• Why are you remodeling your classrooms? They are beautiful already!
• What reason is there to spend money to update your logo and have to deal with the huge impact of that?
• You have one of the coolest business models out there. Why would you start to change it?

But no one is asking why we are building a new website. I guess that says something about our current website!

You may have seen our new logo and the first completed classroom remodel at the Mart.

Currant Kitchen Before

Currant Kitchen After

We have about two more years of construction to go with a planned completion date of April 2017, our 20th year anniversary. The first phase of our new website is launching shortly (hint: tonight!), but I believe that will be a never-ending project as our website will be dynamic. You will see new appliances installed in Lincoln Square at the end of May. In January, our new retail concept will be complete at the Mart and at least one more Mart classroom remodel will be in the works.

But back to the question why?

Well, it actually started in the most round-about way. We needed new countertops at the Mart, as they were beginning to crack. If you are going to spend the money to replace the countertops, you had better look at the appliances they house, and when it became clear they also needed to be replaced, the project turned into an entire remodel of both locations.

It was clear our website was desperately out of date, but what our current site really doesn’t do is give you any sense of what it is like to come to The Chopping Block. When I opened The Chopping Block 18 years ago, I had the opportunity to touch every aspect of the customer experience. When I ultimately decided that I needed to remodel, there was an opportunity to do that again. I cannot personally interact with every customer that comes in the store today, but I do have the opportunity to build the business in a way that supports an interactive experience. What I really needed was to be a Creative Director, to express what is so personal to me about this business and start to articulate it to my staff and customers. The rebrand and remodel is the opportunity to articulate The Chopping Block experience at every level, from our logo to our website to our physical space, right down to the plates you eat on and the music we play.

I cannot divulge every aspect of what I am working on and all of the changes we are making at The Chopping Block. However, I promise you, it will be worth making many trips to our stores and kitchens to watch the unfolding!

Stay up to date with all of the latest happenings by subscribing to The Chopping Block’s newsletter.

Over the next few weeks we’ll be introducing choice offerings from small batch distilleries from around the world, and quite a few local ones too. Here are a couple of recipes for two of our new spirits.

A refreshing take on the Gimlet, the cucumber adds brightness and makes the drink a little lighter.

Cucumber Gimlet

2 oz. Geneva Preservation Gin

1 oz. fresh squeezed lime juice

2 slices peeled cucumber, plus 1 slice for garnish

½ oz. simple syrup

Rocks glass

Shaker

Gently muddle the cucumber in a cocktail shaker and pour in Gin, lime juice and simple syrup. Add just enough ice to chill shaker, put on the cap and shake. Place a few cubes of ice in a rocks glass, strain gimlet into glass and garnish with lime wedge and remaining cucumber slice. Sit on patio and enjoy warm weather.

Ginger Mojito

1.5 oz. Old New Orleans 3 yr. Amber Rum

2 oz. Gingeroo (also from Old New Orleans Distillery)

¾ oz. simple syrup

3 Lime wedges

4-5 Mint Leaves

Soda – optional

Highball glass

Gently muddle 2 lime wedges and mint leaves in a highball glass just until the mint becomes fragrant. Don’t over muddle your mint; we’ll go over this later. Add simple syrup, rum and a few cubes of ice. Stir with bar spoon, add Gingeroo, then give one last stir. Top with soda water if desired; the Gingeroo is slightly carbonated, so there is already some spritz to this drink. Garnish with lime wedge, sit on patio, repeat as needed or until rum runs out.

Avoid Over-Muddling

Have you ever had a drink with mint in it that was grassy or a little bitter? This is the result of over-muddling the mint leaves or any other leaf for that matter: basil, sage, etc. Leaves contain chlorophyll, its what makes them green, and chloropyll is really bitter.

When you smash the leaves to the point where they start to come apart or turn brown, you have completely crushed the cell structure of the leaf and released all the chlorophyll into your drink, making it unpleasantly bitter. The essential oils that give mojitos that minty fresh flavor are on the surface of the leaf, that’s why if you’ve ever rubbed a mint leaf between your fingers, the aroma comes to life almost immediately, so it only take gentle pressure to realeast those oils. Okay, class dismissed, have a cocktail and enjoy the warmer weather.

Thankfully, the days of simply throwing store bought hamburgers on the grill are over. Now we grill everything from meat in fancy marinades to seafood, vegetables, and even pizza and fruit. Similarly, the days of drinking beer with grilled food are over. Because why would we restrict ourselves like that? Life would be truly sad if we simply reached for the same old beer to celebrate the grilling season in Chicago.

So, here are some wines I love to bring to grilling parties and barbeques.

First of all, grilling makes us think of warm weather and being outside. And what is better to celebrate warm weather than tasty rosé? Whether you prefer the crisp, dry and aromatic, light-bodied and light-colored rosés from Provence or instead reach for the fuller bodied rosés from Pinot Noir, Merlot and even Cabernet, rosé is the perfect partner for any party. And because it pairs so well with spicy foods, soothing the palate with those delectable fruit flavors, rosé is a welcome guest at any cook-out.

You want something more festive? How about bubbly: Prosecco to start the party and warm up the guests and fuller bodied Cava or Crémant to pair with food. Vegetables grilled with extra virgin olive oil, fish, chicken? Not a problem, bubbly can handle it all. And if you go into more robust foods, choose a pink bubbly: it has more structure and body and goes really well with BBQ.

There are still those who insist on drinking red wine. Not a problem. I am sure you know already that Zinfandel goes well with BBQ. Yes, that’s true, but don’t do what everyone else does. Reach out for Pinot Noir, perfect for grilled portabello mushrooms and chicken, even pork. Or go for a bigger, bolder Malbec, delightfully fruity and yet zesty.

In a world where there are dozens of new wines on store shelves every day, it would be a shame to limit yourself to drinking only beer with grilled foods or BBQ.

So, if you want to be like me, a welcome guest any grilling party, come to my class on wines for BBQ and learn more tricks.

The Building Blocks of Wine: Wines for BBQ Season

Thursday, May 21

7pm-8:30pm

The Chopping Block Lincoln Square

You will have a fun summer, I promise!

This is what I picked up:

• Watermelon Radishes
• Candy-Striped Beets
• Easter Egg Radishes
• Purple Carrots
• Butter Lettuce

I sliced all of the vegetable (except the lettuce) very thin on a mandolin and tossed them in a bowl with all of the lettuce that I tore. I dressed the salad with this homemade buttermilk dressing.

Buttermilk Dressing

1 Shallot, minced

½ Cup Buttermilk

¼ Cup Sour Cream

¼ Cup Champagne Vinegar

1 Tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Whisk all ingredients together and season to taste.

Everyone who joined us kept telling us how great this salad would be for their Easter holiday, so I made it a part of my family’s Easter feast as well.

One of the beautiful things about attending a small university like Eastern Mennonite is the relationships with the professors – we invited five professors over for dinner with our class of seven, and each accepted and spent several hours talking and eating with us. I was in charge of figuring out the menu and cooking process.

Now, I was sorely unqualified for this responsibility, but I loved dropping all the knowledge I had learned at TCB on my classmates whenever possible. And this was a small example of how food brings people together in so many contexts. To top off that responsibility (which was already daunting, for little old me), one of our guests didn’t eat added sugars, gluten or dairy!

The menu ended up being a collection of salads (my favorite being the quinoa, black bean, and corn salad – check out the recipe below), shepherd’s pie, and the infamous Turkey Hill ice cream which North-easterners seem to go bug-eyed for. Don’t worry – the ice cream had sugar and dairy in it! However, instead of adding butter and cream to the mashed potato topping for the shepherd’s pie, we used stock and olive oil to add a similar texture. To my credit (and my classmates’), all the food was done on time and the dishes were scraped clean.

This experience showed me how diving in and trying new roles in the kitchen can be fun for everyone. There are always ways to keep learning and pushing yourself in areas that you’re passionate about or place importance in.

Here’s the salad recipe, if you would like to give it a go.

Quinoa, Black Bean, and Corn Salad

This recipe is based on something I found here several years ago. Finding random recipes online can be risky, but  this one was a winner.

1. Heat 1 teaspoon grapeseed oil in a saucepan over medium heat; cook and stir 1 chopped onion and 3 cloves of garlic until lightly browned, about 10 minutes. (Optional: add a chopped red or green pepper to the onion mixture.)
2. Mix ¾ cup quinoa into onion mixture and cover with 1.5 cup vegetable broth; season with 1 tsp cumin, ¼ tsp cayenne pepper, salt and pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer until quinoa is tender and broth is absorbed, about 15-20 minutes.
3. Stir frozen corn into the saucepan, and continue to simmer until heated through, about 5 minutes; mix in the black beans and cilantro. Add 1 cup diced tomato if desired.

Sometimes it’s a specific country’s cuisine that inspires me to create a class, and other times it’s a specific recipe that inspires me to build a class around it. The latter scenario is what we are going to explore here.

I’m specifically talking about Bulgogi Egg Rolls. I’m subjected to watching Triple-D (Diner’s Drive-Ins and Dives) on the Food Network on Friday nights. My husband is a fan, and I must admit it’s pretty entertaining. Every so often, a chef comes along that makes some very creative and fusion-inspired food. We were tuned in one night when the segment featuring Rogers Park’s very own bopNgrill aired. I watched as the chef and owner, Will Song, prepared his signature Philly Bulgogi Egg Roll, and it looked so delicious that I couldn’t get it out of my head.

There’s quite a bit of Korean influence found in the food at bopNgrill, and it got me thinking about chef Song’s creativity in using Bulgogi (Korea’s famous marinated and grilled beef dish) to fill an egg roll.  Like so many restaurant style recipes, his dish is pretty complicated, so that’s when I set out to create an “easy to make at home” Bulgogi Egg Roll recipe. Success! My family and I enjoyed them so much that I went on to create a class called Touch of Seoul so other lucky individuals could share in the same joy we experienced while devouring them.

You should be able to find all of the ingredients you need at your local grocery store. Tip: Look for the egg roll wrappers in the freezer section. Allow to thaw right on your counter. Buy canola or vegetable oil for frying.

Bulgogi Egg Rolls

Yield: 12 eggrolls

Active time: 45 minutes

Start to finish: 45 minutes

Oil for frying

1/2 pound lean ground beef

2 teaspoons ginger, freshly grated

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 green onions, thinly sliced on the bias

1 1/2 tablespoons light brown sugar, firmly packed

1/2 teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground

1/4 teaspoon sambal

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon mirin

1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil

1 tablespoon grapeseed oil

1/2 cup napa cabbage, thinly sliced

1/2 cup carrot, peeled and coarsely grated

2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, rough chopped

1/2 cup mung bean sprouts

12 egg roll wrappers

1 egg, beaten with 2 teaspoons water

• Heat the oil in a heavy pot until it reaches 350° on a deep-frying thermometer, and preheat the oven to 200°.
• While the oil is heating, prepare the filling. In a medium-size bowl mix together the ground beef, ginger, garlic, green onions, brown sugar, black pepper, sambal, soy sauce, mirin and sesame oil.

• Heat a nonstick sauté pan over medium heat, and add the grapeseed oil. Sauté the ground beef mixture, breaking it up with a spoon, until cooked through and caramelized.
• Stir in the cabbage and carrots, and cook an additional 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and mix in the cilantro and bean sprouts.
• Lay an egg roll wrapper in front of you, with a corner facing you (like a diamond). Place a heaping tablespoonful of the filling near the corner closest to you. Fold the front corner over the filling, and roll up the wrapper as far as the middle. Now fold the side corners in so they meet in the middle. Continue to roll toward the far corner. Dab a little of the egg wash on the far edge to seal it shut. Repeat until filling is used up.
• Fry the egg rolls in batches until they are golden brown and crisp. Transfer the rolls to a wire rack set over a sheet tray. Keep warm in the oven while frying the remaining egg rolls.

• Serve with Spicy Mayo Dipping Sauce (recipe follows).

Spicy Mayo

Yield: 1 cup

Active time: 5 minutes

Start to finish: 5 minutes

1 cup Kewpie mayonnaise or other high-quality mayonnaise

1 tablespoon sriracha or sambal, or more if desired

1/2 teaspoon toragashi (optional; see note)

• Mix all ingredients together and use in sushi rolls or as a garnish.

NOTE: Togarashi is a Japanese dry spice blend including hot red chilis as the main ingredient.

Now as you all know, I am not one of the Rockefellers, so I just don’t have an automatic ice machine in my freezer. It stinks because once summer rolls around in Southern California, I sure want ice in my drinks. Thus, it requires a lot of turnover and working those ice cube trays. Currently in my fridge, we have FIVE different shapes of ice cube trays/molds. I am happy with two of them. I’m okay with one. I’m VERY unpleased with two. So there’s the math we are working with – 60% satisfaction. However, if you’re like me, you want to have 100% ice cube satisfaction. I thought it would be good to rank a small selection of ice cube trays and molds for your reference to achieve maximum IC satisfaction. I don’t think I’m an expert, but I do know everything in the (ice) world.

#10. Mini Ice Cube Trays – I don’t get the point of these. You could probably use a whole tray for one drink, right?  I don’t know, guys, I’m not on board with this one.

#9. Fish Shaped –These are the most annoying and they don’t make great cubes.

#8. Stars/Sun Shaped – These are slightly less annoying and they also do not make great cubes.

#7. Ice Cube Tray with Lid – Is this actually necessary, people?

#6. Adult-Themed Shaped Trays – This is perfect if you need a gift to give your boss who wants to be best buds with you but more importantly, wants to be the “cool boss!” These are great and all, but they could get you into a compromising situation should you have guests over that lean toward the conservative side.

#5. Standard Plastic Cube Trays – I dig these guys, because they work. It’s easy to break ‘em up and pour ‘em out and they stack well. However, I often find that they crack and break after a little bit of use. I get mine from the Dollar Store, so at least it’s low commitment.

#4. Movie/Television/Pop Culture Shaped Trays – Similar to above, these are nice for gifts if you just don’t know what to give your Disney-lovin’ cousin for their dog’s birthday. However, typically the ice made from the shapes of Mickey Mouse, Tetris, mustaches, Darth Vader, etc. etc. ETC, are really inefficient for actual ice cubes. A+ for novelty, D- for efficiency.

#3. Water Bottle Stick Trays – These are actually really neat, and a smart idea for people who want their water bottles to get cold! They also look really nice in normal glasses. Aesthetics are important, ya heard?

#2. Ice Cube Globes – These are absolutely fantastic for your whiskey/scotch/vodka/liquor sipping. They fit perfect in a rocks glass and they keep your alcohol at the perfect temp throughout drinking. They also last a long time. Sort of a process to get them out and fill them up, but they’re worth it.

#1. Large Perfect Cube Trays (Silicone) – These really do take the cake for both form and function. They make a big cube, they look sharp and they’re relatively easy due to the silicone material. These are also versatile, because you can use them for culinary projects like freezing herbs, flavored cubes for your cocktails, iced coffee cubes, etc.

Bonus Options:

Crushed Ice Cube Tray – Whoa. I just found this, but man, that’s got to hit a lot of spots for crushed ice lovers. I am definitely intrigued.

Vertical Ice Cube Tray – This is a smart, resourceful idea, however, it doesn’t make a lot of cubes. I’d be interested in exploring this more though.

What’s your preferred method of ice? Are you a Rockefeller?

After about two hours of walking on the beach one day, we were ready for a cool drink and a snack, so I was ecstatic when we stumbled upon a farmers’ market! I had never been to a farmers’ market in this area so I was excited to see what kind of produce they would have. One farmer was as sweet as the fruit she sold and gladly let us taste everything we wanted. I was so thankful because we couldn’t really justify buying a pound of every fruit just to taste it.

We started by tasting fruit I had never had before: Zapote which looks a little bit like a potato. I’m pretty sure the Zapote we tasted was under ripe, so it was about as starchy as a potato. It was also grainy and tannic which I think would all be reduced with ripening. There was a beautiful tropical perfume that was persistent so it certainly intrigued me. Seems like this fruit is best eaten fresh, but I would imagine it would also make a beautiful sorbet or jam.

Zapote

I lived in San Diego for 6 years so I have had some pretty good exposure to fresh tropical fruit, including passion fruit. The passion fruit we tasted that day took me right back to my youth in San Diego. My best friend Kathleen grew passion fruit and loved to concoct the most delicious cocktails with them: passion fruit mojitos, passion fruit coladas, passion fruit daiquiris…. I would recommend them all!

Passion Fruit

Next, we had some Rambutan. They look a bit like a beautiful red space alien fruit and the taste is extremely perfumed and floral.

Rambutan

You’ll need to pop the hard shell and inside is kind of a gooey, fleshy textured fruit surrounding a pit. It’s not a texture everyone loves, but I quite enjoy it. I heard of Rambutan for the first time here in Chicago. One of The Chopping Block’s former instructors Jennifer Aranas had an amazing Philipino restaurant named Rambutan, and she used to make a Rambutan milkshake that was delicious. Unfortunately, the restaurant is now closed, but I also just love to eat the fruit fresh.

Eating Rambutan

I think the fruit that really struck me the most that day were the dates. Now as I said, I lived in San Diego which is full of date palms, but I have never had a date as fresh and delicious as this. I promise you we ate every last one of these. They were soft, sweet, smooth and creamy. Because the texture was just so creamy I could really see how the date would lend itself to homemade ice cream, cream brulee or flan. I used to have this carrot and date smoothie when I lived in San Diego at Kite’s Café. I’ve never been able to recreate this shake, and I can see now it was because of the dates they used. Every time I try putting a date in a shake it doesn’t really blend up… I’m going to try soaking them a bit in the future.

Dates at the Miami Farmers’ Market

If you can’t get yourself to Miami or San Diego, I suggest you take a trip to The Chopping Block  for one of our tropical themed classes such as Trip to the Tropics, Jamaica Me Crazy or Tiki Time and experience some of the tastes and flavors that conjure up the warm sunny days of summer. You can also go to the grocery store and load up on some exotic fruit and concoct your own tropical creations. Be sure to share your recipes with us so we can join you on the voyage!

I started by visiting a friend of mine who teaches the bistro class for the culinary program at the Art Institute, where she had put a farmhouse cheese fritter on the menu.  It was… perfection.  Light, fluffy, crunchy.  I was in heaven.

Luckily, the following weekend I got to teach Donut Boot Camp at The Chopping Block. Though it was snowing outside, we warmed ourselves up with both cake and yeast donuts, along with donut holes. We filled some, glazed some and even topped some with bacon (because well, it’s bacon). Overall, it was a raging success – but there was no consensus on which was the best. It was spread across the group. They were all delicious!

But my curiosity was not satisfied. I must try more! So a friend of mine and I decided to head to brunch at Marmalade, a local Ravenswood restaurant. And oh darn – they had beignets on the specials board that day!  So of course we had to partake, and they were yeasty heaven.

For one final attempt at finding fried dough perfection, I made a stop during Restaurant Week where the dessert was a Blue Cheese Beignet. It was good, but I found the blue cheese weighed the dough down a bit.

After all my “research”, I realized that fried dough perfection is simply a matter of personal preference, but I did discover that I prefer the yeasty variety. Something about yeast just means happiness for me. I realize that some people prefer the cake variety, and I do not judge them for this. But there is one thing that I do know – I will not allow those baked things to be continued to be called donuts. If it isn’t fried, it’s just not worth the calories.

Want to do your own fried dough “research”? Join us for our next Donut Boot Camp on Saturday, May 16 at the Mart. Register here.

This year, we’re adding a new feature to The Classic, called Boot Camp Expo. Culinary Boot Camp is a program designed to put you through one year of culinary school, packed into a week! Our mission is to ‘Get the Country to Cook’, and there’s no better way to live into this than by offering a one-week program to teach you everything including knife skills and butchery, soups and sauces, eggs, vegetables and grains to flavor dynamics and plating skills. We cover it all!

At the Boot Camp Expo on Friday, April 10^th, Chef Mario Scordato will be co-hosting with yours truly from 11am-4pm, and demonstrating techniques throughout the day such as how to poach an egg, how to filet a fish, how to make a vinaigrette, and how to break down a whole chicken. He will also take us through our infamous ‘jelly bean’ test as a means to explore and understand our taste buds.

We’re going to have a ton of fun, and for the first time ever, we’ll offer a special incentive when you sign up that day for a Culinary Boot Camp in 2015. Between me and you, the discount is $200 off your Boot Camp enrollment. That’s a good chunk of savings!

This year, we’ve also added a Friday session, so instead of Monday through Friday you can attend class on five consecutive Fridays. We added this session starting July 31^st since let’s be honest, it’s summer in Chicago and nobody works on Fridays!

Throughout our space, you are also welcome to chat with our vendors who will be showcasing their products like Shun knives, Epicurean cutting boards, and Le Creuset non-stick cookware. We will also have a mini ‘Knife Skills’ station set up so you can work with one of our instructors one-on-one.

Interested in private events? Great, grab a Bacon-Wrapped Date and sip of wine, and we’ll chat. Did I mention we’re hosting two of our favorite wine vendors as well? Retail merchandise will be discounted throughout the day, with special discounts announced each hour. You just might get lucky and show up for the 20% off everything hour! And no, I’m not telling when that’s going to be.

All in all Friday, April 10^th is going to be a fun day packed with people who love cooking, eating, and talking about food. We’re excited to welcome everyone into our space, and to showcase our newly designed kitchen… it’s beautiful. See you there!

Get more information on Boot Camp Expo.

I took her through some of Chicago’s neighborhoods so she could experience different cuisines. I must confess that she liked the local Dunkin Donuts store the most, which was a new experience for her.

We began at Burkes Public House in Edgewater where she had an all American burger. They have a small but delicious menu, and the waffle fries are quite tasty!

Since we are from Germany, visiting the Lincoln Square neighborhood was a must. Not to mention, I work at The Chopping Block’s Lincoln Square location! She had the chance to explore the neighborhood, visit the shops in the area, eat some froyo (apparently, they only have plain flavored froyo in Germany), and learn about the neighborhood’s German heritage at the Dank Haus.

As we continued to explore the neighborhood, we ended up on Budakis Hotdogs on Damen Avenue, as she wanted to have a “real” Chicago hot dog. Just don’t ask for ketchup there! We met some friends at The Rail, also on Damen, where on Wednesdays they offer half-price burgers and Trivia Night, which can be a lot of fun!

In Lakeview, we visited one of my favorite sushi places, Matsuia on Clark Street. This is a cute little restaurant with great food and service.

Walking thought Lakeview, we got to see and experience a little of the nightlife, and we ended up at Kit Kat Lounge & Supper Club were we stayed for the wonderful martinis (they have so many kinds!) and great entertainment.

We explored the Magnificent Mile, with all of its shopping, people, hassle and excitement. We also took some time to visit the Palmer House Hotel, a Grand Dame on State Street. This is also the oldest hotel in the city, rebuilt after the Great Chicago fire in 1871. We took a break for lunch so my sister could have a chance to experience Chicago’s deep-dish pizza.

For a perfect ending to the day, we visited The Signature Lounge on the 96 floor of the Hancock Tower, which has spectacular views of the city, as well as great cocktails and appetizers.

Of course, we also stopped at The Chopping Block in the Merchandise Mart, which is the largest commercial building in the world, and another place I work.

Saying goodbye is always hard, but my sister fell in love with Chicago, and she promised to come back again as there are a lot more places to visit and experiences to have in our city. She may even take one of my cooking classes next time!

What’s your favorite destination when playing tour guide in Chicago?

Food, beyond its mere nutritional value, is hugely important in our lives. And if you look through the posts of my fellow Chopping Blog authors you can see examples of its impact; it can bring people together, offer a glimpse into another culture, or be the catalyst for adventure in our lives. At The Chopping Block, we frequently talk about the power of a good meal to bring people together, but I think it can be an equally personal experience. Sometimes, when we prepare our favorite comfort food, we take the time to make ourselves whole again.

So which of my mom’s dishes do I prepare at the end of a long day? Usually, sausage and peppers. It’s a simple dish made in a single pot, but for me it is reminiscent of family dinners. It brings with it memories of my dad’s gentle teasing, of my brother’s attempts to get me interested in his newest video game, of my sister’s joy at the latest Bruin’s victory. It reminds me of reluctantly washing the dishes with my siblings after every family meal while our dog waited patiently for the scraps he knew would come as soon as Mom and Dad left the kitchen. But mostly it reminds me that I have a loving family who believes in me, and with that, I have all I really need.

Mom’s Sausage and Peppers

This is the first time I’ve actually written this recipe out, since I usually just cook from memory and eat when it looks like what I remember from home! That said, enjoy and feel free to reach out with questions.

One package of sausage – I use spicy Italian sausage

Half of a large white onion

Two cloves garlic, minced

Three green peppers (or three of whatever color peppers look the best)

Olive oil

1. Bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil and add the sausages. Boil for 15 minutes, or until you are finished with the rest of the steps below.
2. Heat a large pan over low heat. I love using the Le Creuset braiser for this dish because it retains and distributes heat so well.
3. Drizzle enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan and let it warm up while you chop the veggies.
4. Chop the peppers and onions into bite size pieces, and mince the garlic.
5. Add the garlic, onions, and peppers to the pan.
6. Add the sausages to the pan and cover.
7. Let the sausage and peppers cook for about 45 minutes, until the peppers are tender and the sausages are brown.

What’s your go-to comfort food? And when was the last time you made it for yourself?

However, I’ve made two different hamburgers recently that are brag worthy, if I do say so myself. One of these burgers I documented from start to finish for you. The other I just caught a picture of the final showpiece before eating.

First, you’ll need good quality ground beef. If you have a local butcher shop, I recommend going there; somewhere you know the meat is fresh. The color of the beef should be bright red. Never buy the ‘pre-seasoned’ burgers. Those are the products that have been in the display case for a few days and are beginning to oxidize, so they ‘season’ them to cover up the discoloration of the beef. One of my favorite seasoning blends is the Knox brand Cracked Black Pepper Rub, which we carry at The Chopping Block.

Second, I think about the bun. What flavors/textures do I want: pretzel, brioche, potato, sesame, ciabatta? Then, there’s cheese. Should I choose the old faithful cheddar? What about pepper jack or Gruyere? The combinations of ingredients are endless. Don’t’ get me started! Here’s what I made the other day.

Chef Carrie’s Burger

1 lb ground beef

4 oz Danish bacon

1 large shallot, sliced

4 slices sharp cheddar

Homemade sweet pickles

Mayo

Whole grain mustard

1 T Butter

2 Ciabatta rolls

Grapeseed oil

• Place thick Danish bacon slices in cast iron skillet and cook over low flame until fully cooked. Do not preheat the skillet before cooking bacon. The bacon will cook more evenly by heating up with the skillet. Add the shallots to the skillet when the bacon is cooked halfway. Stir occasionally. They will caramelize in the bacon fat while the bacon finishes cooking through.

• As the bacon cooks, divide beef into 8 oz portions. Gently begin to form into a ball, placing ½ Tablespoon of butter in the center.  This little trick ensures that the burger doesn’t dry out.

• Don’t overwork the beef.  The more you press and mess with it, the tougher the burger will be. Work it until it just holds its shape.

• Season both sides of the burger generously with salt and pepper. Use a little more seasoning than you think.  You will lose some seasoning in the pan.

• Remove cooked bacon and caramelized shallots from the skillet, leaving the bacon fat. Place the ciabatta buns, cut side down in the skillet to toast in the bacon fat.
• Once the buns are toasted, place the burgers in the skillet.  Do not touch for approximately 5 minutes.

• The first side should be GBD (Golden Brown and Delicious) before you even think about flipping it over. ONLY FLIP ONCE! Never press the burger with your spatula.  You’ll just press all the juices out of it and wind up with a tough, dry, flavorless burger.

• After approximately two minutes, add the cheese to the top of the burgers so it will melt as the burger cooks.

• While the cheese melts, spread mayo and mustard on each half of the bun. Add pickles and caramelized shallots to top half of bun.

• Place cooked burger directly from pan onto bottom half of bun. The bottom half of the bun will absorb all the lovely juices as the burger rests.

• Let the burger rest for approximately 5 minutes before devouring!

Here’s a shot of the other burger: Brioche bun, bacon, watercress, mayo, whole grain mustard, pickles and Gruyere.

If you want to talk burgers, join me at our upcoming Big Green Egg Grilling Kickoff Show at Lincoln Square. We’ll be grilling/smoking sliders, ribs, pork shoulder, pizzas, sausages and vegetables. I’ll be working our Big Green Eggs all day so stop by and we’ll discuss burgers! Learn more about this free event.

I was recently diagnosed with Fibromyalgia, and so have needed to start, by necessity, to consider doing things a little differently. I have been ‘a work in progress’ indeed, and the need for constant medication is not the route I want to choose over the longer term.  My body also has a tendency towards inflammation, and this has not helped. What has helped is the guidance of my rheumatologist and also a conversation many months ago with Shelley (Owner/Founder of The Chopping Block) – that diet can make a difference.

Today I chose to ‘get started’.

During my lunch break I looked at food choices that actually work to fight inflammation – and there is a multitude of sources available to consult. Although not all make the exact same recommendations, there is considerable overlap in the topic generally.

After much reading, what I found very helpful was a visual – Dr. Weil’s Anti-Inflammatory Food Pyramid. This really captured so perfectly much of the reading I had been doing.

I was pleasantly surprised to see that I was already practicing many of the recommendations such as fatty fish (what’s not to love about sardines?), low fat dairy, dark leafy greens, whole grains and nuts. Where I could do better – wine (more red, less white; that I can do!), soy (not sure on this one; edamame all day long yes, the salt on it is a

Ginger & Turmeric (Photo Courtesy of medicaldaily.com)

NO!), ginger and turmeric (love them both – need to find some fabulous recipes that will incorporate them well). Oh, and how could I forget chocolate – thrilled to see it at the top, and probably not with the caramel center or toffee chips in it that I love.

One of the things I am most excited about is adding tart cherries into my diet – starting with some tart cherry juice. The key is that it must be tart – not just a luscious, sweet cherry or its juice!

Photo Courtesy of tartcherryjuice.com

This has me pondering, very fleetingly, if a Cherry Ripe would work – and I know the answer already. This beloved, chocolate coated Australian candy, from Cadbury will not do the trick.

Today I am armed with a little more information than I started with, a quick list to take home and a better connection to what is possible with some relatively straight forward changes in the way I choose to eat, and cook.  It has also given me an incentive to look at how to incorporate these concepts into a full meal – and I am loving  that The Chopping Block has just the class for me – “Fresh Start” – which sums it up beautifully.

The main thing holding me back was the steep (and I mean steep) tuition. While many people go in lieu of an undergrad education, I had already received my BS, and I just could not justify the thought of paying (almost) as much to go to culinary school as I would for business school. I had resided to the notion that I’d just work on my cooking skills at home and daydream of someday learning how to filet fish and break down sides of beef (isn’t this what most people daydream about?)

Then I discovered Culinary Boot Camp. Oh. My. Goodness. It’s The Chopping Block’s version of everything you learn in culinary school, in a fraction of the time (and price!). But how can this be? How can they really teach you everything you’d learn in culinary school in just 5 days?! And while technically, it’s not EVERYTHING (there isn’t the sanitation certification and some of the cooking-in-bulk i.e. for restaurants aspects that you get from culinary schools as we know them), you certainly get a whole heck of a lot of knowledge.

I’ve only attended the first two days so far (as I’m taking our Sunday series, which is broken up into 5 consecutive weeks) and it’s literally, all I can think about! Within the first few hours, we were fileting a fish – yes, the one skill I had always wanted to know how to do but didn’t know where to start. I seriously have this day ranked up there among the best days of my life. I don’t know why I’ve always wanted this life skill but it just feels necessary to be considered a legitimate chef.

After I lovingly caressed my whole fish, we began to break it down – cutting off the fins and deboning its “spine”, eventually getting out all of the small “rib” bones with culinary tweezers, I had never felt so accomplished before (and now I can appreciate even more why a good piece of fish is so costly in restaurants). We then prepared our filets in various ways including poaching with skin off and pan frying with skin on. The crispy skin was divine and we took home so much extra fish to continue to cook with throughout the week that I was able to both enjoy this new-found delicacy as well as hone my techniques even more.

While my high from the fish maintained, day 2 brought us to beef butchery, and my excitement levels went through the roof. For whatever reason, I love touching raw meat. Apparently, this is weird and not necessarily a favorite past time shared by others. Taking an entire tenderloin of beef and learning what fat to cut off, how to remove the “silver skin” (yes, this is obviously chef jargon here), and breaking it down into the most beautiful, thick filet mignons you’ve ever seen, was just a great experience.

We went into the importance of searing off your meat to create the golden-brown crust that locks in the flavorful juices and then how to make a pan sauce incorporating the fond left behind. Topping it off with an easy to make garlic-lemon butter was the icing of the cake (or more literally, the butter on the steak – which should now be an equally, widely used term). I left, armed with a bag full of perfectly marbled filets and yet another new, impressive skill set… oh, and an excuse to invite a certain gentleman whom I’ve had my eye on, over for a home cooked meal. He was impressed, to say the least.

In addition to all this butchery, we’ve been learning how to create homemade stocks (chicken, veal and veggie) which will then serve as the bases for a number of other items including the mother sauces – another very “chef-y” thing to know, that I cannot wait to incorporate into my everyday conversations (yes, I admit it, I’m a bit of a kitchen-skills “name dropper”).

Check back for my blog next month as I expand upon the final 3 days of my Boot Camp experience.

If you’re interested in taking Boot Camp yourself, find out more at our upcoming Boot Camp Expo on April 10^th at the Mart, where we’ll be demonstrating skills, answering questions and offering a discount for those who sign up.

Or if it’s the butchery-centric experience you’re craving, we have a really cool demo coming up on April 18th: The Leading Ladies of Butchery! (See, I knew I wasn’t the only one who likes to play with meat!)

Chefs also take meticulous care of their knives. Having a properly maintained knife means it will do a better job for you. After all, if you are going to invest in a quality knife, you are going to spend some money. You want to make sure your investment lasts with proper care.

There are two ways to keep your knives sharp and performing well: sharpening and honing. Most students come to our Knife Skills class not knowing the difference between the two, or not being familiar with the tools for each. It can be confusing since the words are often interchanged. However, they are actually two different processes:

Sharpening is actually removing material from a knife blade’s edge. This is usually accomplished by grinding the edge of a knife against a sharpening stone or apparatus.

Honing is basically maintaining an already sharp edge. When you hone, you polish the rough surface of the knife’s edge which reduces friction and allows the knife to cut into material better.

So, sharpening is making your blades sharper and honing is keeping them that way. If you regularly hone your knife, you shouldn’t need to sharpen it but once or twice a year. But it gets even more confusing when you talk about the tools used for each method because again, they are often interchangeable.

Sharpening Stones

A stone is the best tool for sharpening a knife. Electric sharpeners can wear away too much of your expensive knife without making a good edge. You can also have them professionally sharpened (Sharpening by Dave at area farmers’ markets and Northwestern Cutlery on W. Lake St.) but once you learn how simple it is to sharpen your knife, you can do it on your own!

First, hold the knife firmly. Start with the heel of the knife and work towards the tip against the stone and hold the edge against the stone at a 20-degree angle. Use the guiding hand to keep an even pressure on the blade.

Start to draw the knife over the stone. Press very gently on the blade.

Keep the motion smooth, using even, light pressure.

Draw the knife across the stone all the way to the heel of the blade. Repeat on other side.

Steels

A steel can also be used for bringing back the sharp edge on your knives. A traditional honing steel is simply used to re-align your blade, or keep in good condition. But unlike traditional steels, diamond steels, which we carry at The Chopping Block for $51.50, also contain fine abrasives that will sharpen your knife in addition to re-aligning the blade. The procedure for using either kind of steel is the same.

To hone your knife using a steel, hold the steel and knife away from your body. With the knife in a vertical position, and at a 20-degree angle to the steel, touch the steel with the heel of the blade.

Pass the knife lightly along the steel, bringing the bade down in a smooth arc.

Complete the movement, being careful not to strike the guard of the steel with the tip of the blade.

Repeat the motion on the other side of the steel.

Whether you are using a stone or a steel, you’ll want to wipe your knife clean after you hone or sharpen to remove the bits of the blade that have come off during the process.

Want a tutorial on these methods from our chefs? Sign up for Knife Skills. It’s our most popular class!

All knives at The Chopping Block are 20% off in April. If you buy a knife, you’ll also get a 20% discount on any honing steel. We’ll be offering opportunities to test drive our knives in both stores, so stop by and try a few out.

In the first part of this Back to the Basics series, I took you through making a rich beef stock using the bones from a standing rib roast I made over the holidays. In part two, we took that wonderful stock and turned it into an equally lovely Espagnole Sauce. Today, I am going to take equal parts of that wonderful stock and lovely sauce and create a vivacious demi-glace.

Demi-glace is a a highly concentrated reduced rich brown sauce that like Espagnole is delicious by itself, but most often it is used as a base for other sauces. It literally translates as half-glaze. For this version, I actually went back to my culinary school notes from all those years ago.

Demi-Glace

4 cups of brown stock
4 cups of Espagnole

In a Dutch oven, combine the stock and sauce and bring to just under a boil on medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to a slow simmer and move the pot to the edge of the burner so that the simmer is slowly rolling on the side.

This helps clear the sauce of of impurities and move them to the side for easy removal.

After the sauce has reduced by about half, strain the sauce through a fine strainer to a smaller sauce pan and continue to reduce the sauce in the same manner until it has reduced by half again.

This straining and moving to a smaller sauce pan makes for a cleaner sauce and greater viscosity as well as keeping the color more true.

At this point, it is time for a final straining. I used a strainer with cheesecloth that has been rinsed well.

To begin with, I rock the sauce back and forth and then begin to wring the sauce through the cheesecloth until I have extracted all the sauce through cleanly.

A properly prepared demi-glace should have some key characteristics:

• The flavor should be full and rich.
• The color should be deep and brown, as well as very shiny and have a smooth appearance.
• It should have a great body that can easily coat the back of a spoon and when you drag your fingertip through it leaves a defined trail (that is called nappe).

Espagnole Sauce

Demi-Glace

Initially, I was going to end this series with demi-glace, but it would seem to be a shame not to use this sauce, so the next installment will be a meal that is based on this batch of demi-glace. I think I will go back to Escoffier for that, but we will see next month. Until then, bon appetit!