The Chopping Block Cooking Blog

Brunch Chilaquiles

Brunch is one of my favorite meals to host. It’s always more laid back, no one seems to be in a hurry and truth be told, I like how inexpensive it can be.

Winning French Onion Dip

Football is a big deal in my house. Sundays are spent in sweatpants, cozied up on the couch, yelling at the TV, and enjoying delicious food to go along with the games (this is an all-day affair after ...

The Beauty of Bubbly

I ventured out into the Chicago slush last weekend to celebrate a milestone birthday with a longtime girlfriend whose life motto is “Celebrate everyday with Champagne,” which has to be one of the ...

The No Plan Meal Plan

I am usually very on top of my meal planning game. In my last blog post, I wrote about how cooking meals at home leads to better diet quality and this is why I take the time to plan my meals, shop, ...

Street Food Delights from Germany

I just returned from Germany, where I spent the holidays with my family and indulged in a lot of different street foods. I have to admit: it is quite nice to travel on Christmas day since everyone ...

Don't Waste Food, Preserve It

Food waste is a huge issue in our society, and can be a huge issue for your pocketbook. Finding out what to do with those leftover veggies or extra filet of salmon can sometimes be difficult for home ...

Grits vs Polenta: A Match of Equal Deliciousness

When I broke in my new kitchen a few weeks ago with a dinner party for friends, the star of the show was my Asiago cheese grits with fresh herbs. Just recently, my good friend Dan Smith of The ...

How to Make it through Winter: A Guide to Making your own French Fries

I rarely eat French fries. When I go out to eat somewhere that most people would typically order fries, say to get burgers, I’ll almost always forgo the fries, or if the burger comes with them, I ...

Celebrate Carnival with King Cake Cupcakes

I love Mardi Gras season for many reasons: my birthday, parades with masked people and their "throws" (i.e. beads and trinkets), and King Cake. Being from Louisiana, I'm particularly picky about my ...

The Ultimate Cooking Showdown Competition TCB Edition

If there are two things you need to know about me, especially over the course of reading this blog, it’s that I’m ultra-competitive and I’m a pretty amazing gift giver. If I had to say what my ...