The Chopping Block Cooking Blog

Old-Fashioned Egg Noodles

When I was younger, I would hang out in the kitchen with my grandma, who was always cooking up a big pot of food. Even though it was just her and her sweetie at home, she still cooked for a small ...

Cozy up to a Bowl of Soup this Season

If you live in Chicago like me, you have to admit we have been pretty lucky with the weather so far this fall. That's been great news for all of the outdoor grilling classes we've hosted on our ...

Creamy Tomato Basil Soup

The crisp fall weather has been great lately. Leaving off the furnace, and letting the cool, gentle breeze blow in through the windows has been so refreshing. And then yesterday, it snowed. Talk ...

Thai Chicken Noodle Soup

One of the questions I get asked often is why do I bother to cook for myself since I live alone. “Isn’t it too much trouble?” Well, luckily I love to cook, but now that I am not cooking for a ...

Welcome Fall with Sweet Potato Bisque

My late husband finally understood how much I love soup once he gave me a cookbook with 101 soup recipes. I can eat it all year round. I especially love coming up with soups using leftovers at the ...

Tex-Mex Meatball Soup

With cooler weather on the way, I can’t think of anything more inviting than a hot bowl of soup. This Tex-Mex Meatball Soup is a hearty, zesty soup that I really can’t get enough of. I always make ...

No-Cook Spring Soup

In my highly personalized and largely antiquated recipe system, there are folders. Started in my twenties, these old-fashioned colored cardboard folders have been stuffed lovingly over the years, ...

Rekindle your Love for Kitchen Equipment

One of my first quarantine projects was taking everything out of my kitchen cabinets and drawers, cleaning the surfaces and reorganizing the contents. I had an appliance drawer that was a chaotic ...

Food Comics: New and Improved French Onion Soup

We are pleased to introduce Food Comics from The Chopping Block where our resident Cartoonist Tom O'Brien illustrates his cooking adventures. Tom used to make Alton Brown's version of his favorite ...

What Happens when you Instant Pot a Whole Chicken?

I must admit, I was pretty averse to getting an Instant Pot. For me, it’s a pretty pricey investment for a fancy pressure cooker. I finally caved on a Black Friday deal on the larger 8-quart ...