several months of sweets encased in flaky butter dough lie ahead. But for me, a general hater of pies (except pumpkin, banana cream and The Chopping Block's famous Apple ...

Food Comics: Butternut Squash Pie

We are pleased to introduce Food Comics from The Chopping Block where our resident Cartoonist Tom O'Brien illustrates his cooking adventures. In honor of pie season, Tom shows us how to make a ...

The Perfect Thanksgiving Wine

It's that time of year, when all the stores are decorated with winter trees and blinking lights as Bing Crosby croons through overhead speakers, that's right, Thanksgiving is coming. It's around ...

Cake Catastrophe Recovery 101

One of the first cakes I ever learned to bake was a pineapple upside-down cake. I can remember Mom explaining to me that the bottom would become the top and that sounded so magical to me! We arranged ...