JUST OUT! A Homemade Life: Stories and Recipes from My Kitchen Table, Molly Wizenberg. (Simon & Schuster March 2009). Here’s a narrative cookbook coming directly from the hugely successful, award-winning blog Orangette (http://orangette.blogspot.com/) straight to your heart!
Overwhelmed by the death of her father, Molly Wizenberg feels unable to return to graduate school in Seattle after the funeral. She heads instead for Paris, the scene of so many wonderful memories of being there with her father. Instead of working on her dissertation, she finds herself mooning around chocolate shops, perusing and sampling cheeses in outdoor markets, reading cookbooks for hours. She soon realizes she is called NOT to the academic life, but to the kitchen. Food is her destiny. Returning home, she creates a blog named Orangette after the French treat, chocolate-dipped candied orange peels. What begins as a pastime develops a loyal following and a book deal soon follows.
In this delightful story/cookbook, Molly shares childhood adventures, a developing new romance, and a wedding—all interspersed by recipes guaranteed to find new fans! The lovely, red-headed chef has a down-to-earth way of sharing her cooking adventures and I've tried out a couple mouthwatering choices already-- a flourless deep-chocolate cake that I mean to share after only a small slice for myself--but, oh, what can I say! Gluttony got the best of me--
For more about Molly: http://simmertilldone.com/2008/06/23/tell-simmer-orangettes-molly-wizenberg/
-- Rosemary Carstens
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11 comments:
Sounds interesting, I'll check it out. Blogs that turn into books don't always work well though, because the type of writing on a blog is much more throwaway, even on very good blogs. Books are usually deeper and more thorough, even if they're made out of individual short essays. I want more meat in a book than I find on blogs.
Well this one won't disappoint! The writing style is fun and it reads like a novel, plus she talks about the setting in which her recipes were served--family gatherings, dinners with friends, and romantic occasions. It is, after all, a cookbook with stories, meant to be light, humorous, and easy reading--
I'm glad to hear that Molly followed her dream, especially since it involved chocolate. Thanks, Rosemary, for posting this.
Amazing how food in general (and perhaps chocolate in particular) is there when there is something/someone to celebrate, to mourn, to heal.
I love how Molly Wisenberg seems to have mixed writing styles--narrative and cookbook. So inspiring that she cooked up her own writing recipe of story, food, and humor.
How inspiring to know that she followed her heart and allowed it to shift her course. Would that we were all so perceptive...
Very interesting. When my daughter was visiting for Christmas, she and I walked up and down Pearl Street and dropped into Peppercorn (a marvelous culinary shop) so she could buy a gift for her roommate. While waiting for her to make a choice, I looked over some of the cookbooks on sale and noticed several that seemed story-based or at least story-related. Is it a trend, do you suppose, to help find an audience when there are so many competing cookbooks on the market? I'm also curious to know if Molly's relationship to her father somehow involved food -- if he was a foodie, a chef, a critic, or anything similar.
Alyce: Molly's mother AND father both loved to mess around in the kitchen and she adds recipes of their that were favorites and tells stories of their different styles. I've always loved narrative cookbooks and they are not new, but have been around for quite awhile. The stories that come with the recipes always seem to make them more meaningful --
What a fantastic story! Just another example of someone following her/his dreams and finding both happiness and professional fulfillment. Thanks for drawing my attention to this great new food voice!
Sounds like a fun read and that fourless chocolate cake ... mmmmh
I've been checking out the Feast e-Zine and really love all the book reviews! You've made me want to hit the bookstore.
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