The Chopping Block Cooking Blog

Sopa de Guias con Chochoynes: Oaxaca Squash Vine Soup with Masa Dumplings

I love to garden. I love the physicality of it, I love the beauty of it, the pruning, tending and watering. I love eating fresh produce that I grew myself, and “seed to table cooking” is incredibly ...

Say Cheese to a New Grilled Cheese and Soup Combo

When it comes to food, cheese is definitely my guilty pleasure. It’s my go-to cure for any bad day, not to mention that it’s delicious with wine, which doesn’t hurt either!

Lemon Orzo Soup

My daughter used to work at Panera many years ago. When she got the job, I envisioned her chopping up carrots and celery for the soups and simmering them in the back kitchen before customers ...

Minestrone for your Knife Skills Vegetable Bounty

Every few weeks The Chopping Block hosts a Knife Skills class, which I quickly found to be incredibly valuable for any developing cook. Over the span of a two hour course, I witness twelve eager ...

Get Must-Have Kitchen Tools During our Sale at the Mart

It's almost spring in Chicago, and for me personally, that means spring cleaning, organizing closets and sorting through my kitchen. I'm sure you can relate. Right now, I am looking at my spice ...

Mexican Soup Shortcut

When we think of making Mexican food at home, you may often turn to the classic tacos, burritos or quesadillas. But Mexican flavors punch up a bowl of soup like no other.

Miso Red Curry Soup

I can eat soup 365 days a year, but somehow it tastes better when the temperature is below freezing. You should always have a piping how bowl of soup while you watch snow fall outside.

Roasted Delicata Squash and Carrot Soup

If you know me, you know how much I love delicata squash. I've shared recipes with you before for deep fried and baked delicata squash, biscuits or "delicuts" as I like to call them and gnocchi. I am ...

Ramen 101

Ramen is a noodle soup dish that was originally imported from China and has become one of the most popular dishes all over the world. You may only know ramen from your college days of the instant ...

Soups are the Key to Season Transitions

It is hard to believe that summer is winding down, and we are getting closer to fall. Fall is a beautiful time of year, and when you are in Chicago, you hope for a nice long fall season, because we ...