My birthday always falls around Mardi Gras. Growing up in Southern Louisiana, that was a blessing. That meant an annual trek to New Orleans for parade watching, bead catching and all-around ...
I am sure that I am not the only one out there who loves the holiday season for the traditions that go along with this time of year. As a kid, each Christmas involved traditions that my parents ...
The sight of a thick tomato-y chili and a briny batch of oyster stew simmering on the stove are rich in tradition for me; it is my family’s meal the night before Christmas. According to my mom Irene, ...
When I was growing up, I had no affinity for peanut brittle. My father, Leroy, loved the stuff and we always had to have it around. My mother tortured our candy-deprived adolescence with just a ...
It's not a legend. The Chopping Block's Apple Pie recipe was the first recipe ever created and taught here. Needless to say, I am a bit sentimental about our apple pie.
When a theatrical production is preparing to begin its rehearsals, the moment when the process really begins is referred to as ‘going off book.’ This means that the actors have memorized their lines ...
Whether we want to admit it or not, the chilly weather of autumn is slowly descending upon Chicago. The undesirable weather change gives us all a real good reason to dust off the crock pots and Dutch ...
A couple of days ago, I had lunch with a friend of mine who is a cook at restaurant here in Chicago that specializes in locally sourced foods. Over a couple of BLTs, we talked about how fantastic ...
In any given wine class at The Chopping Block, we spend a heck of a lot of time assessing the “nose,” or the smell of the wine, before we actually get to taste it. Sometimes I see students chomping ...
