Cherry Bombe: The Cookbook ed. by Kerry Diamond and Claudia Wu | 2017 | Clarkson Potter | Hardcover $25
It’s the first-ever cookbook from the team behind Cherry Bombe, the hit indie magazine about women and food, and the Radio Cherry Bombe podcast. Inside are 100+ recipes from some of the most interesting chefs, bakers, food stylists, pastry chefs, and creatives on the food scene today.
The Cherry Bombe team asked these women and others for their most meaningful recipes. The result is a beautifully styled and photographed collection that you will turn to again and again in the kitchen.
After the absolutely bonkers year that was 2020, I felt an itch to start a new project. Something comfortingly domestic, but experimental. Something just a little challenging, but not overwhelming. Something delicious.
So, I decided to cook my way through one of the many, many, many cookbooks I own and have enjoyed reading but have somehow never gotten around to actually cooking out of.
I chose this one start with because it contains an impressive variety of recipes from different global cuisines and at all levels of difficulty, and each recipe comes with its own charming personal story from the culinary professional who contributed it. (Plus, I’ve been binge-listening to their podcast, Radio Cherry Bombe.)
I started with the soup joumou recipe by Leah Penniman on January 1 — a traditional New Year’s dish in Haiti. Over the next 3 months I ended up trying over 20 new recipes… pink gnocchi, green borscht, mirza ghasemi, maraq digaag, pasta e piselli, and even homemade ricotta among them.
The experiment was a success. The majority of the dishes produced in my kitchen from this book were somewhere on the tastiness scale from decent to delicious. Best of all, I have returned again and again to several of these recipes, making them part of my regular family dinner or meal prep rotation.
I think that the editors did an EXCELLENT job with this book, because none of the recipes I tried were difficult to follow or offered unrealistic instructions (e.g. “caramelize the onions for 5 minutes”). I’m sure this was a huge feat, given that they had to collect recipes from over 100 different chefs, food journalists, restaurateurs (restaurateusses?), etc.
The photographs, by Alpha Smoot and Claudia Ficca, were also excellent. I think sometimes food glossies can get a little carried away with being “artsy” and leave a cook wondering what the heck the end result of a recipe is supposed to actually look like, but I think the photographer and food stylist did a fine job of making the images both engagingly fun and actually informative.
The physical book itself is also well done. It lies flat on a table or cookbook stand, and the pages are uncoated so it’s easier to write notes on them (if that’s your thing).
I would absolutely recommend this book to any home cook that is looking to experiment a little with something fun or unfamiliar, but not outrageously avant-garde or complicated.
Baked eggs with leeks and greens by Aran Goyoaga
OK, to be honest this recipe specifically calls for dandelion greens, but that ingredient wasn’t available to me; I went with… kale? I think? In any case, that minor substitution in no way diminished my enjoyment of the finished dish. I should probably eventually get real ramekins instead of these random crocks, though.
Beet and ricotta dumplings with browned butter and sage by Evan Kleiman
I’m not sure why the recipe title refers to these as dumplings; they’re gnocchi! Regardless, I was quite impressed with myself for successfully making them; thankfully the browned butter topping is super simple, so once the gnocchi comes together the rest of the dish is not quite so intimidating.
Broken pie crust cobbler with mixed berries by Cassidee Dabney
I don’t think of myself as much of a baker, but this recipe is so straightforward and forgiving that it seemed like it’d be worth and try — and it absolutely was. This specifically calls for frozen berries and a purposefully messy crust, so there’s no worrying about tracking down perfect summer fruits or being precisely neat with the pastry.
Labneh by Homa Dashtaki
This recipe calls for nigella seeds and ground sumac as toppings; I wasn’t able to obtain these from my regular grocery store, but I found it was just fine topped with sesame seeds and chili powder.
Lemony lentil stew with ginger and turmeric by Andrea Gentl
I know it doesn’t look all that impressive from this pic; it certainly isn’t as impressive a presentation as suggested by the photo that accompanies the recipe in the cookbook, because I didn’t fuss with all the special toppings (black rice, sunflower sprouts, baby radish, etc. etc. etc.) — but that doesn’t bother me. Even in its simplified form, this recipe is super flavorful and somehow heartening. It has become a new comfort food for me.
Maraq digaag, a.k.a. Somali chicken stew with yogurt and coconut milk by Hawa Hassan
This is a rich and complex dish that is wonderful as-written but also customizable. I tend to crave it when the winter weather is at its most most miserable. Don’t skip the banana accompaniment (not pictured); it really does add a little something extra.
Mirza ghasemi, a.k.a. Persian eggplant and tomato spread by Nilou Motamed
This turned out to me one of my favorite recipes out of this book, perhaps my absolute favorite. This is no doubt in part due to the quality of ingredients; I got everything from a farmers’ market, when the veg were at the peak of their season locally. Now it’s a summer tradition for me. (BTW, yes, I do realize it’s more traditional to mix the eggs into the veg or scramble them separately, but sometimes a person just needs to break into a fried yolk, OK?)
Pasta e piselli by Claudia Ficca and Claudia’s Nonna Grazia
I made this the first night of the Great Texas Freeze, a.k.a. Winter Storm Uri, a weeklong weather event that crippled our state’s energy infrastructure. It has turned out to be a fam favorite that makes regular appearances at our weekend dinners.
Pink spaghetti with beet and ricotta sauce by Elettra Wiedemann
I’ve always loved the look of beets and have always wished to love the taste of them, too — alas! I can’t make them work for me. This is perhaps the closest beets have ever come to tasting good to me, in a vivacious combination with rich cheese and bright citrus.
Soup joumou, a.k.a. Haitian pumpkin soup by Leah Penniman
This was the very first recipe out of this book for me; I made it for New Year’s Day, as is traditional in Haiti. Apparently it’s usually made with beef, but this vegetarian version is so flavorful that it just doesn’t feel like the meat is missing, if that makes sense.
Spring greens borscht by Victoria Granof
Here’s another recipe that has been added to my regular rotation. I love to pack it for lunches because it is just as good chilled as it is hot, so I can skip the breakroom microwave.
Stovetop ricotta by Anne Saxelby
I’m sure it doesn’t look like much to most people, but I’m so pleased with myself for pulling this one off. I found it much easier than expected, actually. It just takes a little attention and a little time. Plus, the leftover whey can be used for other recipes — like the aforementioned spring greens borscht!
Sweet potato wedges with tahini by Vivian Howard
The brilliance of this recipe is in its tahini-honey-citrus dressing. It’s good on the sweet potato wedges, of course, but I have also used it on salad and drizzled over soup.
Three-cheese cauliflower gratin by Anna Weinberg
This is the final recipe from this book that has been liked well enough by my spouse to show up on the table for our shared weekend meals on a semi-regular basis, and even for special holidays. I’ll admit to relying on the shortcut of using frozen cauliflower rather than messing with a whole fresh head of it, but no one has complained!
I also tried the following recipes and liked them well enough, but didn’t get good photos:
- Beer-brined roast chicken by Adrienne Cheatham
- Coconut curry with chicken and vegetables by Danielle Kosann
- Manicotti with cherry tomato sauce by Sarah Gavigan
- Savory oatmeal with miso and mushrooms by Lexie Smith
Finally, I tried the following recipes and either could not get them to work for me or did not really care for the final product:
- Brisket with sweet and sour onions by Jessamyn Rodriguez
- Escarole and cannellini bean soup with polenta slices by Laura Ferrara
- Irish soda bread by Alissa Wagner
- Lemongrass-brined chicken by Jessica Koslow
BUT — that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t give these recipes a try if you like the sound of them!
If I were to dive back into this cookbook again (I hope to!), I think these are some other recipes that’d be worth trying:
- Cake with mocha frosting by Karen Leibowitz and Karen’s Bubbie Smigel
- Fish in parchment with herb sauce by Kristy Mucci
- Gougères by Melanie Dunea
- Miyeokguk, a.k.a. Korean seaweed soup by Sohui Kim
- Portokalopita, a.k.a. Greek bread pudding with phyllo and yogurt by Mina Stone
- Spicy ginger cookies by Karlie Kloss
- Watermelon gazpacho by Melia Marden
- Wheat berry strew with asparagus by Katie Baldwin and Amanda Merrow
Links:
- Cherry Bombe Magazine
- Radio Cherry Bombe on Spotify
- Review at Publishers Weekly
- Review at Vogue, including selected recipes
Publication information: Diamond, Kerry and Wu, Claudia (ed.). Cherry bombe: The cookbook. New York, NY: Clarkson Potter Publishers, 2017. Hardcover.
Source: Private library.
Disclaimer: I am not compensated, monetarily or otherwise, for reviews of books or other products.
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