"orangette" news and stories

I first heard of Edna Lewis's The Taste of Country Cooking while reading Orangette a couple of weeks ago. Molly's description of this cooking classic made me think that it sounded like a book I needed to own. Only a few moments later, I had completed my amazon transaction and the book was on its way to me.

It arrived a few days later, and I've been reading it straight through, like a novel, ever since I got my hands on it. Nearing the end, I'm slowing down the pace of my reading because I know the time is coming when there won't be anymore new-to-me words in this text and that looming reality makes me sad.

I bought my copy used, and so it opens to the pages that the previous owner visited most frequently. They must have liked the fried chicken section, because when left to its own devices, that's where this book goes. However, I don't think that anyone actually cooked from this book, mostly because it is devoid of those telling splatters that accidentally occur when you bring a book into the kitchen.

Foodies who love the written word, hear my words. This book is a must have. Do yourself a favor and get yourself a copy, settle down with a beverage and read until you are compelled to leap up and head for the stove.

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Molly Wizenberg, the Seattleite behind the lyrical food blog, Orangette, is now appearing in Bon Appétit. Wizenberg's first monthly "Cooking Life" column is in the March issue, on stands now. In it, she tackles fear of baking with yeast, providing readers with a yummy-looking recipe for cinnamon rolls with cream cheese glaze.

If you haven't read Orangette, you should start - it's like reading a novel. A novel that's mostly about food. While her posts can sometimes get a little too folksy with the "oh goshes" and "darns," others, like the one about cooking with her father, will make you cry with their brilliant, raw emotion.

Molly's also got one of the great foodie love stories of the modern era. Her now-husband, Brandon, was introduced to her blog by a friend, tried her recipe for lemon cake and was so inspired he emailed her offering to take her out to dinner. Problem was, he lived in New York, she in Seattle. Three weeks later he flew out and they fell in love over gelato and strolls through Pike Place Market. When they got engaged a year later Molly got nearly 200 well-wishing posts on Orangette. Sweet, no?

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There's a group of freelancers and independent folks here in Philly who get together twice a month to work. Everyone brings their laptops and spends the day quietly focused on their own projects while in the company of one another. I volunteered to host this time around and threw in the added incentive of fresh muffins. I still have a dozen of the whole wheat zucchini ones I threw together earlier in the week (they've been hanging out in my freezer for the last couple of days) but since I had some bananas on their last legs, I decided to make another batch of muffins tonight.

I went off in search of a banana bread recipe that I could alter to work as muffins, vaguely remembering that Molly at Orangette had posted one that didn't use eggs and featured dark rum and coconut. I found it, and threw it together with only minor changes. I substituted whole wheat pastry flour for the regular unbleached (I do that with just about every baked good I make these days, and nothing seems worse for the alteration) and skipped the sprinkling of sugar on top (because I totally forgot). I also didn't measure the coconut because my measuring cup was wet and I didn't feel like pulling another one out, so I think I put more in that might have been called for, but they turned out gorgeously nonetheless.

A cannele is a small pastry with a custardy center and crisp crust that develops by caramelizing sugar and butter during a long baking time. They are relatively difficult to find at bakeries in the US, though they remain very popular in France, where they originated. Traditionally, they are made in small, specially-shaped copper molds that most people would not want to purchase for the sole purpose of attempting to make these treats. Silicone pans are inexpensive, but are tricky to maneuver in the oven and do not allow the exterior of the pastry to get dark enough. Molly, at Orangette, circumvented the need for a special mold to make these by using a mini bundt pan, which are far more versatile than the more traditional options. For a recipe that uses the traditional molds, try this one, but you may need to experiment with baking times if you try Molly's trick.

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