The Chopping Block Cooking Blog

How to Make Ghee

Before we get into making ghee, let's discuss what it is, what it is not and why we use it. I want to start by saying what ghee is not, which is clarified butter. Ghee is made using different a few ...

How to Make your Own Ground Ginger

If you have read any of my past blogs you may know I am from a little town in Iowa, Fort Dodge to be exact. Growing up in a rural area, in a small Midwestern town in the 70’s, I had little exposure ...

How to Make Jam without Pectin

I love to make jam; I’m sure in part because I used to watch my mom make it as a kid. Thinking about Mom in the kitchen brings back such fond memories. We primarily grew our own food when I was ...

How to Cook a Steak Accurately

Cooking a steak is one of the most basic skills a cook can learn, and yet it is one that eludes even the best of cooks. Don’t feel bad if you haven’t mastered the art of steak cookery. How many ...

Around the World in 80 Eggs

Eggs are one of the most versatile ingredients in the culinary world. There are by far over 80 thousand ways to prepare and use them. From breakfast, lunch and dinner to dessert they can be eaten in ...

Grilled Artichokes with Garlic Aioli

Being from a little town in Iowa, I had no exposure to whole fresh artichokes growing up. I had never seen one, never eaten one and certainly never cooked one. I had tasted jarred and canned ...

Duck Egg Tagliatelle with Morel Mushrooms and Asparagus

Those of you that follow my blogs regularly know I love to forage for mushrooms. I have to write at least one blog a year on how to forage, clean and cook wild mushrooms. If you want to learn more ...

A Perfect French Omelette to Amaze Your Friends

There are few dishes as shrouded in mystique as the venerated French omelette. Egg cookery in general but especially the ability to make a French omelette has been used as a metric to determine a ...

10 Tips for Sauce Making Part 3: Tomato Sauce

In part 3 of this series, we will focus on the third Mother Sauce: tomato sauce. Tomato sauce is one of the Mother Sauces that many people actually do make at home, and it's also one of the few ...

One Cut of Beef makes a Week's Worth of Meals

I like to think I am a pretty savvy grocery shopper. There are two ways to become one.

Smoke and the City

Food and fire. It’s primal; it’s a dance; it’s carbons bursting to life! It’s a skill. Taming live fire and manipulating it in such a way that the food you’ve placed on top of, beneath, or beside ...

You Don’t Have to Go to Nashville to Get this Hot Chicken

As a chef I try to keep myself informed of the current food trends. Kombucha, oat milk, Japanese fusion and the plant-based “meat” movement are just a few of the things that have been blowing up ...

From White to Black: Breaking Down Roux

As the world of soups and sauces is ever so extensive, time has created a million variations and preferential changes to everything anyone may consider correct. Flavors will be ever changing as it ...

Use Those Leek Tops

Do you love leeks? I sure do. Subtle in flavor, melty in texture when cooked, a bit crunchy as a raw garnish, they’re one of my favorite vegetables. When a recipe calls for leeks, it usually ...

A New Way to Cook Bacon

If you read my blogs, you know how much I love researching recipes online. Therefore, my inbox is flooded daily with recipes, food hacks and stories of anything food-related. One of my favorite ...

How to Properly Heat your Pan so Food Won't Stick

Let me tell you a story that may sound familiar. There was once a man who cooked a boneless skinless chicken breast. He put his skillet on the stove and turned the heat on. He added some oil and ...

There’s No Bone Broth In This Chicken Soup

I am currently watching football, snow has recently fallen, and I am cuddled up on the couch with my fiancé. This is it. This is what I’ve been waiting for - soup weather! When it’s 60 degrees ...

Reach New Heights with France’s Most Famous Omelette

I love eggs. I eat them on the daily in simple scrambles, fancy poaches and omelettes... lots and lots of omelettes. Eggs are such a basic pleasure that it’s a shame we limit them to breakfast here ...

This Class is Going to Be Egg-cellent

During the past year at The Chopping Block, I have taught a lot of cooking classes. One thing that I can always count on is students asking questions, which I love. And if I don’t know the answer, ...

10 Tips for Making Sauces Part 2: Espagnole

In this series, we are exploring the classic French Sauces known as the “Mother Sauces:” Velouté, Bechamel, Espagnole, Hollandaise and Tomato. These base sauces are truly the fundamental sauces in ...