Posts from November, 2010

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Rockin’ Raclette Party

Monday, November 29th, 2010 by Erica

The holiday party season is upon us.  Friends, family, and co-workers gather to celebrate the season, cheer on football teams and exchange cookies.  Invitations flow in and impromptu casual gatherings abound.  It is such wonderful time of year – the festive spirit is everywhere!  Soon it will be time for me to host my absolute favorite holiday fete: a Raclette Party!

A Swiss tradition, raclette is both a type of cheese and a special dish indigenous to the Alps region.  To create a satisfying meal, the Swiss would hoist a large piece of raclette onto a stand, extend it near a flame, allow the delicious cheese to melt, scrape it onto their plates, and enjoy it with boiled vegetables and hearty bread.  It is still served that way in many ski lodges in Europe, however, melting cheese near an open flame is not too practical for me in my urban Chicago apartment.  Happily, raclette machines have made their way to our store.  Shaped like a compact, table-top grill, our raclette machines have a flat surface across the top for searing meat and veggies, and small pans for melting cheese that tuck underneath the grill-top.  They are easy to clean, easy to store, and create a fun and interactive way to eat!

An alternative to fondue, raclette is perfect for all kinds of parties.  Everyone can choose their own ingredients and portions, and the host has hardly any cooking to do.  Just plug in the machine, lay out some platters of cheese, meat and veggies, and voila!  Typically, raclette is served with small boiled potatoes, cornichons, crusty bread, and charcuterie.  I also add mustard, pickled onions, and a savory spread or two to liven things up.  Pair all of that with a cold Riesling or nutty brown ale, and you’ll feel plenty of holiday cheer.

My young cousins love “raclette night”, as do my grandparents.  The food is delicious, easy, and adaptable to all appetites.  During this busy retail holiday season, creating such a simple and fun party is ideal for me.  I don’t have the time to create lavish appetizer buffets, and my friends and family don’t want me to spend my time buried in the kitchen.  Raclette night is a chance for all of us to relax, enjoy each other’s company, and share some delicious, simple food.  What could be better?

SwissmarRaclette Standard Party Grill, $100

SwissmarRaclette Stone Grill, $119.95

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Erica oversees the general retail operations for both Chopping Block stores. Along with her store managers, she makes sure our retail spaces are looking good, our retail staff is feeling good, and our customers and students are having a good time whenever they visit. She loves cooking at home and attending TCB classes whenever she can, and when she’s not eating food, thinking about food, or making food, she also enjoys practicing yoga, traveling as much as she can, and kicking back with her boyfriend and nearby family (usually over food!).

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Farewell from our Wine Goddess

Saturday, November 27th, 2010 by Diana

The way I see it, it’s both good news and bad news.  The good news is, my family and I are loading up the truck and moving to Denver, ready to tackle the Rockies and the eager to tap into its thriving wine scene.  The bad news is, after five years as the Wine Director of The Chopping Block, I’ll be hanging up my wine stained hat.  Sigh.

What a treasure these last years teaching wine classes at “The Block” has been! It’s been my privilege to have such an excellent platform to bring wine to the people, as has always been my goal.  Shelley and the gang also believe that wine is an integral part not only to the meal, but to the bon vivant in general, and they’ve been totally supportive and encouraging, even with some of my more cockamamie wine class ideas.

That said, the wheels are in motion to find my fabulous replacement, as wine will not only survive at TCB, it will thrive!  In the interim, come wish me bon voyage at any of the upcoming wine classes through my last day with the company in mid-December, including perennial faves such as Good Wine, Bad Economy, and next week’s The Italian Grapes You Should Know (and oh, you should know them!!).

Cheers, TCB family!  Like I said, the pleasure has been all mine.

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Everything in its Place

Thursday, November 25th, 2010 by Clair

“Mise en place” loosely translated means “everything in its place”. You’ll hear chefs at The Chopping Block refer to mise en place often in classes when discussing a recipe. What you may not know is that we don’t just use that term for ingredients; it applies to tools as well.

Of course, it’s important to make sure you have all the eggs or milk you need for your favorite cupcake recipe but do you have enough cupcake liners? Do you have a portion scoop ready so that they are all the same size and bake at the same time?  If you take a few minutes to “mise en place” your non-ingredient supplies, you won’t miss anything.

Our mission here at The Chopping Block is to get you cooking and  the way we mise en place that is by giving you all the knowledge, ingredients and tools we can to get you wanting to cook more at home. The reason we do this is simple: food is our passion. Everyone who works here loves food. Eating it, talking about it, cooking it and yes, even blogging about it.

Our students and customers who tell us they don’t cook much say they don’t because it’s a hassle.  However, if you take our advice and mise en place before you start cooking, it will be much easier. If you don’t like cooking because you hate chopping, come in for a Knife Skills class. If your knives are dull, bring them in and we’ll sharpen them for you and if you need a great new cupcake recipe? Yep, we have that too. We are here for you, so come in and see us.

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Clair Smith is a Lead Chef's Assistant at The Chopping Block's Merchandise Mart and Lincoln Square locations. After being a long time student, Clair joined the TCB team in 2006. When she's not helping people learn how to cook, she enjoys traveling, camping, and entertaining family and friends. Clair lives in Hyde Park with her husband Ken and her cat named 'Kitty'. She loves Mexican cuisine and her "go to" dish of the moment is Pozole.

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Do You Know Your Bird?

Wednesday, November 24th, 2010 by Graham

It’s the day before Thanksgiving. Hopefully, you’ve had a chance to stop in to The Chopping Block for a lesson in how to carve a turkey, or maybe you’ve taken our Thanksgiving Workshop and got a game plan for the whole meal. I’d like to take look into the star of the show… your friend and mine: the turkey. Do you know what kind of bird you have chosen for your festivities? Remember, it’s just about a month ’til Christmas dinner, which is another great opportunity for a turkey dinner.

By far, the most common type of turkeys on the table this year will be the broad-breasted white turkey. The domesticated turkey dates back to the Aztecs and is indigenous to North America. What makes its way to most of our tables, however, rose to prominence immediately after the second World War. Returning GI’s were anxious to celebrate the holidays with their new families which led sales of traditional holiday staples to sky rocket. In response to to this great demand, turkey farmers like Butterball began cultivating large fast-growing birds with ever increasing amounts of white meat.

The far less common alternative are the increasingly popular heirloom style ‘Heritage’ turkeys. Heritage turkeys come from a specific select group of breeds… breeds which predate the turkey explosion of the late forties. Heritage birds are quite literally a different animal. They are older birds as it take these breeds longer to mature. As such, they have spent more time walking around which means highly developed legs and much more rich dark meat in general. But developed muscles can sometimes mean toughness and heritage turkeys can sometimes be heavier terms of their yield – another by product of their longer maturation time. That wonderful dark meat flavor is a treat, which means expensive- often upwards of a hundred and fifty bucks for a 15-20# bird. I have been lucky enough to try a Narragansett and a Bourbon Red both heritage breeds and they are outstanding!

Many people are finding a happy medium in searching out farmers who are thoughtfully  cultivating broad-breasted whites, which make for outstanding eating. Some purveyors specialize in only broad-breasted whites and bronzes while others only work with heritage breeds. Its also possible to find farms that cultivate both. As with all food, if possible, talk to the folks who raise it and they’ll be more than happy to put you on track for the bird that’s right for you.

Here are some suggestions:

Chicago Green City Market

Howard Kauffman Turkey Farms

Caveny Farm

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Graham Hoppe was raised in Indianapolis, Indiana and currently lives on Chicago’s north side. In 2007, Graham received his BFA with a concentration in Sculpture and Sound from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. After attending Kendall College, working at a West Loop Cajun/Creole restaurant, and producing at WGN radio in Chicago, he found his way to the Chopping Block. He enjoys traditional country music and blues, playing the mandolin and making dinner with his girlfriend, Amy.

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One of a Kind

Monday, November 22nd, 2010 by Liz

As the buyer for The Chopping Block, I shop for the fall and winter Holiday season all year long.  Hence, when it’s time for me to do my Holiday gift buying there’s not much in stores I haven’t already seen. It’s for this reason and many more that I love the One of a Kind Show held at the Merchandise Mart December 2nd thru the 5th.  The One of a Kind Show is a large indoor gift show for the public that features an endless selection of handcrafted items created by talented artists and craftspeople. This year there will be more than 600 artists from across North America bringing their imaginative and handmade creations to Chicago.

The One of a Kind Show has become a Holiday tradition for me.  I save up all my pennies and shop for everyone on my Holiday gift giving list at the show. Everything at this show is unique, special and not seen around town.  I have indulged in jewelry, scarves, framed artwork, fancy hats, pewter ornaments, artisanal serving pieces, pickled vegetables, salsass and even a lamp.  I never know what I am looking for, and yet I know instantly when I have found it.

The Chopping Block has participated in the One of A Kind Show every year since it has been in Chicago.  We present some of our favorite Holiday ingredients, candies, scrumptious gifts and truly one of a kind culinary finds.  This year Aunt Else aebleskivers will be doing live cooking demonstrations all weekend long.  What is an aebleskiver?  It’s a traditional Danish spherical pastry, somewhat similar in taste and texture to an American pancake, but light and fluffy like a popover.  Stop by our booth to see them made hot and fresh for you to taste.

We will be featuring Hammonds Candies hand pulled artisanal candy canes, rich and silky hot cocoa and fun peppermint straws.  For those looking for a truly Chicago style gift we will have Pizzeria Uno deep dish pizza pan sets and  Chicago’s very own Terry’s Toffee will be sampling out their many tempting toffee flavors on Saturday from 12pm to 2pm.  For those of you who have visited us at the show before, don’t worry, we wouldn’t forget our truffle salt and popcorn or our pantry staple Cream of Balsamic vinegar.

The Chopping Block will have free passes to the One of a Kind Show in our Merchandise Mart location while supplies last. Stop by and fuel up on our sumptuous treats while you peruse the wonderful finds of a truly unique One of a Kind Show.

One of A Kind Show Hours:

Thursday, December 2nd 12–9 pm: Opening Day

Friday, December 3rd  11 am – 9 pm

Saturday, December 4th  10 am – 7 pm

Sunday, December 5th  10 am – 5 pm

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Liz Songer, Buyer for The Chopping Block always knew she would somehow end up in the culinary industry. Having grown up with parents deeply entrenched in the restaurant franchise business; you could say it was inevitable. She has been selecting the tools, cookware, knives, cutting boards’ cookbooks, ingredients and fun gadgets for our students and customers for 8 years. She feels honored to contribute to the Chopping Block and deeply believes in the company’s mission of Getting the County to Cook. Cooking has always been at the heart of her family and she believes in getting cooking into the hearts of your family. Liz loves her vegetable garden, laughing with her friends, Santa Fe, green beans, and turquoise but she hates deviled eggs!

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