Today’s Blogger Spotlight is Georgia from The Comfort of Cooking. Georgia’s blog is gorgeous, with beautiful photos and tempting recipes. I’ve been a follower of her blog for a little while now, and it is one of my “must reads”! I was so excited to learn more about her!
What inspired you to first start writing your blog?
Last January, I sat in on a professional cooking class of a series that was, frankly, too expensive. That week, the students were studying bread-making, and I was so inspired by the class that I went home and baked my first-ever loaf. So, I ditched the idea of taking classes and decided to learn in the comfort of my home, chronicling my cooking adventures in a blog. I started my first entry with that loaf of bread, and “The Comfort of Cooking” was born.
Do you plan a weekly menu? If so, what inspires your menu?
Yes, I try to. I’m mostly inspired by the season (for example, I cook lots of hot, hearty meals in the fall) and what my husband and I are craving that week. Some weeks, I just like to save money, use what’s already in my cabinets and get creative.
What is your favorite kind of food to make?
I love making comfort food to feed a crowd. During a recent party at home, I set out pots of pulled pork, macaroni and cheese, salad, homemade rolls, and a fruit pie, and it was all gone within an hour. I love feeding friends and family – It brings us together!
What is your favorite recipe posted on your blog?
My favorite would have to be my Mini Molten Chocolate Cakes (http://comfortofcooking.blogspot.com/2010/10/mini-molten-chocolate-cakes.html). They’re easy and delicious for a casual after-dinner chocolate fix, or as a fancy dessert for guests. All you need is a muffin tin, a few basic ingredients, and a love of chocolate!
Mini Molten Chocolate Cakes
Yields about 8 cakes
Ingredients
1/2 cup unsalted butter or unsalted margarine
6 ounces semisweet chocolate chips, or bars cut into bite-size chunks
3 large eggs
1/4 cup sugar
Pinch of salt
2 tsp. flour
8 paper muffin cups
1 6 oz. container raspberries
¼ cup powdered sugar
Directions
Melt butter and chocolate in a medium heat-proof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water, or in the microwave for about 1:30. Remove from heat. Whisk eggs, sugar and salt in a medium bowl until sugar dissolves. Beat egg mixture into chocolate until smooth. Mix in flour until just combined. (Batter can be made a day ahead; return to room temperature an hour or so before baking.) Put ¼ cup powdered sugar into a small bowl and set aside.
Adjust oven rack to middle position. Heat oven to 450 degrees. Line a standard-size muffin tin (1/2 cup capacity) with muffin papers. Fill each cup to the top with the chocolate mixture.
Bake until batter puffs but center is not set, 8 to 10 minutes. Carefully lift cakes from tin, pull papers away from cakes and transfer cakes to dessert plates.
Sift powdered sugar lightly over each plate. Top each cake with a few berries and serve immediately (I recommend a side of vanilla ice cream!).
Enjoy!
Will you show us your kitchen? What is your favorite thing about your kitchen?
Living in an apartment, I can come up with a hundred things I would change about my kitchen, but I do love that everything is within arm’s reach. I guess that’s one of the perks of cooking in a small space!
Where do most of your recipes come from? (Family favorites, you make them up, magazines, cookbooks, etc.)
I often use other food blogger’s recipes, favorite sites such as Epicurious, AllRecipes and Food Network, and sometimes just my imagination! RealSimple is a great magazine for recipes, and I also have a few family favorites on my blog.
What is your favorite part about blogging?
Besides all the talented, kind home cooks and bakers I have gotten to know, the blog is a great conversation piece with friends and family, most of whom like to cook and give me tips of their own.
What kind of food did you eat growing up? Do you cook the same kinds of things today?
I ate mostly Italian and Irish-inspired comfort food growing up: Lots of delicious pasta dishes and hearty pot pies. But, my mother also cooked a lot of country-style dishes like barbecued chicken, apple pie, and grilled steak. My cooking now is heavily influenced by what I grew up on, but I like to give classics a twist.
What was the first dish you ever cooked?
Chicken parmesan. My now-husband and I had a disagreement when we were first dating and just moved in together, and in addition to an apology, I cracked open a bottle of wine, lit some candles and cooked him a big dinner. Apology accepted.
If you could travel anywhere in the world – just for the food – where would you go?
Italy, and I did just that in May 2007 with my husband and his parents. Best trip – and food – of my life. Except for the raw squid with heads and tentacles bathing in tomato sauce… That was not the best.
Take us through a typical day of eating in your house.
A weekday breakfast consists of cereal for me in the morning, homemade Savory Muffins (http://comfortofcooking.blogspot.com/2010/06/savory-breakfast-muffins.html) for my husband, leftovers for my lunch, a deli sandwich for his, and a delicious, relaxing meal together for dinner that night.
What is your best tip for saving money on groceries?
Check your grocery store’s weekly ads and plan your Monday-thru-Friday meals around them. You can also view the ads on most stores’ websites.
What is your best tip to becoming a successful blogger?
My best advice would be to pay attention to what keeps YOU coming back to your favorite blogs. Is it the simple, easy-to-navigate design? Is it lots of drool-worthy food pictures? Is it the casual, interesting writing style of the blogger? Try to implement these things in your blog. A Facebook fan page is a great tool to keep readers updated on new posts, too. And of course, support your favorite bloggers with nice comments – You’ll get plenty in return.
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Thanks for letting us learn more about you, Georgia! If you want to see more from Georgia, here is where you can find her!
Website – The Comfort of Cooking
Facebook Page
Is there a blogger you’d like to learn more about? Contact me at tasteandtell @ gmail . com and I will see if they want to participate!
 
Thanks so much for including me in this feature, Deborah. I really enjoy learning about other bloggers through it, and I hope your readers enjoy it and are encouraged to participate, too!
- Georgia
Thanks for showcasing a great blog. I took your advice and it was amazing.
Thanks for stopping by today. I read you all the time, just quiet.
Here's to Fall Food, right?
I love learning more, and LOVE LOVE seeing bloggers kitchens! Love Georgia's blog.
I adore Georgia and her blog. She is such a beautiful presence in the blog world, and I was so glad to get to know a bit more about her. Thank you for sharing…and thank you for your warm words today on my blog. They mean a lot to me (and to my family)
I love Georgia's blog! What a lovely blogger spotlight
It was great getting to know a little bit more about her too!
Great spotlight feature on Georgia over at Comfort of Cooking, which is one of favorite blogs…always beautiful, drool-worthy food and thoughtful writing!