The Chopping Block Cooking & Wine Blog

Very Good Masa Harina, and a Simple Tortilla Technique

Hey folks, have you ever tasted the difference between a typical grocery store corn tortilla, and one made fresh in your kitchen? If you live in Chicago then maybe you haven’t, because why would ...

Get to Know Your Spring Fruits and Veggies

It is officially Spring! Farmers markets are reopening and grocery stores are stocking our favorite fresh spring fruits and vegetables. The hot weather has arrived, and we can take this opportunity ...

Cold Pressed Juice - Is it Worth It?

I recently started cold press juicing and with all the wonderful benefits I have experienced, I thought I would share why I think it is worth the hype.

How to Build your own Recipes

Once you’ve honed a few keys techniques and have had success executing some delicious or more elaborate recipes at home, it’s time you start building some of your own tasty creations! This is how ...

A Catalog of Worthwhile Food Establishments in NYC

Living in upstate New York has many benefits, but a rollicking and vibrant food scene is definitely not among them. No matter where in upstate you might reside, I can pretty much guarantee your ...

A Simply Delicious Lesson in Tarts

Tarts are one of the most versatile and delightful desserts you can make at home. They are easy to prepare, elegant to serve, and can be filled with almost anything you like. But do you know where ...

Enjoy the World's Best Rosè

Check out this fun video depicting world-wide wine consumption:

Frozen Assets: Proper Freezer Usage

As someone who loves to cook, I also love to freeze food. Even typing that sentence seems like an odd thing to write but there is a pleasure in finding a special ingredient or making a favorite ...

Trees: Not Just for Fruit Anymore

The spring is a unique time of year for gathering edible goodies from the landscape. While there may not be as much growing as in the height of summer, there are a great many wild plants that only ...

How to Use Harissa or How Can You Not Use Harissa?

I've had a hankering for harissa lately. The spicy and aromatic chile paste that is widely used in Middle Eastern and North African cooking adds a kick of spice to any meal, from soups and stews to ...

Crostini from the Grill

As Chicago's Spring seems to be redefined as alternating bursts of frost and scorch, I’m trying to take advantage of the occasional gorgeous night. This means grilling. Last Tuesday, I hit up the ...

Treat Mom to an Elegant Brunch this Mother’s Day

Did you forget to make brunch reservations this Mother’s Day? Don’t worry, because you’re going to learn how to make an impressive restaurant-quality brunch that will have the special mom in your ...

Sautéing 101

I was recently interviewed for a Mashed.com article discussing the most common mistakes home cooks make when sautéing and it got me thinking of all of the techniques we teach at The Chopping Block, ...

4 Ways to Turn a Can of Beans into Dinner

If you’ve spoken to me at all, ever, in the entire course of my adult life, you know that I feel a deep, passionate love for beans. I always tell my husband that if there's a can of beans in the ...

Asparagus Every Which Way but Steamed, Roasted or Grilled

It is that time of year again: asparagus season! Perhaps this time of year has lost some of its luster, some of its connection with the long-awaited Spring in the Midwest, since we can get ...

Place Your Bets on Derby Day Hot Browns

The Greatest Two Minutes in Sports is coming up this Saturday, May 6th! It’s the Kentucky Derby – an annual horse race held in Louisville, Kentucky at historic Churchill Downs. While I’ve never been ...

Taco Tuesday Vegetarian Style

Incorporating more vegetarian meals into my rotation is something I always try to do, especially as we enter Chicago’s warmer season. I won’t lie, getting all of my servings of vegetables in hasn’t ...

Dessert for One Please

I always want something sweet after dinner to complete my meal and to satisfy my sweet tooth. There are many times that there is no dessert in the house to get me that sweet satisfaction. But I ...

Butchering Beef for Fun and Profit

As you may have noticed, meat prices seem to be getting higher and higher. Every time I go to the grocery store now it seems like it becomes less and less feasible to buy meat (commodity beef shank ...

Beans in the Raw

A popular question that I get from many home cooks is whether or not it's worth it to take the time to soak and prepare beans from raw instead of just using canned beans. Canned beans are a ...

Rosé Sangria: A Perfect Springtime Drink

As the temperatures start to rise and the flowers begin to bloom, it's the perfect time to enjoy a refreshing and light cocktail. Sangria is an ideal springtime drink that's sure to impress your ...

What Makes a Sandwich a Sandwich?

A sandwich is a simple and versatile dish that can be made with almost any combination of ingredients. But what makes a sandwich a sandwich? Is it the bread? The filling? The shape? The origin? The ...

Which Wineglass Is Right for Me?

Guests know they’re in for a good time when they arrive to The Chopping Block for a wine class and see an array of glasses – whites, reds, flutes, sometimes even copitas and coupes – glittering and ...

A Taste of Greece at Home

When I left Greece last fall, I came home with a suitcase full of Greek ingredients. What better way to put them to use than to cook for my travel partner on that trip Cheryl and her life partner ...

Crispy Rice Advice

The best part of being a home cook is challenging yourself. We try new foods, exciting techniques and reinvent restaurant classics. Some processes take multiple attempts but then there is a magic ...

The Sugarbush Chronicles Part III: Evaporation Station

At the end of the previous installment of The Sugarbush Chronicles, we had collected a good amount of sap and were putting it through a reverse osmosis system to increase the sugar content of the ...

Vegetarian Chili

I’ve established a couple of blog themes but the most prevalent is utilizing what I have available. Once again, I am beginning with the vegetables I prepped in a recent Knife Skills class (as I did ...

Spring Green Superfood Salad

Nine times out of ten, my lunches consist of a vegetable and/or grain salad topped with protein. I know that may sound boring, but trust me when I say it’s delicious and full of variety. It’s a ...

Easy Eggplant Involtini

My husband and I love eggplant, and I never tire of finding different ways to prepare it. “Involtini” translates to “rolls” or “little bundles,” and I think I’ve truly fallen in love with these ...

4 Kitchen Tools You Need to Become a Better Cook

I’m so thrilled to be back with The Chopping Block’s fabulous blog team yet again! During my hiatus, I’ve been taking lots of pictures of food and cooking up a storm as per usual. Since the last ...

How to Make Authentic German Krapfen

Every once in a while, I get a call for help from my dear friend Carol Himmel and when she calls, I jump. Carol is always helping others, donating her time, energy, resources and attention so ...

Holiday Baking Traditions

Growing up in a Sicilian household, we had numerous different holiday traditions. In my family, we had Feast of the Seven Dishes for Christmas Eve, Zeppole for St. Joseph’s Day, lentils for New ...

Carrot and Coconut Soup

The Midwest will just not let its grip off this cold weather, and while I enjoy soup 365 days a year, I also want something light and spring-like this time of year.

Less Common Kitchen Knives and Their Diverse Uses

Knives are arguably the most essential kitchen tool any cook will use. Even more so than pots, pans or even a stove. There are plenty of dishes made without the application of any heat, but ...

Love Thy Le Creuset and this Curried Chickpea Stew

Le Creuset cookware is an investment, but it will someday become an heirloom for your family or friends! Whether you have just one piece or a whole set, we’ll go over some tips for keeping your ...

5 Ways to Jazz Up Instant Ramen Noodles

When I was a kid, I used to think the world of ramen was strictly chicken or beef-flavored noodles. Ramen was one of my favorite meals growing up, and it still is today. The difference is that I've ...

Classic Potatoes Anna Gets a Simpler Makeover

Cuisine doesn't get any more classical French than Potatoes Anna. This was one of the recipes included in Auguste Escoffier's cookbook published in 1902 and named "Pommes de Terre Anna." If you ...

The Sugarbush Chronicles Part II: Osmosis Jones

When last we spoke, my friend Derek and I had just finished running the lines for our sugar bush, and had just started collecting sap. Since then there have been a number of developments. A few ...

What’s For Dinner?

It’s an age-old important question: what’s for dinner? Maybe you’re only feeding yourself, or maybe you’ve got a roommate, partner, or kids to consider when making your decision. Most nights I cook ...

A Perfect Cheesecake Every Time

Classic cheesecake has always been one of my favorite go to desserts. This recipe is silky smooth, rich, tangy and simply delicious.

The Art of Neapolitan Pizza

Neapolitan pizza is more than just a delicious dish. It's a culinary tradition that dates back to ancient times and reflects the culture and identity of Naples, Italy. In this blog post, I will ...

My Top Five Mexican Cookbooks

Whenever students ask me what my favorite regional cuisine is I always say that its impossible to choose a favorite because blah blah blah… but the real answer is Mexican food. Mexican food is ...

Macaroni and Cheese: Reinventing the Reuben

Whether we are Irish or not, it's that special time in March where a lot of us celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. Plans are made with friends, green is part of our wardrobe, and we look forward to some ...

Find Joy in Decluttering Wine

From our home screens to entire rooms to our entire lives, decluttering is a trend that’s taken hold. But judging by all the people who tell me “I have so much wine sitting around,” it’s time for ...

Live on Island Time with this Caribbean Cornbread

Being from the South, I'm no stranger to cornbread. Whether it's the Jiffy box mix I grew up on or even homemade from scratch, I've had some pretty dry, flavorless cornbread over the course of my ...

The Sugarbush Chronicles Part I

There are a lot of different sweeteners out there. Some are simply sweet with very little of their own flavor like granulated sugar, while others have a strong character and flavor of their own ...

A Meatball for Every Meal: Breakfast Meatballs

Did you know there is a day of the year devoted to meatballs? Why yes there is, so happy National Meatball Day! According the most reliable resource in the world (aka the Internet), March 9th is ...

Savory Donuts

Apparently fried dough is the element that binds all of humanity together. I will, without fact-checking, state that every civilization has such an item as a cornerstone of their culinary ...

How to Make Amazing Arancini

I was recently watching Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy where Stanley travels to the island of Sicily and enjoys many mouth-watering regional specialties. One of the dishes that’s talked about ...

Perfectly Poached Fruit

A pear perfectly poached in red wine is one of the most elegant desserts I can think of. Top it off with a little Crème Anglaise and you have elevated the lowly pear into something almost regal. ...

Love it or Hate it - Part 2

It’s time for another round of my favorite series: Love it or hate it! What foods do you love that no one else does? What foods do you have a deep distain for? This is a hot topic in all of my ...

Garlicky Creamy Hummus

Hummus is such a versatile item to meal prep and this garlic-packed version is absolutely delicious! Hummus is the perfect vegetarian snack to dip with veggies, pita chips, or a creamy spread to ...

Rad Raclette Repast

It seems like all my blog posts in winter are about how you should take the opportunity to treat yourself during these dark gloomy months. If the weather can’t help raise your morale, then maybe a ...

Quick and Easy Pasta Dishes after a Long Day

If you are anything like me, after I get home from a long day at work or school, I don’t want to do anything but lay down and sleep. I also want to have a good, rewarding meal after all the work ...

Instant Pot Tamales

The Instant Pot makes foods that traditionally take a long time to cook achievable in a shorter window of time - Black Bean Soup, ribs, cooking a whole chicken, even proofing dough all take less time ...

Making Sense of Cooking Fats

The world of cooking fats and oils (which are one and the same) can be as simplistic or as complex as you make it. Utilizing fat for cooking has many advantages, but overuse of fats can make a dish ...

Chocolate Chip Browned Butter Cookies

There is nothing like a homemade chocolate chip cookie. Over the years, I have made many chocolate chip cookie recipes, which are all generally very similar. As a chef, I'm always looking for ...

The History of Pasta and How to Cook It

As a professional chef, I have always been fascinated by the history and evolution of different culinary traditions. One such tradition that has captured my interest is the history of pasta. This ...

Sheet Pan Pancake

Fat Tuesday is coming up in just a few days! If you aren’t familiar, Fat Tuesday is the day before Ash Wednesday, and is a big part of Mardi Gras (French for Fat Tuesday) and Carnival celebrations.

The Pastabilities of Pasta Shape Substitutions

Besides blogging, I’ve had the wonderful opportunity to moderate some of our popular virtual cooking classes. If you haven’t taken one yet, they are a fun opportunity to cook together with one of ...

Which Type of Wine is Best? It’s Up to You!

“It’s so cheap!” is the first thing people say about wine while travelling in Europe, and “It’s so delicious!”

Chocolate Pasta Anytime

Does this title leave you a little skeptical? Chocolate pasta? Pasta for dessert? Really? Well, when I first learned there was such a thing, it definitely left me wondering! It was Winter 2021, ...

Hor Fun is More Fun

The idea of making something at home that is normally bought ready-made from the store can be very romantic. Its nice to think that the extra freshness, and added “made with love” energy that comes ...

Stay Indoors and Eat Lemongrass Chicken Banh Mi

One of the top joys of living in a city is the option to walk down the street and find amazing sandwiches. My current obsession is the Vietnamese sandwich, the Banh Mi. I enjoy them so much I need ...

Vegetarian Hoppin' John

It’s hard to pass up the good protein source of classic beans ‘n rice, and a great variation on the combo is the Southern dish Hoppin’ John. Featuring black-eyed peas, a favorite New Year good luck ...

Passion Fruit Tart: Ignite Your Passion this Valentine’s Day

Valentine’s Day is right around the corner, which means it’s time to start Googling which chocolate dessert to prepare for your loved ones, right? Chocolate is a pretty sexy and delicious ...

Ten or Maybe Even More Things You Don’t Know about Meatballs

There are a million meatball recipes available online. I’m sure most of them are pretty yummy, but I’m not here to tout the best meatball recipe. I’m here to tell you what you probably don’t know ...

Homemade SpaghettiOs

If there is one dish that brings me right back to childhood, it’s canned SpaghettiOs. My mom would never buy it though, and I get that it was probably not the healthiest thing we could eat, but she ...

Love It or Hate It - Part 1

We all have that one food whether from our childhood or a bad dining experience that we just can’t stand. It could be a texture issue, a smell, how it was presented, or just a preconceived notion ...

From Chicago to Florida via Goldbelly

I first learned about Goldbelly a few years ago when I was given a gift certificate for the holidays. If you aren't yet familiar with Goldbelly, it's an e-commerce platform that connects people with ...

Do Yourself a Favor and Buy Fancy Chocolate

I definitely understand why people buy the cheapest, or maybe even more frequently, the second cheapest chocolate at the grocery store for baking. The price difference between that and the really ...

Top Tools for any Kitchen

As a chef instructor at The Chopping Block, I work with hundreds of home cooks all with varying levels of comfort in the kitchen. My goal and hope is to identify where they can find an edge to help ...

Homemade Egg Rolls

The Lunar New Year or Chinese New Year is upon us, which got me in the mood to make some of my favorite Chinese dishes. Egg rolls are the quintessential Chinese takeout food, but did you know they ...

Pozole Pointers

Despite its relatively simple appearance, there are centuries of tradition and unique flavor combinations packed into a simple Mexican dish. From endless varieties of fresh and dried chilies like ...

Five Great Pastry/Baking Books for Beginners

I’ve been getting some good traction on these book roundups, and maybe if I can make the case that the book collection can be routed into a productive outlet, I’ll be allowed to continue to ...

Homemade Biscoff Cookies

My husband and I love to travel, but as we all know, the destination is often a lot more enjoyable than the journey itself, especially if the travel involves a flight which can mean delays, lost ...

From Retro to Current Crab Canapes

As a food blogger, I start each year perusing articles online about food trend predictions. A talented chef may create one dish that steamrolls into the meal everyone wants to recreate. We find ...

That’s a Good Question

As every teacher knows, if one student has a question, then undoubtedly other students have the same question but are too embarrassed to ask. Here are questions from my recent How to Bluff Your Way ...

New Choices in Seafood for the New Year

I’m writing this blog from Sarasota, Florida, where I’m fortunate enough to be spending a week with my family away from the Chicago winter. I’ve spent an occasional short week down here throughout ...

Hand Pulled Noodles for Lunar New Year

Lunar New Year is coming up fast, and though many cultures have and still do celebrate a lunar new year of some kind, in the U.S. it has largely become associated with Chinese culture and typically ...

Naan, Your Next Bread Adventure

Are you comfortable making tortillas, pizza or even loaves of bread? I have a new bread adventure for you that's actually quite simple. Behold an amazing pillowy, soft naan recipe that is likely to ...

Pho in Minutes Not Hours

What's the first dish that comes to mind when you think of Vietnamese food? It's likely Pho, the national dish of Vietnam, and which is sold everywhere there from nice restaurants to street corners. ...

Almost Guilt-Free Alfredo Sauce

Talk about guilty pleasures! Alfredo sauce, especially tossed with fettuccine, is what my dreams are made of. This smooth and silky cream sauce that effortlessly coats al dente pasta is so comforting ...

Muffins that Taste Like Donuts

I did something different to celebrate New Year Eve's this year and to be honest, it blows my mind that I've never thought to do this before. Instead of going out and fighting the crowds and paying ...

How To Clean Mushrooms

How to clean mushrooms is a common question we get in our cooking classes, and it's one which over the course of my career has become a more complicated one to answer. When I opened The Chopping ...

Olives - Love ‘em or Leave ‘em?

One of the things that always intrigues me when I am teaching our cooking classes are foods that people either love or hate to eat. There aren’t many foods that I dislike, and I will always try ...

Ditch your Dieting Rules

Happy 2023! Last year at this time, I declared “This is the year I am going to lose weight!” - which is exactly what I did every January 1st for the past several years.

Over-the-Top Piecaken from Scratch

I first heard about piecaken a few years ago, but it always seemed like way too much dessert to me. (Spoiler alert: it still is!) If you are unfamiliar with this dish, the original is three types ...

Amazing Carbonara in Roughly 15 Minutes

Carbonara is one of my wife’s favorite pasta dishes, and I’m happy to make it for her whenever she requests it because unlike some of her other common requests it doesn’t take multiple days to ...

A First Step to Gluten-Free Baking

Gluten-free baking is terrifying. Most people who have to or choose to eat gluten-free have all had something GF and awful - overpriced, tiny compared to its glutenous counterparts, and so, so ...

Rethinking Spaghetti Squash

To be perfectly candid, historically, I have not been a fan of spaghetti squash. Setting aside for a moment that it was not enough like real spaghetti to live up to its name, it always turned out ...

Gift Spicy Garlic Chili Crisp

Over the years, chili oil has become a condiment that I can't live without, and it's even better when it's homemade. This chili crisp is easy to make, perfect for spooning over just about anything ...

Top Ten Fancy Chef Books for the Fancy Cook in Your Life

If you’re one of those among us who celebrates one of the winter gift giving holidays that terminate near the end of December then by the time this post comes out you will technically still have ...

How Egg Whites Transform Cocktails

Over the last year, I’ve begun to explore the world of alcoholic beverages and how those flavors/techniques can be used in other mediums. I’ve discovered many amazing things while also tasting some ...

A Legendary Cheese to Warm up your Winter

It can hardly be denied at this point that winter is upon us. Where I live in upstate New York, we have just gotten our first winter storm warning (make sure you have plenty of flashlights, ...

Cranberry Nantucket Pie

It’s baking season, and one of my favorite seasonal flavors is cranberry. It’s perfect all fall and winter long and pairs great with pumpkin and orange which I also love. After Thanksgiving, I came ...

Holidays Have Gone to The Dogs

Everyone celebrates this time of year differently. Large families are gearing up for the annual gathering at a family home. People plan meals with their special friends. Some folks just enjoy ...

Tips for Handling Holidays with Celiac Disease

I knew it was a mistake. But the artisanal beer my dining companion had ordered smelled so good! One teensy sip couldn’t do any harm, right? Wrong! Not because I was driving, not because I’m not ...

Expand your Technique and Child’s Palate with Dal

Looking to expand your child’s palate? Well, kudos to you, we understand this is not always an easy task. Masoor Dal is a dish that has a wonderful balance of both new and familiar flavors. This ...

Make Christmas Manicotti This Holiday Season

I’m a pasta fanatic. I can eat it any time of day in any way, shape or form. I have to restrain myself from always blogging about pasta (and always eating it!), but it’s time once again for another ...

Using Meat as Seasoning Agent, Part 3

This is another installment of a favorite topic of mine: reducing meat consumption without fully discarding its unchallengeable, unique contributions to cuisine. This post also follows in the ...

Festive Holiday Parties with a Punch

Like so many people, I have family, friends and colleagues spread all around the country. During the holidays, I make it my personal mission to connect in some way with as many of them as I can. ...

Cook Like a Tuscan, Again

We have been bringing food and wine lovers to Tuscany, Italy with Onward Travel since 2018, and we are pleased to be able to do it again next year. Our Cook Like a Tuscan 2023 tours have just ...

Bushwacker Cocktail

Does anything hit the spot better than a frozen drink on a hot day? I don’t think so! I have had my fair share of tropical pina coladas, daquiris, frozé, and frozen margaritas during the summer. ...

Cherry Cheese Danishes for an Easy Holiday Breakfast

One of my favorite childhood memories was going to church on Sunday and attending the coffee hour hosted by one of the parishioners after the service. I was probably 8 or 9 years old, and she had ...

Duck Confit is Easy, Actually: Part Two

Welcome back to another exciting installment the story of how to make your own duck confit. In my previous post, we walked through the simple steps required to get your duck leg confit to the point ...

Whipped Goat Cheese with Warm Bacon and Dates

I'm excited to share this fun, festive and delicious appetizer that will start your holiday parties off right: creamy whipped goat cheese topped with a caramelized mixture of rosemary, honey, ...

For a Pescatarian Party, Make Salmon Coulibiac

When both of your siblings are vegetarians/pescatarians, it makes menu planning for holidays like Thanksgiving a challenge. The traditional turkey and ham don't work as entrée options when the ...

Easy Healthy Dumplings Children Can Make

As an educator, I am constantly looking for recipes that are easy to execute, fun and delicious!

Make your Own Cream of Mushroom Soup

With Thanksgiving around the corner, the sales of canned cream of mushroom soup are off the charts. In fact, 40% of the entire year's sales of Campbell’s cream of mushroom soup are attributed to ...

Duck Confit is Easy, Actually: Part One

In my experience, many people tend to think of French food as "fancy" food. It's true that a lot of classic French preparations are complex or labor intensive, and it's easy to think that because ...

Hosting A Friendsgiving to Remember

Friendsgiving is one of my absolute favorite holiday traditions around the Thanksgiving holiday. I’ve been organizing Friendsgiving with my group of friends for over ten years, and we look forward ...

Try a Mashed Potato Board for Thanksgiving Leftovers

As we hit this midpoint of November, most people either know where they are going for Thanksgiving and what menu will be prepared for the big day. We’ve all probably clicked on every recipe online ...

I Never Knew I Liked…

I never knew I liked rice. Then I discovered authentic Indian cuisine with its basmati and jasmine rice, quite a contrast to the glop served up in 1950’s America when I was raised. Next, I discovered ...

Thai Take Out at Home

My family loves Thai food, and whenever we order takeout or dine-in, we pretty much such stick to our favorites. We always order the fresh spring rolls, green papaya salad, a curry of some sort, ...

Butcher Block Time

Throughout my whole life in kitchens, there has always been one thing I’ve wanted to own. It wasn’t a sharp knife, fancy equipment, or even custom-engraved diamond plated knife steal that also ...

The Best Dish for Clearing Out Your Fridge: Fried Rice

Fried rice has a lot going for it. It's fast, it can be made with just about any set of ingredients, it's cheap to make, and—above all—it's totally delicious when made well. Unfortunately, I find ...

Devilishly Good Eggs

When I think of deviled eggs I usually think of picnics, barbeques and Easter. They are one of the most versatile snacks or appetizers that I can think of and have always screamed Americana to me. ...

Healthy Chicken Bake

I’ve had my food blog for just over 14 years, and one of the questions I get asked a lot is to lighten up a recipe or favorite family dish. Recently a woman reached out to me and asked if I could ...

Find your Adventure in Culinary Boot Camp

Machelle Lind's Culinary Boot Camp class in May 2022 was a unique one. She traveled from Duluth, Minnesota to take the class and met a slew of different types of home cooks: an emergency room doctor ...

How to Make Vanilla Extract

Vanilla has become very expensive in the past few years due to vanilla beans being difficult to grow. This flowering plant is incredibly labor intensive. Climate change plays a huge role in these ...

What Onion to Use for What Recipe?

Have you ever wondered what the difference is between all of the onions you see at the grocery store? How does a white onion differ from a yellow onion? When should you use a red onion over a Vidalia ...

Green Tomato Chutney

The time has finally come for most of us in the northern U.S. to harvest the last of what we can from our summer garden. Personally I pushed it as far as I could (to the extreme detriment of our ...

Apple Whiskey-Glazed Turkey Apple Cheddar Meatballs

I recently spent a girl’s weekend in Galena with one of my best friends, Julianne. I had never been before and enjoyed soaking in the small-town vibes, quaint shops along main street, the country ...

A Little Butter (Over) Board

The interesting phenomena about food bloggers is we have contrasting takes on different trends. Last month, I was all excited to post a blog on butter boards. This trend recently took off and put ...

Take the Guesswork (and Panic Shopping) out of Holiday Wine

It may be early for holiday cooking or even the naughty-or-nice list, but there’s one thing you can get off your to-do list now – at that’s wine.

How to Eat an Actual Pumpkin

Depending on the time you are reading this article, you may have noticed fall brings in a restructuring of the grocery store. Large sections have been refitted from summer enjoyments like soft drinks ...

Learn How to Make Chicken Marsala Like a Pro

Chicken Marsala is one of those special dishes that seems only possible to enjoy in a restaurant prepared by a chef, but that’s definitely not the case. Not only is it an approachable recipe to ...

Did your Basil Bloom?

If your garden is looking anything like ours is at this point in the season, the herbs are beginning to wane and you’re quickly realizing the time has come to clip your herbs for the last time, ...

Cold Cherry Soup

When the final days of warm weather begin to alternate with autumn chill, it makes you appreciate that warmer weather, and celebrate it. I’ll do a casual survey, thinking of all of the summer ...

Cold Cooking Gives Us Ceviche

When you hear the word “cooking” what comes to mind first? Is it the clicking of the stovetop as you turn on the flame? The smoky smell of the grill as you hear the sizzle of the food touch the ...

The Best Home Deep Fryer is Your Wok

That’s right, more wok content. If you’re a devotee of The Chopping Blog, you may be familiar with my previous work regarding the most versatile pan (that should be) in your kitchen: the wok. In my ...

White vs. Brown Rice: The Final Battle

"My Korean ancestors would smite me where I stand today if I tried to use brown rice in gimbap. So, we are using white rice.”

Butter Boards

I was mindlessly scrolling through social media one day, and I happened to come across a new recipe that I am so excited to try. The latest trend in communal eating is butter boards! The pictures and ...

Classic Tomato Soup

The farmers markets will only be around for a few more weeks, so this is the time I stock up on vegetables and freeze them for later use.

A Lesson in Greek Cooking and Wine

When I travel, I love to experience a local cooking class to get the full immersive experience into the culture and food of the places I visit. Last month, I had a blast with my family at a cooking ...

It’s Chili Season

Summer has come to an end, and fall days are upon us. Chilly fall nights always put me in the mood to make hearty foods. There are so many different versions of chili, and everyone has their own ...

Cheese Trials Part Two: Burrata

Previously on Cheese Trials: I decided to try my hand at cheese making, something I’ve never really attempted before aside from the very simple ricotta that many cooks learn to make at restaurants. ...

Happy Independence Day Belize

Belize is a small Caribbean country on the northeastern coast of Central America, bordering Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east and Guatemala to the west. Belize is the home of my ...

Sopa de Guias con Chochoynes: Oaxaca Squash Vine Soup with Masa Dumplings

I love to garden. I love the physicality of it, I love the beauty of it, the pruning, tending and watering. I love eating fresh produce that I grew myself, and “seed to table cooking” is incredibly ...

New Cupcake Class: Have Your Cake and Eat It, Too

I’m so lucky to work alongside such talented chefs and assistants at The Chopping Block. They give me inspiration, motivate me and teach me new things (culinary and otherwise). We are truly a team ...

From Seed to Mug: Grow Your Own Tea

Now that we're coming to the end of summer I keep hearing people talking about ‘spooky season’. Well, I love All Hallows Eve as much as the next ex-goth, but there’s something that I look forward ...

Say Cheese to a New Grilled Cheese and Soup Combo

When it comes to food, cheese is definitely my guilty pleasure. It’s my go-to cure for any bad day, not to mention that it’s delicious with wine, which doesn’t hurt either!

Morning Time Tomato

As we get closer to the end of summer, I always get a little emotional. As my previous blog on blueberries proved, I love the act of picking my own produce. My favorite summertime places include a ...

Top Five Books for Aspiring Chefs

As a self-taught chef, I quite literally wouldn’t have a career if it weren’t for food and cooking books. There are few resources as important in developing an understanding of the different ...

Uniquely Spain

Of all the great gigs I’ve enjoyed as a consultant to the culinary industry (including The Chopping Block, of course!), there’s been none better than representing Wine & Food from Spain. I got to ...

Koji Marinated Beef

Did you think using vinegar to make pickles was the only way to do so? Think again as we traverse down an alternative method that provides results that have more flavor and better texture than ...

The Power of Fresh Powder

I talk a lot to students about the importance of using fresh spices. So many people have little plastic jars of ground spices in their pantries that could be half a decade old or older. At that ...

Boost your Mood with Food

Have you ever gone through a period of time where you just don’t feel like cooking? You get stuck in a rut and find yourself going out to dinner, driving thru or ordering takeout way too much than ...

Simple Pasta Salad for your Holiday Weekend

When I first starting hosting parties at my house 22 years ago, I felt like I had to make everything from scratch. I literally made ketchup and mustard from scratch! But then I quickly realized that ...

Liquid Air Conditioning

This time of year a few things are true: it’s hot, too hot to cook certainly; if you have a garden and made the mistake of planting mint, it has gone absolutely berserk; and sometimes everyone in ...

Playing with Angel Food

I love angel food cake and when a client asked me to bake one for her birthday earlier in the summer, I couldn’t have been happier. She wanted all the trimmings – raspberries spilling over from the ...

Creamy Avocado Margaritas

I have always loved going to new restaurants, traveling near and far to experience great food and drinks. But there is one restaurant in particular that I go back to time and time again: Bien ...

It's Green Chile Season

When you work for a recreational cooking school for almost 20 years, it may seem strange that other cooking classes interest you. My friends joke, "Isn't that just like work for you?" But in reality, ...

Cheese Trials

As a chef there are a lot of things most people just buy that I’ve tried to make from scratch. There are the basics like bread, ice cream, or mayo, but I’ve also made my own croissants, emulsified ...

Old Fashioned Peach Cream Pie

When I moved to Southwest Michigan, I did it for several reasons, the number one being its close proximity to Chicago, where The Chopping Block is based. I love Chicago, but I also longed to live ...

How to Make Outstanding Octopus

I’m fortunate enough to live near a grocery store that has many interesting and exciting ingredients that inspire my culinary creativity. When I make my weekly shopping list, I typically don’t have ...

A Love Letter to Excess

Those of us who have grown up around diet culture have invariably spent some portion of our lives denying ourselves in the interest of some nebulous concept of “healthiness.” Some who reject the ...

The Maine Event – A Girls Trip to The Southern Coast of Maine

My mom grew up in the small town of Dover-Foxcroft, Maine. I was lucky to spend lots of time during my childhood experiencing snowy Maine winters and beautiful summers on Sebec Lake with my ...

Pick a Peck of Quick Pickled Blueberries

The ground is wet with morning dew. The air feels damp and on the verge of almost sticky. It is familiar to anyone who has spent summer in the Midwest. The bright sun is starting to provide warmth ...

Three Wine Terms You’re Probably Using Incorrectly

The best advice I’ve ever received about wine is this: “If you’re not a little confused, you’re not paying attention.”

Low and Slow BBQ Tofu

We’re into August now, and while I haven’t grilled as much as I’d would have liked to this summer, I’ve taken the Weber around the block a few times. Of course, there’s grilling and then there’s ...

Healthy Homemade Fruit Popsicles

Homemade fruit popsicles are an easy, healthy and refreshing treat to make for your kids this summer! They are made with only natural ingredients so you can feel good about giving them to your ...

A New Way to Pickle

Koji - what is it? I had never heard of this word until a few years ago. From time to time, I would hear about it from the depths of the kitchen walls as it was quickly tossed into a mix or coated ...

How to Make the Most of Summer Without Dying of Heat Stroke

Now that we’ve arrived at high summer and the temperatures in much of the country are soaring past records, the time has come to rethink summer activities. Don’t get me wrong - swimming, grilling, ...

4 Nutrition Hacks in the Kitchen

We all know food itself is the basic ingredient (pun intended) of nutrition, but did you know that what you do in the kitchen can scientifically impact the nutrition of your foods as well?

Farmers Market Season

I love this time of year. My garden is blooming, and the farmers markets all around Chicagoland are in full swing! It seems no matter where you live, there is a farmers’ market in nearly every ...

Broccoli Rabe and Shrimp Lo Mein

If you haven’t tried broccoli rabe before, I’d love for you to try this broccoli rabe and shrimp lo mein. It's a quick and easy healthy meal, perfect for just one!

A World Traveler Chooses Culinary Boot Camp

It's not unusual for someone to travel across the country for our Culinary Boot Camp program. We've had students from California, Texas, New York, and lots of different places in the U.S. I know ...

Going Stir Crazy: Intro to Stir Frying

Stir frying is one of the world's great cooking techniques. It's fast, can create hugely divergent types of dishes with a tremendously diverse array of flavors, and it's relatively simple. With ...

One Pan to Rule them All: The Wok

I’ve been cooking for a while now. Long enough to have developed some fairly thorough opinions on things like cookware. Usually when I’m asked to pick a favorite of something I find it very ...

The Secret Beach: An East Coast Inspired Cocktail

Earlier this month, my family and I traveled to New Haven, Connecticut to visit my brother, sister-in-law and nephew. For the most part we stayed in New Haven, because we had a lot of work and ...

A Pastry Revolution

In summer I am pretty much always looking for an excuse to have a nice little treat. To be honest, most of the year I am looking for an excuse to treat myself (and my wife, I suppose). Finished all ...

Smoked BBQ Oyster Mushroom Sandwich with Chili Crunch

It’s no secret that I love to grill! I’d venture to guess that I grill 5-6 days per week from Spring to Fall. From beef ribs, to hard cider chicken, to jalapeno poppers, to grilled eggplant to ...

My Favorite Peanut Sauce

If you are like me, you think peanut sauce makes everything better. When I eat spring rolls, I likely consume more peanut sauce than the then spring rolls themselves. I just can’t stop dipping my ...

Corn-struction Season

As someone who blogs, one of my favorite things to do is peruse restaurant menus to notice food trends. We’ve all seen how one ingredient snowballs into a plethora of options for diners. Kale ...

What I’ve Learned from TCB Chefs

I’m no chef. I’m a pretty good cook, mostly due to the influence of my career in eating and drinking. Like most people, I have some sure-fire recipes for everyday and a few showstoppers. My Coq au ...

Risotto is a Late Night Rescue

Risotto is not my first go-to dish in the summer. Steamy rich starches sound better on a frigid February night than a heat index July evening. However, arriving home after a late night working ...

Nothing Butter than Chicken

Growing up in Northeast Pennsylvania, I was surrounded by an abundance of delicious and authentic Italian food. I also grew up in an Italian family where if it wasn’t pasta for dinner then there ...

Diet Culture: The Biggest “Detox” We All Need

With summer in full swing, juice detoxes, gluten-free cleanses, and 14-day bikini body diets are everywhere. We all know someone who has tried one if we haven’t ourselves. While it may initially ...

Yes, Chef! Culinary Camp

Last week, I had the pleasure of teaching a week-long virtual cooking camp for the Foundation for Culinary Arts called the Yes, Chef Culinary Camp. Foundation for Culinary Arts inspires and ...

49th State Eats

When I was planning my recent trip to Alaska with friends, food wasn't too much of a consideration outside of one or two restaurants that we were told we must hit. I know that may come as a shock ...

Blueberry Oat Pancakes

All the summer fruit has been delicious lately, and one of my favorite fruits is blueberries! Be sure to pick some up on your next visit to your local farmer’s market.

Preserving Summer in Acid

At the beginning of June, my wife and I made the move from Chicago to my pretty rural home town of Ithaca, New York. If people have heard of Ithaca at all it's usually because it is the home of ...

The Return of the Comeback Sauce

Last weekend, my family and I spent the weekend in Nashville, Tennessee mainly to visit Vanderbilt University, but also to eat as much BBQ, hot chicken and ice cream as possible. I have heard so ...

Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble Bars

We all have foods that remind us of certain people, or places, or a favorite memory, or season, and the combination of strawberry and rhubarb hits all of those notes for me. I’m always on the hunt ...

Spring Onion Noodles

As a chef, I am always interested in expanding my knowledge and craft of cooking. I like to challenge the way that I think about cooking and eating on a regular basis. I have been cooking a lot of ...

Adobo: Verb, Noun or Adjective Part 2

In my last blog, I discussed adobo “the verb” as in the act of preparing food by marinating and simmering it in a vinegar/salt marinade. Today, let’s talk about adobo the adjective/noun. This is ...

Adobo: Verb, Noun or Adjective Part 1

Language and parts of speech always fascinate me. I look at words with multiple meanings and get caught up in how they are used in a sentence or how to put action to the word. This interest started ...

New Wines and Wine Classes are Here

We’re ready for Summer at The Chopping Block with new wines and new wine classes. Here are a few favorites coming right up!

Grilled, Dairy-Free Hand Pies

Late spring/early summer fruit is filling the farmers markets. I bought a bunch of rhubarb—the fruitiest vegetable, which I love dearly. And of course I bought strawberries, because they were there ...

Perfectly Peel-able Eggs

I always feel like the need for peeled hard-boiled eggs seems to grow exponentially with the onset of Summer! My personal favorite ways to use them include sliced hard-boiled eggs in my picnic ...

The History of the Truffle

Before understanding the high desire of the truffle, one must understand the history of the truffle and where it began its journey. A truffle is a fungal fruiting body that develops underground. ...

Crabby Mood

For those who love shellfish, I've got the scoop for you. Let’s talk about all you need to know when buying shellfish. I’m sure like me, when you first thought about cooking shellfish you have no ...

Griddle Me This

If I have said it once, I have said it a million times, I love outdoor cooking! My newest outdoor cooking apparatus that I have added to my collection is my flat top griddle. What is a flat top ...

Boldly Nutritious: Harissa-Roasted Potatoes & Chickpeas

You know that one friend who inspires you to reinvigorate your wardrobe? They make a colorful, printed head-to-toe pantsuit seem chic, but effortless enough for everyday life? They can wear an ...

Grilling Season is Here and We Have the Meats

The National Restaurant Show just wrapped up last week in Chicago. This great show has been hosted by our city for 100 years, and in 2019, we celebrated the 100-year anniversary spectacularly! This ...

Black Bean Dip for a Healthy Choice at Cookouts

In January of this year, I declared it the year I was going to get in shape and lose weight. For those of you who don’t know, I lost 70 pounds in 1999-2000 and maintained that weight loss for years.

A Lemony, Sweet and Salty North Carolina Treat: To Tweak Or Not To Tweak

A couple of years ago, while watching an episode of Cook's Country on PBS, I discovered the North Carolina Lemon Pie. It immediately got my attention because the crust was made entirely out of ...

Multo is the Future of Smart Cooking

It's no question I'm a fan of cooking. I also love technology. So, the idea of merging the two together in smart kitchen appliances intrigues me. One of my favorite apps tells me when my smoker and ...

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