Featured Food Blog Friday: Mele Cotte

There are some blogs I read out of duty, because they were the first blogger I’d ever added to my reader and I can’t seem to let go. There are others that I read because they have beautiful photography and I like to look at the pretty pictures. There are others that I read because I know the blogger well and enjoy hearing their voice in each post.

And there are some, like Mele Cotte, that I read for the food. It’s a blog that I read to soak in the pure, unadulterated ingredients that are as beautiful and complex as they are functional and accessible.

I chatted with Chris last week about – you guessed it – food, blogging and everything in between.

MC: What prompted you to start writing a food blog?
CA: It all began about four years ago, but it seems like yesterday! With some encouragement from a friend, I began Mele Cotte for two reasons. First, I wanted to expand my culinary abilities. I was a rotator, cooking through my standard five edible recipes every week.  The blog not only made me think about what I was cooking, but made me write it down as well. Secondly, I had been baking for several years, bringing my sweets to work and other gatherings.  I found the blog a great way communicate the recipes when asked.

MC: How would you describe your cooking style?
CA: I am not sure I have a cooking style.  Is “feel good” a style?  I like to eat, so I cook foods I crave, try foods that are new to me, and I (attempt) to stay healthy although that doesn’t always happen. I am an avid baker, as well, and enjoy creating cakes, cookies, and tarts (among other things).

MC: What is your favorite cookbook? Why?
CA: A bit of a cookbook addict, I have…well, way too many.  And, like most of us, I have the popular ones by fabulous and talented chefs.  But, my favorite cookbook is Wilson Farms cookbook.  Wilson is an amazing farm that has been in existence since 1884 in historic Lexington, Massachusetts, a few miles from where I grew up.

I loved going there with my mom, as their produce was out of this world.  I recognized it even then, even if my palate wasn’t there yet.  There are a bunch of recipes online, but their cookbook?  The home-style, old school, uncomplicated, and delicious recipes make the cookbook worth so much more than the $5 they charge.

MC: What is the first meal you ever prepared?
CA: Rice with egg. I remember my grandmother making it and can still taste her version. (Never got mine as good) But, its real simple – add cooked rice, beaten egg with parmesan, and milk in a sauté pan until the egg is cooked.  The milk is used so it doesn’t become fried rice.  Come to think of it, I haven’t had it in a long time and think I need to make it again soon.

MC: Where do you get the inspiration for the recipes you create?
CA: I am not sure I can pinpoint my inspiration. Random thoughts are always swirling in my head and I think could live at the Farmer’s Market. My mood, magazines, blogs, and going out to eat, and visiting bakeries and patisseries all contribute to what happens in my kitchen. 

If you could have dinner with one famous/celeb/well-known chef, who would it be?
Oh…must I choose?  Just one?  Tom Colicchio? Govind Armstrong? Jacques Torres?  With all the many chefs I would love to hang with for a meal, I will have to go with Mary Maher, of the dynamic duo of the Cake Girls. Brenda, too if I could count the duo as one.  But, Mary is a most phenomenal cake artist! Even more, she seems like one of the celebrities that are just as cool at home, hanging out, as they are in the spotlight…like Sandra Bullock. 

What is one thing you still want to learn how to do in the kitchen?
There is a ton I still want to know about baking and pastry, so much that I would love to go back to school for it. Mousses and custards are still a little iffy for me. Learning the art of tempering chocolate and how to turn it into amazing pieces of art, make a beautiful Mille-feuille, and not burn pralines & nougatines would all be fabulous as well.

What is one piece of advice that you would offer a brand new blogger?
Oh, there is so much more to blogging that I thought in the beginning.  I think one piece of advice would be to know the purpose for starting the blog and sketching out a basic schedule.  It can get addictive, which can become a bit all-consuming. 

There is also more tech-y, behind the scenes stuff that I am still trying to figure out, but that is beyond the question’s “one piece of advice.” I will leave that for someone else!