The Chopping Block Cooking Blog

Japanese Souffle Pancakes

As the reigning Pancake Princess at The Chopping Block, I’m always looking for new and different pancakes to make. I’ve made sweet pancakes, as well as savory pancakes, so when it came time to make ...

Cold Weather = Ramen Craving

Saturday night approached, and I found myself scrolling through the Internet for new restaurants to try. I had been craving ramen for a while, and my boyfriend had actually never tried it before, ...

Here's the Tea

Every now and then it can be good for a person to take a short hiatus from drinking highly caffeinated coffee every morning. Like, for instance, if you find your entire body vibrating like a tuning ...

For Goodness Sake! A Very Basic Guide to Japanese Sake

What do I know about sake? We sell the stuff, and people seem to enjoy it, but for me it just tastes like an awkward college attempt at being cultured. I don't remember much about the first time I ...

What's in your Knife Drawer?

Sometimes you just never know what you’re going to find in those less-frequently accessed corners of your kitchen drawers. In our case, it was the discovery of knives made by a family whose ...

Easy and Elegant Sesame Seared Tuna

Chefs are a lot alike in many respects. We like to work in a kitchen that offers us opportunities to learn. Many of us have had more jobs throughout our careers than people in other professions ...

Japanese Homestyle Foods You'll Want to Make in January

While we love making sushi and ramen from scratch (like, love-love), we couldn't help but want to share with you some of our other favorite Japanese dishes to make in your home kitchen. If sushi ...

A Taste of Japan

A year ago my best friend Tyler and I visited Japan to celebrate his 30th birthday. In true #TBT fashion, I’m throwing it back and remembering all the incredible sights, smells and eats from that ...

A Small Peek into the World of Japanese Snacks

There's nothing like traveling to Japan to make you call into question things you assume to be routine. Hand soap in the bathrooms? Optional. Rare, even. But a flush system with more buttons than a ...