The Chopping Block Cooking Blog

Jacqueline

In Jacqueline's time as a chef instructor at The Chopping Block, she has learned the only thing she loves more than cooking itself it to teach cooking! To see the delight and often surprise on someone's face when they taste a delicious dish of their own making is pure joy to her. "We all have to eat, why not have it be a pleasurable experience as often as possible?!" While classically trained in French technique, Jacqueline loves the street food and home cooking of all cultures. In her spare time, she loves to papercraft, entertain, practice yoga, travel, swim and dance.

The Quickest Way to your Valentine’s Heart: a 20-minute Comfort Food Dinner

I have a love/hate relationship with Valentine’s day. It always seems to stress me out, whether it was when I was single and felt left out, or now that I am married and I feel pressure to outdo ...

Foolproof Homemade Bread

I need to make a confession… for many years I felt extremely intimidated to bake bread. The kneading, the waiting, the pans it involved, it just felt too complicated. Even after I studied at a ...

5-Minute Appetizers that will Change your Holidays Forever

I don’t know if your mother was/is similar to mine, but my mom didn’t think she was a good cook. Yet, if you ask any of my siblings or myself what foods we liked as kids, we all have multiple ...

Why Dinner Parties Rule

Modern times seem to call for people always wanting to host a cocktail party. I get it: the vision of martini glasses clinking, and platters of all shapes and sizes holding perfectly manicured ...

The Essential Pantry

Being a chef instructor at The Chopping Block is by far the best job I have ever had. I love food, I adore cooking, and I am passionate about teaching. Given those facts, every time I come to work ...

The Knives You Never Knew You Needed

I've got knives on the brain again. If you read my previous post, you know that I made the argument for having only four knives in your kitchen. And while I still believe that to be true – if you can ...

A Chef's Moving Checklist

So, as the saying goes, life happens while you’re making other plans. I was all set to write a follow up to my blog The Only Four Knives You Need in Your Kitchen. And then life happened, and we moved ...

Embrace the Whole Chicken, and Then Cut it to Pieces

Chicken was a staple in our house when I was growing up, however, the only time I ever saw an entire fowl was the Thanksgiving turkey. Other than that, the chicken was already cut up into its white ...

Easiest, Tastiest Grilled Chicken Ever

I don’t know about you, but summer is my favorite time of year, and yet, my least favorite time to cook. The kitchen always gets too hot, and the dishes take too long to wash. I want to be outside ...

A Chef's Tricks of the Trade

One of the most frequent questions students ask is “What are the most common mistakes home cooks make?” It's one of my favorite questions because I believe if you can resolve just two problems, ...