The Chopping Block Cooking Blog

Pork Chili Verde: Versatility Personified

If you’re anything like me, very few things satisfy like slow-braised meat dishes. I use my Le Creuset braiser, a piece of enameled cast iron cookware we carry at The Chopping Block, a lot. I ...

Tostones: A Delicious Caribbean Treat

As the curriculum coordinator of The Chopping Block, it's my job to create new and exciting menus for our class calendar that support our mission in Getting the Country to Cook. When I come up with ...

Preserve Summer with Herb Salt

Now that it seems warm weather has finally taken root here in Chicago, we can enjoy all the new flavors that warmth brings. A new season of fruits and vegetables is certainly an exciting prospect, ...

A Coffee Conundrum

What was once just a cup in the morning to most Americans, has evolved into a few cups, then ten more throughout the day. Coffee, energy drinks, caffeinated gum, sodas, espresso, green tea, and a ...

5 Tips for Making the Most of Your Grocery Trips This Summer

If there’s one thing I hate, it’s that walk back from the grocery store when you went a teensy tiny bit overboard. You know exactly what I’m talking about: reusable grocery bags (go you for ...

Spiced Oven Baked Ribs

I love having dinner parties for my friends. It allows me to incorporate quality time with friends and my love for trying new recipes. Each dinner party I choose one recipe that I know is a show ...

What’s Better Than Ice Cream?

Here in Chicago we’ve been waiting and waiting for Summer to come, and now it is finally upon us. The temperature is climbing, the beaches are open, the barbeques have begun and the ice cream trucks ...

What's So Great About Cabernet Sauvignon?

I always planned to write a blog about Cabernet Sauvignon, because, in many ways, to understand Cab is to understand wine. Unfortunately, I wasn't really sold on the Cabernet we had on our wine list ...

Grow Plants Year Round with a Moving Game

It's finally gardening season! I started a garden for the first time last year, and it grew to 26 potted plants growing on my balcony. I moved some inside for winter and a handful of the ones that ...

Road Trip Diet Survival Guide

The two greatest roadblocks to dietary adherence for most people are maintaining as healthy a diet on the weekends as the weekdays and staying on track when traveling. Those of us in Chicago are ...