Tricks of the Trade

Learn to make your favorite restaurant recipes at home

You've pulled apart the fluffy, buttery monkey bread at The Bristol. You've swooned over the way Schwa's quail egg ravioli burst in your mouth. But have you ever thought about attempting these iconic dishes at home?

The Chopping Block cooking school wants to show you how, in its "Restaurant Recipes Revealed," a twice-monthly, two-and-a-half-hour class that reveals the mysteries behind some of the city's most coveted courses.

For $40, four recipes are demo'd step-by-step, followed by a taste of the goods (with recipes to take home). The dishes fall on the rustic and indulgent end of the spectrum (Avec's chorizo-stuffed dates have made an appearance), and each is doable in a home kitchen--and on a home budget.

Dishes are picked by The Chopping Block's food-fanatic staff. Sometimes the chef-instructors subversively dissect the flavors to create their own version; other times the recipes come directly from the source--as with this month's "official" Bristol monkey bread.

Upcoming classes (on the 14th and 27th in Lincoln Square and the 24th at The Merchandise Mart) will reveal Birchwood Kitchen's speck sandwich, Bandera's Macho Salad, plus the aforementioned dishes from The Bristol (pictured) and Schwa.

The Chopping Block Lincoln Square, 4747 N. Lincoln Ave.; 773-472-6700 or thechoppingblock.net

The Chopping Block Merchandise Mart, 222 Merchandise Mart Plaza; 312-644-6360 or thechoppingblock.net

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