The Chopping Block Cooking & Wine Blog

Max

Max is a self-taught cook who has been in the restaurant industry for seven years. He got his start cooking and running kitchens in Boston, and Dartmouth, Massachusetts, before moving to Providence, Rhode Island, and ending up in Chicago. Though he has had some success in restaurants, earning a James Beard Award nomination, and winning a Starchefs Rising Star award, He is now glad to be taking a step back from the kitchen to be able to connect with the passionate home cooks that come to learn at The Chopping Block.

Very Good Masa Harina, and a Simple Tortilla Technique

Hey folks, have you ever tasted the difference between a typical grocery store corn tortilla, and one made fresh in your kitchen? If you live in Chicago then maybe you haven’t, because why would you? ...

A Catalog of Worthwhile Food Establishments in NYC

Living in upstate New York has many benefits, but a rollicking and vibrant food scene is definitely not among them. No matter where in upstate you might reside, I can pretty much guarantee your ...

Trees: Not Just for Fruit Anymore

The spring is a unique time of year for gathering edible goodies from the landscape. While there may not be as much growing as in the height of summer, there are a great many wild plants that only ...

Butchering Beef for Fun and Profit

As you may have noticed, meat prices seem to be getting higher and higher. Every time I go to the grocery store now it seems like it becomes less and less feasible to buy meat (commodity beef shank ...

The Sugarbush Chronicles Part III: Evaporation Station

At the end of the previous installment of The Sugarbush Chronicles, we had collected a good amount of sap and were putting it through a reverse osmosis system to increase the sugar content of the sap ...

Less Common Kitchen Knives and Their Diverse Uses

Knives are arguably the most essential kitchen tool any cook will use. Even more so than pots, pans or even a stove. There are plenty of dishes made without the application of any heat, but dishes ...

The Sugarbush Chronicles Part II: Osmosis Jones

When last we spoke, my friend Derek and I had just finished running the lines for our sugar bush, and had just started collecting sap. Since then there have been a number of developments. A few days ...

My Top Five Mexican Cookbooks

Whenever students ask me what my favorite regional cuisine is I always say that its impossible to choose a favorite because blah blah blah… but the real answer is Mexican food. Mexican food is ...

The Sugarbush Chronicles Part I

There are a lot of different sweeteners out there. Some are simply sweet with very little of their own flavor like granulated sugar, while others have a strong character and flavor of their own like ...

Rad Raclette Repast

It seems like all my blog posts in winter are about how you should take the opportunity to treat yourself during these dark gloomy months. If the weather can’t help raise your morale, then maybe a ...

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Cooking Techniques	Cookbooks & Tools
Food News	Local Spots
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Vegetarian	Gluten-Free
Kids	Baking & Pastry
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Max

Recent Posts

Very Good Masa Harina, and a Simple Tortilla Technique

A Catalog of Worthwhile Food Establishments in NYC

Trees: Not Just for Fruit Anymore

Butchering Beef for Fun and Profit

The Sugarbush Chronicles Part III: Evaporation Station

Less Common Kitchen Knives and Their Diverse Uses

The Sugarbush Chronicles Part II: Osmosis Jones

My Top Five Mexican Cookbooks

The Sugarbush Chronicles Part I

Rad Raclette Repast

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