The Chopping Block Cooking Blog | Cooking Techniques

6 Things You Didn’t Know About Cooking Thanksgiving Dinner

Arguably the most important meal you’ll eat this year is rapidly approaching. Turkey Day. The Gobble Feast. Thanksgiving. Every year, Thanksgiving becomes a friendlier holiday to me, especially when ...

How to Make Fresh Cranberry Juice

My friend and colleague Liz Songer recently brought me the most beautiful gift of two giant bags of fresh cranberries from her annual trip to Hayward, Wisconsin. She usually takes her trip to ...

A Little “Peppering” of Knowledge

Extremes of spice, in food, around the world are baffling. Whether you like a little cracked black pepper on your eggs in the morning, or you pop pickled jalapenos like they are marshmallows with ...

How to Cook Chicken of the Woods Mushrooms

I'm in mushroom ecstasy as this is a banner year on my property in Michigan for wild mushrooms! My Hen of the Woods mushrooms have returned in abundance so I have been busy cooking and preserving ...

Pears: The Other Fall Fruit

I have always loved the in-between seasons of Spring and Fall. Everything is changing, from the weather to what we wear. I don’t know about you, but I love getting out my “sweater weather” clothes – ...

Put your Food Preservation Fears to Rest

Local farmers markets are bursting with late-summer produce right now. Wouldn't it be great if you could enjoy this bounty in the middle of a frigid Midwest winter? You can, simply by canning, ...

The Flat-Pack-Taco-Stack, Freeze-n-Broil Technique

When I cook at home, I want to make my life as easy as possible. On my days off, I tend to prepare things in bulk, and freeze them in Ziploc bags. I arrange the bags so they are as thin and square ...

Embrace the Whole Chicken, and Then Cut it to Pieces

Chicken was a staple in our house when I was growing up, however, the only time I ever saw an entire fowl was the Thanksgiving turkey. Other than that, the chicken was already cut up into its white ...

The Chopping Block's Herbs de Provence Salt

I have been growing a tremendous number of herbs in Michigan and experimenting with different preservation methods for them. It's been revelatory for me! Before I started drying my own herbs, I had ...

5 Things Everyone Should Know How to Cook

I'm not a chef. I've only worked one job in a kitchen... well, it was more of a garage, and all I did was chop fruit and vegetables for a salad bar. When I started at The Chopping Block I could ...