David is returning to Chicago after a 30 year absence. He learned to cook in San Francisco restaurants, and owned and ran a restaurant in Iowa City for fifteen years. David loves cheese, Thai food and avocados, amongst other things. He loves to share his passion for food with students at The Chopping Block.
Recent Posts
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
As spring awakens, I quit seeking out rich, warm, spicy treats and lean toward cool and clean. There’s nothing like an 88 degree day in May to make one reflect on their memories of the seasons, so ...
A couple of months ago I presented this topic, which I feel passionately about, in a blog. If meat production is disproportionately impacting the environment, I consider it my responsibility to ...
Every few weeks The Chopping Block hosts a Knife Skills class, which I quickly found to be incredibly valuable for any developing cook. Over the span of a two hour course, I witness twelve eager home ...
When you live in a household of vegetarians, and you are a devout omnivore, there’s a certain degree of existential soul-searching that occurs. Asking “Why are we here?” garners many answers, but ...
We have a second fridge in the basement, which is convenient for shopping overflow, preparing for parties, and storing the ice cream maker bowl should the whim strikes. The truth is though, we’re not ...
