Molly Wizenberg of “Orangette”

I have a bit of difficulty expressing just how thrilled I was when Molly Wizenberg (known in the food blogging world as “Orangette”) agreed to be on the cover of our magazine. I’ve loved (and lurked on) her blog for a long time and when I finally met her in NYC at the launch of Where Women Cook, I’m afraid I had one of those star-struck “OMG, YOU ARE ABOUT TO MEET ORANGETTE! ACT NORMAL, LORALEE!!!!!” moments. (Umm…I kinda failed at that whole “normal” part.) Luckily, Molly is exceedingly gracious and kind and I’m sure that as you read her this week you’ll love her as much as I do!

Hi. My name is Molly Wizenberg, and I write a blog called Orangette.

I live in Seattle, but I grew up in Oklahoma, went to college in California, and lived in Paris for a while. I like peanut butter, meatballs, cabbage, chocolate, cheese, ice cream, buttered toast, and nectarines, though preferably not all at once.

I started my blog in July of 2004. I had just decided to quit a Ph.D. program in cultural anthropology, and I didn’t know what to do with myself. The only thing I knew was that, whatever I did, it had to involve food and writing, two things that I had loved since I was a kid. I thought it might be kind of amazing to write for a food magazine someday, but I had no idea how. In the meantime, I decided that I would just get a job doing whatever, and then write after hours. I told a journalist friend about my decision, and being very wise, he suggested that I start a blog. It would help hold me accountable, he said: having a blog would force me to sit down and write regularly, even when it felt difficult. So I started Orangette.

Almost seven years later, here I am. Along the way, I married a man named Brandon Pettit, who I met when he read my blog and sent me an e-mail about it. (Crazy, I know). I also wrote a book called A Homemade Life: Stories and Recipes from My Kitchen Table, as well as a monthly column for Bon Appétit and articles for the Washington Post, Town & Country, and more. I’ve also had my photography published on the websites of The New York Times and Gourmet. In August of 2009, Brandon and I opened a restaurant called Delancey. It’s been insane - but mostly in a good way. I thank my lucky stars every night.

You learn a lot of things when you start a blog. Things you like, things you don’t, what works, what doesn’t. We’ve decided that we will be doing one huge giveaway for every issue we publish. This quarter our Blue Plate Special is insanely awesome. One of the items up for grabs? A full conference pass to The Creative Connection Event in St. Paul, MN in September. (ERV: $625). And that is only ONE of the things we have to giveaway, so make sure you come around on March 4th!