The Chopping Block Cooking Blog

Wok Cooking 101

In my last blog, I mentioned how during these months of lockdowns (self-imposed and otherwise), I’ve spent a lot of time experimenting with recipes. Several of them have been inspired by the fact ...

German Fruitcake is Traditional and Delicious

Like it or not, it is fruitcake season. In Germany, we have Stollen, which a fruit bread of nuts, spices, and dried or candied fruit coated with powdered sugar or icing sugar and Lebkuchen, which ...

Christmas Roast Beef

This holiday is most likely going to look different to everyone this year. There may have been job loss this year, and most of us are planning smaller family get togethers. But one great thing about ...

Going Crazy for Grazing

I have officially jumped on the grazing table and boards bandwagon! This trend of gluttony and gratuitous amounts of foods sprawled throughout entire tables that is meant for people to nibble on and ...

Chickpea Curry for the Meatless Monday Win

Several years ago, I decided that we should try to incorporate more vegetarian meals into our lifestyle. I had heard the concept “Meatless Monday” and thought it would be a fun way to remember to ...

Perfectly Al Dente Pasta in the Instant Pot

It's no secret that I'm a big fan of the Instant Pot. But when I recently started seeing recipe after recipe online to cook pasta in it, I was skeptical. How could the machine that miraculously ...

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 ...

Coq au Vin Step by Step

One of my favorite warming winter recipes is Coq au Vin, or chicken braised in wine. I think Coq au Vin is to chicken what Beef Bourguignon is to beef. It takes an ingredient as simple as chicken ...

Mexican Tortilla Soup: Your New Go-To Soup This Winter

After feasting on Thanksgiving leftovers all weekend, my palate was in need of some new and exciting flavors. I was also looking for a creative way to use up the turkey stock we made with our ...

Ropa Vieja

At the beginning of the year, Cuba was on my list of places to travel in 2020. Thanks to the pandemic, it’ll have to remain on my list (which is growing as the months pass) a bit longer. I ...