The Chopping Block Cooking & Wine Blog

Boldly Nutritious: Harissa-Roasted Potatoes & Chickpeas

You know that one friend who inspires you to reinvigorate your wardrobe? They make a colorful, printed head-to-toe pantsuit seem chic, but effortless enough for everyday life? They can wear an ...

Roasted Veggies with Wine

Like geese are drawn southwards for the winter, when the temperature plummets my instinct pulls me into the kitchen to roast a passel of vegetables. And since I’ve given up trying to enjoy any dish ...

Brussels Sprouts on the Stalk for Thanksgiving

I absolutely love Brussel sprouts. We didn’t eat them much in my house growing up (my dad still turns his nose up at most green vegetables), but I’ve come to love them in my adulthood. I’ve had ...

Maqluba Makes Use of the Season's Bounty

Every gardener and every friend of a gardener I know is currently faced with the dilemma of what to do with late summer's overflowing gardens. Zucchini as big as a football, copious amounts of ...

The Misunderstood Chili Pepper: More Than Just Heat

Whether it’s watching tears being shed during a Hot Ones video or desperately fanning your mouth yourself, we all have what I like to call “spice memories.” Most of mine happen to take place on the ...

Farmers Market Fritters

Show of hands: how many of you go to the first few farmers markets of the summer and buy all the things, only to get home and wonder, now what do I do with all this vegetable bounty?! 🙋🏻‍♀️

10 Veggie Soup

I am one of those people who gets super pumped with every season changing. I love the sunshine in the summer, the color wheel of fall, the peacefulness of a winter snow and the regeneration that ...

How to Eat Less Meat

As Earth Day looms in the distance and the weather begins to warm, it’s time to talk about one of my favorite hot topics in the world of food: how to reduce your carbon footprint by eating less ...

Too Many Tomatoes, Onions and Squash? Try a Tian

Another Summer is coming to a close and, if you live in the Midwest like me, your garden is probably exploding with veggies. But by this time, you’ve eaten a dozen BLT’s, you’ve canned so many ...

Your New Favorite Spring Soup

As far as holiday dinners go, I think my favorite is Easter dinner. It wasn’t always that way, though. Back in the day, when my sister bought her first house, Thanksgiving quickly became her ...