recipe: cherry cornmeal torte

This is the first recipe I tried from the cookbook Gather Around My Table and boy is it a keeper! With so few ingredients it was in the oven in no time at all. Yet, comes out looking like I spent hours on it. This will surely be my go-to recipe to whip together if I have unexpected guests. It's substantial enough to be served with just coffee or tea. And, I think has a rustic cozy look perfect for Fall!

I did have to look up what a "torte" is and how it compares to a cake. Apparently, it typically uses little to no flour, relying on ground nuts or breadcrumbs and whipped eggs. They don't rise very high, making them shorter and fatter than standard cakes. The author of this cookbook, Kay Chun, said this was inspired by the classic Italian olive oil cake. When cherries are in season, she pits, halves, and freezes them so she can make this cake year-round. She loves this most with cherries, but says other stone fruits like peaches, plums, and apricots are also terrific. The cherries I used were store-brought frozen whole cherries, and I didn't cut them in half. The mixed berries I get for my smoothies I think would also be nice in this (cherries, blackberries, and blueberries). So many options!

Cherry Cornmeal Torte

Ingredients:

Cooking spray, for greasing the pan (I just rubbed butter on the pan)

3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup finely ground cornmeal

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp ground cardamon

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

4 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature 

3/4 cup turbinado sugar, plus 1 tbsp for sprinkling (I used brown sugar)

1/4 cup California-style extra-virgin olive oil 

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

2 large eggs

6 ounces cherries, pitted and halved (I used 1 1/4 cups frozen whole cherries)

2 tbsp slice almonds (I used 3 tbsp)

Instructions:

1) Heat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly grease an 8-inch springform pan with cooking spray and line the bottom with parchment paper; lightly grease the paper.

2) In a small bowl, combine the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, cardamon, cinnamon, and salt and whisk to combine.

3) In a medium bowl, combine the butter and the 3/4 cup sugar. Using a hand mixer, beat on medium speed until well combined, about 2 minutes (I used my stand mixer). Add the oil and vanilla and beat until well blended. Add one of the eggs and beat, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl, until well incorporated; repeat with the remaining egg (I just threw them both in at the same time and mixed like normal). Sift the flour mixture over the batter (I just threw it in). Reduce the speed to low and beat until just combined. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top using an offset spatula. It will look like there is not enough batter, but the torte will rise during baking. Arrange the cherries in a single layer on top, then scatter the almonds all over and sprinkle with the remaining 1 tbsp sugar. 

4) Bake until the cake is golden and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 45 to 50 minutes.

5) Transfer the pan to a rack and cool for 30 minutes. Unmold the cake and cool until lukewarm or room-temperature. Serve with whipped cream, creme fraiche, or ice cream (I just ate the torte plain and it was absolutely delish). 

Store the torte in an airtight container at room temperature for 2 to 3 days.

book review: Gather Around My Table by Kay Chun

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ 5/5

Thank you Knopf for providing an ARC for review consideration via NetGalley! All opinions are my own.

Gather Around My Table by Kay Chun is exactly what I needed to get my cooking to a whole new level of flavor. 

Lately, I’ve been adding new staples into my pantry and learning how to incorporate them into my routine - fish sauce, soba/udon noodles and broth, miso, anchovies, tinned fish, and seaweed have quickly become favorites. Now that I’ve gotten comfortable with those and am ready for the next level, this book seems like the perfect guide to expand my arsenal of ingredients, flavor profiles, and techniques. Thanks to Chun, my upcoming shopping list now includes clam juice, capers, perilla leaves, bonito flakes, dried fernbrake, and gochujang.

The standout recipes I’m starting with first include:
- Salads: The Everyday Greens Salad with wakame, and a Crunchy Cabbage and Sprout Salad with Tomato Nuoc Cham.
- Dips & Small Plates: A brandade made with smoked whitefish and labneh, a seasonal Smoky Eggplant Dip with Parsley-Dill Oil, and Blistered Beans and Okra.
- Hearty Dishes: Doenjang-Smothered Collards and Cabbage, and Mung Bean Pancakes with sprouts and scallions.
- Drinks: The Green Juice Cucumber Cooler (though I might wait until next summer for this one!).

As a lover of anything fermented and pickled myself, it was interesting to read how a traditional Korean meal uses a spread of these items to complement the main dishes. I walked away from that chapter with some very intriguing recipes so I can offer a spread as well—like caraway and soy pickled garlic, star anise pickled peanuts, soy-glazed seaweed, and smoky, jammy marinated eggs.

Another chapter I was excited to see was devoted entirely to tofu. Chun learned from her grandmother that tofu adds moisture and texture to meat, so she blends it into sausage for meatballs, a breakfast sausage roll, and hamburger sliders. This section also includes an eggless mayo using tofu and detailed instructions on how to make dumplings, which I have always wanted to try my hand at.

If you’re someone who is eager to branch out in the kitchen, I would highly recommend this book. While some of the ingredients might not be as familiar and may require an extra shopping trip or online order, so far in my journey that is half the fun of cooking! And once you’ve got the ingredients, the recipes look to be fairly quick and straightforward. Being in the kitchen with her grandmother, growing up in NYC, and learning French foundations in culinary school all melded into Chun’s unique perspective. That fresh approach, which mixes the familiar with the unfamiliar, is an incredibly approachable way for readers to foray into new territory.

book review: The Lives of Immigrants and Refugees: Tales of Migration, Hope, Grief, and Finding Home in Nebraska edited by Matthew F. Bokovoy, Lisa Guill, Michelle Carr Hassler, Joy Castro, and Emira Ibrahimpašic

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ 4/5

Thank you University of Nebraska Press for providing an ARC for review consideration via NetGalley! All opinions are my own.

My eyes and heart have been opened wider after reading The Lives of Immigrants and Refugees: Tales of Migration, Hope, Grief, and Finding Home in Nebraska. 

In this moving collection, thirty-one of the immigrants and refugees residing in Lincoln, Nebraska, share their journeys through personal essays. What I loved most was the lack of a rigid format; the contributors were allowed to write about what spoke most to their individual experiences, in their own voices. The editors who compiled the pieces are deeply embedded in the community, hosting monthly storytelling and writing workshops for two years to help the authors shape their narratives. For those who felt more comfortable speaking, their spoken words were carefully transcribed and transformed into print. 

The accounts come from a remarkably diverse group of individuals spanning many different countries, ages, and eras of arrival in the US. I learned so much from the first hand experiences of people who have survived political unrest, wartime, and constrained upward mobility. Yet, whether they were actively fleeing these harsh conditions or arrived through other circumstances, threads of hope, perseverance, and tenacity were always present. 

I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys learning more about the world through authentic, personal accounts.