Sweetness and Light

Writer of romance novels marries her loves - storytelling and cooking

By Michael Hastings

JOURNAL FOOD EDITOR

Wednesday, November 9, 2005

• Something Warm from the Oven, by Eileen Goudge. Morrow Cookbooks, $24.95.

Romance-novel fans may recognize the name Eileen Goudge from the covers of Otherwise Engaged, One Last Dance and other novels. Those who have read her books may also recognize her love of cooking, if only because so many characters seem to bake a lot. Now Goudge has written her first cookbook in response to readers who have asked her about recipes for those sweet treats her characters make.

Something Warm from the Oven isn't all about giving reality to her fictional characters' creations. Its 150 recipes are foods that Goudge herself likes to make. It also includes recipes collected from family members and readers.

The book's eight recipe chapters cover all manner of baked goods, but with a definite emphasis on those designed to satisfy a sweet tooth.

The chapter Coffee Cakes and Cupcakes includes Peaches and Cream Cake, Glazed Orange Cake and Banana Streusel Coffee Cake.

Goudge offers Eileen's Birthday Banana Cake with Buttercream Frosting or Seven-Minute Frosting for a special occasion, and Pecan Sandies and Apricot Bars are among the cookie choices.

The large selection of pies and tarts includes Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie, Pumpkin Chiffon Pie and Chocolate Truffle Tart.

Crisps, cobblers and puddings get their own chapter, including Apple Brown Betty with Lemon Sauce and Chilled Mango Pudding with Pineapple Rum Sauce.

Among the quick breads and muffins are Caramel Apple Bread and Pumpkin-Cranberry Muffins.

Goudge also includes Buttermilk Biscuits, Old-Fashioned Cream Scones, Oatmeal Bread, Orange Rolls, and Kitty's Cinnamon Sticky Buns (which figure prominently in Goudge's book One Last Dance).

Headnotes show Goudge's passion for food, and her hands-on knowledge of working in a kitchen. It seems clear that she likes to bake about as much as she likes to write. She even has lots of recipes on her Web site, www.eileengoudge.com, including some not in the cookbook.

Maple-Oatmeal Muffins are a real treat, filling and full of fiber from the oatmeal and permeated with the wonderful flavor or maple syrup, with a bit of crunch from nuts for good measure.

Goudge's fondness for maple syrup shows up again in Applesauce Cake with Maple-Cream Cheese Frosting. This supermoist cake is nicely spiced with cinnamon, cloves and allspice, and the frosting combines the refreshing tang of cream cheese and the deep flavor of malpe. Pumpkin Rolls need some salt, but otherwise have great flavor, with just a hint of orange. They also are beautiful to behold, coming out of the oven plump, golden-orange with nicely browned tops.

All in all, Something Warm from the Oven is a fairly accomplished book that combines the homey, tried-and-true quality of a community cookbook with the polished writing of a published author.