cooks at home
RECIPE GIRL TO THE RESCUE
Reno blogger Lori Lange inspires legions of hungry readers.
WRITTEN BY ANN LINDEMANN
PHOTOS BY SHEA EVANS
According to www.Technorati.com, upwards of 1.3 million blogs jockey for own attention on the web, and of those, about 17,000 focus on cooking. So, how did Reno-based food blogger Lori Lange, aka Recipe Girl, rise to the top of the food chain, garnering an impressive cadre of more than 31,000 followers, while also catching the eye of heavy-hitting brands such as Pepperidge Farm, Sam’s Club, and Gold Medal Flour?
The humble Lange attributes some of her success to simply being an early adopter in the blogosphere. In 2006, after 12 years as an elementary school teacher, Lange was ready for a flexible, interesting departure from reading, writing, and ‘rithmetic.
“Instead of thousands and thousands of food blogs, like there are now, it was more like 1,000, so I guess I got in at a good time,” she recalls. “I started the website as a hobby, and along the way it turned into a business.”
Family friendly food
The mother of a busy, lacrosse-loving 13-year-old son, Brooks, and the wife of Brian, a management consultant who travels frequently, Lange understands firsthand that family food needs to be delicious, fun, and not too fussy. It’s an ethos that resonates with her adoring following. Logging onto Recipegirl.com is like touching base with a girlfriend who always has the answer to, “What should I make for dinner tonight?”
Indeed, with more than 2,600 recipes, Recipe Girl answers to a legion of readers who look to her for inspiration.
“My advice is to plan ahead!” Lange says. “Sit down on the weekend and map out meals for the week, taking into consideration activities that are scheduled for that week. Utilize your slow cooker on busy nights and make enough to repurpose the leftovers for another meal.”
Some of her favorites include bagel quiche, baked barbecue onion rings, peanut butter s’mores turnovers, and shrimp tacos with avocado chimichurri sauce (all found on Recipegirl.com).
“I try to not use processed foods, and I feature ingredients that can be found everywhere,” says Lange, a self-taught cook.
Getting noticed
While Lange’s blog readership has grown, big-name brands interested in capturing her following have taken notice.
“Pepperidge Farm was the first one to contact me,” she remembers. “They basically said, ‘We’d like to pay you to develop recipes that feature Pepperidge Farm puff pastry.’ After that, other companies like Gold Medal Flour reached out [for me] to develop recipes as well.”
Not long after, companies such as Kraft, Betty Crocker, and spice company McCormick followed suit, courting Lange to develop family-friendly recipes.
But perhaps her favorite brand partnership compensation has been through Sam’s Club.
“In 2010, I had the opportunity to accompany the cheese buyer on a tasting trip in Italy,” she says. “It was amazing.”
Spreading the brand
Besides developing recipes, writing daily blogs, and tapping into social media platforms 24/7, Lange is a featured speaker at food conferences and has served as a guest judge at the Pillsbury Bake-off. Last year, she published a book titled The Recipe Girl Cookbook, which is now widely available (Sundance Books and Music in Reno, Sundancebookstore.com).
Food blogging is a family affair with son Brooks’ site, Recipeboy.com. The site features recipes geared to younger chefs. This summer, mother and son are teaming up on a food blogging assignment in Alaska.
Lange and her family are recent transplants to the Reno area from San Diego. After a year remodeling their new home, they now are ready to jump into the local culture, including not only getting familiar with the best restaurants in town, but also enjoying the abundance of outdoor fun.
Not surprisingly, a Lange weekend camping trip does not feature standard hotdog and hamburger fare. Recently, when Lange was ticking off a luscious gourmet camping menu for an upcoming weekend, Brooks put his teenaged foot down.
“Mom, we have to have hotdogs and hamburgers at least one night!” he demanded.
Lange just smiles, and you can almost see the wheels turning in her head, figuring out how to please her son while not sacrificing good taste. And chances are good that she’ll develop a yummy recipe and blog about the experience!
Next time writer Ann Lindemann is wondering what to make for dinner or how to impress some guests with a fancy dish (that’s actually easy to make!), she’ll log onto http://www.Recipegirl.com
Raspberry-Blueberry Pie
(courtesy of Recipe Girl Lori Lange. Makes one 9-inch pie)
2 pie crusts (I like to use The Pioneer Woman’s Perfect Pie Crust recipe, found at Thepioneerwoman.com)
2½ cups raspberries
2½ cups blueberries
½ cup sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
Roll out one crust to make a 12-inch circle. Snuggle it gently into a 9-inch pie plate and trim around the rim of the plate. Place the crust-lined pie plate in the refrigerator until you add the berries.
In a large bowl, combine the berries. In a separate small bowl, whisk together the sugar and cornstarch. Sprinkle it over the berries and gently toss. Let sit for about 10 minutes. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Place a rimmed baking sheet in the oven on the center rack.
Pour the berry mixture into the chilled piecrust. Roll out the second piecrust and place on top. Trim the edges of the top crust and press together around the edges of the pan with the bottom crust. Cut vents in the top to allow steam to escape. (Alternately, cut strips from the second piecrust and make a patchwork pattern on top).
To bake, cover the edge of the pie with foil to prevent over-browning. Set on the heated baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes. Remove foil and bake for an additional 20 to 30 minutes, until the pie is golden and the berry juices are bubbling. Let cool.
EDITORIAL NOTE:
She’s also given us permission to run these two recipes, and can provide high-res photos.
http://www.recipegirl.com/2014/02/07/bagel-quiche/
http://www.recipegirl.com/2012/05/02/shrimp-tacos-with-avocado-chimichurri-sauce/
