Chef Lisa graduated culinary school at Kendall College Evanston in 2003. Before Lisa became a chef instructor at The Chopping Block, she worked in numerous restaurants around Chicago including Naha (where she met her husband), Spiaggia, Custom House and opened Acanto in 2014. When not in the kitchen you can usually find Lisa curled up with a great bottle of wine and a good book or eating out at a new restaurant with her husband.
Recent Posts
DIY Stroopwafels
My very first encounter with Stroopwafels was on my flight to New Zealand eight years ago. I had never heard of such a snack before. So, when the flight attendant said peanuts or waffle, I jumped at ...
Growing up Sicilian, we knew how to party! It seemed every weekend we attended some sort of a special event or get together. I remember frequenting different banquet halls all throughout Illinois and ...
Stuffed Fresno Chiles: A Versatile Filling for Your Next Party
It all started with me needing to clean out my fridge. I had Fresno chilis that were about to go bad, ground beef that was starting to oxidize… what was I going to do? I have had stuffed peppers on ...
I was recently interviewed for a Mashed.com article discussing the most common mistakes home cooks make when sautéing and it got me thinking of all of the techniques we teach at The Chopping Block, ...
Growing up in a Sicilian household, we had numerous different holiday traditions. In my family, we had Feast of the Seven Dishes for Christmas Eve, Zeppole for St. Joseph’s Day, lentils for New ...
It’s time for another round of my favorite series: Love it or hate it! What foods do you love that no one else does? What foods do you have a deep distain for? This is a hot topic in all of my ...
We all have that one food whether from our childhood or a bad dining experience that we just can’t stand. It could be a texture issue, a smell, how it was presented, or just a preconceived notion ...
One of the things that always intrigues me when I am teaching our cooking classes are foods that people either love or hate to eat. There aren’t many foods that I dislike, and I will always try ...
Does anything hit the spot better than a frozen drink on a hot day? I don’t think so! I have had my fair share of tropical pina coladas, daquiris, frozé, and frozen margaritas during the summer. ...
When I think of deviled eggs I usually think of picnics, barbeques and Easter. They are one of the most versatile snacks or appetizers that I can think of and have always screamed Americana to me. ...
