The Chopping Block Cooking & Wine Blog

Kate A

Kate is the General Manager of The Chopping Block. Originally from the East Coast, she moved to Chicago 8 years ago and loves the strong food culture of the city. She loves entertaining for friends, trying new restaurants, and cooking (of course). Her friends know not to eat until she's snapped a picture of any dish! She credits her mom and grandmothers for getting her interested in cooking at an early age. Her most utilized tool in the kitchen is the recipe book her late grandmother left her. Kate also enjoys traveling and is on a mission to visit each baseball stadium in America, but even then she's really there to sample the local food!

Sweet and Spicy Grilled Sweet Potatoes with Feta

If you’re local to Chicago, you know about Mother Nature’s wild mood swings when it comes to spring weather. One day it’s 75 degrees and sunny, and the next day it’s snowing. Despite the fluctuating ...

Everything Bagel Strata

I’m passionate about a lot of foods – flats over drums when it comes to wings, smooth over crunchy if debating peanut butter, cheese curds over mozzarella sticks when I’m digging into fried cheese, ...

Triple Boozy Irish Brownies

What’s better than a delicious fudgy brownie? A triple boozy brownie, of course! When I studied abroad 15 years ago, I spent a weekend in Dublin, Ireland. It was a beautiful place with friendly ...

How to Roast Garlic

I absolutely love moderating our virtual classes. It’s been so much fun for me to see The Chopping Block's virtual business evolve over the past year. What I love most about our virtual classes is ...

Baked Goat Cheese and Tomato Pasta

If you frequent social media, specifically TikTok, chances are that you’ve seen the viral baked feta pasta. I absolutely love one dish wonders, as I call them, where you essentially create an entire ...

Air Fryer Blooming Onions

My fiancé touts himself as the superior gift giver in our relationship, and I really can’t argue his point. His gifts are thoughtful, practical and luckily for me, are often geared towards my love of ...

Birria Tacos

If you ask my fiancé what he’d like for dinner, you’ll always get the same two answers – sloppy joes or tacos. I need more variety in my life, but luckily, I too, love tacos, so I enjoy experimenting ...

Garlic Herb Crusted Rack of Lamb with Blueberry Balsamic Sauce

Fourteen years ago, as a junior in college, I had the opportunity of a lifetime to spend the semester abroad, and chose to go to Florence, Italy. I immediately fell in love with the people, the ...

Cabernet Chocolate Chunk Ice Cream

I love surprises, so Secret Santa exchanges are right up my alley. It used to be that you wrote your “wish list” on a piece of paper, or had no wish list at all and hoped your Santa knew you well ...

Persimmon-Cranberry Upside-Down Cake

On a recent grocery run, I came across an orange tomato-like fruit, the persimmon. As a self-proclaimed “foodie,” I love finding foods that I’ve never tried. I’ve seen persimmons plenty of times ...

Recipes	Ingredients
Cooking Techniques	Cookbooks & Tools
Food News	Local Spots
Travel	Wine
Vegetarian	Gluten-Free
Kids	Baking & Pastry
Boot Camp	Retail

Kate A

Recent Posts

Sweet and Spicy Grilled Sweet Potatoes with Feta

Everything Bagel Strata

Triple Boozy Irish Brownies

How to Roast Garlic

Baked Goat Cheese and Tomato Pasta

Air Fryer Blooming Onions

Birria Tacos

Garlic Herb Crusted Rack of Lamb with Blueberry Balsamic Sauce

Cabernet Chocolate Chunk Ice Cream

Persimmon-Cranberry Upside-Down Cake

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