The Chopping Block Cooking Blog

Polly P.

Polly has both a BA in French and an MBA but made a career change to pursue her love of cooking and entertaining. Following her studies at Le Cordon Bleu Chicago, Polly held various management positions in the catering and specialty food retail sectors of the food industry. Across all functional areas of business, she discovered that she most enjoys working with people. Polly is currently a culinary and travel consultant and most enjoys writing, marketing and planning trips to France.

Upside Down is Right Side Up with Stone Fruits

Now this is what I’ve been waiting for: the season of stone fruits is now in full swing. Stone fruits are what they sound like - tree fruits that have a stone-like pit in the center, including ...

Turn to Your Slow Cooker for Summer Chicken Salads

You don’t usually hear “slow cooker” and “summer” in the same sentence. However, I have a trick up my sleeve that makes a lot of delicious summer creations all the easier… and that is, cooking a ...

A Salsa of a Different Style

Salsa is America’s most popular condiment and pico de gallo is the fresh version. Both have a myriad of uses, with tortilla chips munched out of hand and as a condiment for Mexican food being the ...

How I Conquered My Fear of Yeast Breads

For years I was intimidated by yeast breads. After all, working with yeast is like performing magic - such amazing transformation of ingredients! I remember my first brush with bread making decades ...

The Easiest Way to Grill Fish and Seafood

It’s summer, and I’ve been putting the grill to good use. In Chicago, we need to seize each day of our short grilling season! I want meals that are simple and fast, yet also healthy and delicious. ...

It Doesn't Get Much Easier than Muffins

The stars must surely be in alignment because: our markets are now bursting with berries; we all need to get out of our ruts and treat ourselves and loved ones to something special; and this ...

Turn the Heat Up or Down in Homemade Harissa

I absolutely love the flavors of Middle Eastern and North African cooking - the warm spices of cumin, cardamom, turmeric and cinnamon to name just a few; the freshest vegetables including tomatoes, ...

Take Summer Up a Notch with Fish

It’s finally summer, the season for all sorts of celebrations. If for no other reason than I-just-want-to-feel-like-myself-again, I think livin’ it up a little and getting a bit fancy “just ...

Want to Live to be 100? Cook the Right Foods

If you’re like me, your cookbooks are getting a workout during these stay-at-home days. I find it’s easier to keep busy and refrain from wallowing when engaged in physical tasks. Of course cooking ...