Last week, we introduced a new project called The Barbara Kafka Dessert Anthology. In talking with Barbara, who’s one of our Cookthinktank authors, it came out that her years of teaching, writing and consulting had left her with a huge collection of dessert recipes which she’d never collected in a “proper” book on desserts.

In Cookthink.com, Barbara found a good home on the web for all these recipes. (And as Kafka devotees, we’re delighted to have them on the site.) Every Tuesday, Barbara will post here at the Cookthink blog and publish four new dessert recipes on Cookthink.com.

Last week, Barbara wrote an introduction to the anthology. We caught up with her later to talk some more about the role of dessert, the difference between cooking and baking, and a typical dessert at the Kafka house.
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It’s the end of the month, and time for another Daring Bakers challenge. After last month’s French bread I was ready for something a little sweet. Lucky for me, Morven of Food, Art and Random Thoughts chose A Perfect Party Cake from Dorie Greenspan’s book Baking From My Home To Yours. Most of my cake baking experience had been limited to box mixes before this, but I felt I was ready to go at it from scratch.

I was fortunate that the cake turned out well with minimum fuss. The icing was another matter. I had never made buttercream before, and didn’t realize how much effort “6-10 minutes” of mixing, even with a hand mixer, would require. After five minutes of mixing my biceps went numb. I kept going, starting at the gooey mass of sugar and butter with sweat beading on my brow, wondering when it would come together. After three more minutes, magically, the goo became fluffy and I breathed a little easier.

The strawberry filled and topped version I made turned out to be the star of my Easter brunch. The fresh berries matched the lemony-light cake perfectly. It was a hit, but it was a bit too sweet for my taste. Next time I think I’ll leave out the buttercream and serve it with a little berry syrup, some fresh whipped cream and a sprig of mint.

Maybe now I can justify investing in a stand mixer.

It’s an ingredient that shows up everywhere. Show us how you show it off by submitting your best egg recipe for the Root Source Challenge.

Our favorite recipe will be featured in the Root Source and published on Cookthink.com. As a bonus, the author will also receive a copy of Sweety Pies: An Uncommon Collection of Womanish Observations, with Pie, by Patty Pinner.

Submissions are due by 12pm EST Tuesday, April 15. Send an email with your name, email, blog URL and permalink to the recipe to rootsourcechallenge [AT] cookthink [DOT] com - and please put the topic in the subject line of your email. Click here for the complete rules and to see past winners. Good luck!

(Thanks to The Lisa Ekus Group for providing us with books for the Root Source Challenge.)

Peanuuuuut, peanut butter….and jelly! And bananas! And vegetables! And so much else…we found peanut butter to be a wonderfully versatile ingredient for this week’s root source. Check it out, and if you like it, please sign up here.

You were particularly enthusiastic with your peanut butter submissions to the Root Source Challenge. The Peruvian Peanut Potatoes from Canella & Comino took the prize this week; her carefully hoarded stash of imported peanut butter went to great use!

We also drooled over these Cinnamon Raisin Peanut Butter Cookies from the aptly named Peanut Butter Boy. A “Holy Slaw” from Alanna of Kitchen Parade made it feel like summer, and the West African Groundnut Stew from Houndsooth Gourmet made us warm inside.

Each week brings such great surprises from the creative cooks out there. Thank you so much for participating and sending in your recipes.

Don’t forget: next week is Root Source Challenge #7: Soy Sauce, so get your recipes in by Tuesday.

Kristin’s post on using up fresh herbs led to some emails about storing fresh herbs (until you’re able to use them up). Here are some general tips on how to store fresh herbs. (We’ve also zoomed in closer and looked at how to store fresh basil.)

I made my hamentaschen a little late this year. Instead of having them done for the Friday Purim holiday, I didn’t get around to them until Sunday. Ah well. I’m still eating them, so I don’t imagine the time limit to write about them has quite expired.

I was always told that hamentaschen are meant to represent the tricorn hat of Haman, the evil guy in the story from the Book of Esther. As a kid, I was far more focused on the cookies than the story. We’d get boxes of assorted flavors from the bakery, but everyone always went first for the apricot, strawberry, and raspberry ones, until just a few sad little poppyseed cookies were left at the bottom of the box.

For Easter brunch on Sunday, I made two batches, one apricot and one black raspberry. As we munched on them, my friend Ben and I traded hamentaschen war stories. My tale involved picking up a hot oven thermometer and having to spend an hour nursing a nasty burn. His woe was over exploding cookies that all came unfolded in the oven, spilling their filling out in a big, smoky mess.

The trick, we decided, was in the folding. In going from the round piece of dough to the small triangle shape, the last fold had to be placed carefully under the first, pinwheeling the flaps so that none of them could pop open and spill the filling. I had seen some recipes that pinched the corners, but my dough wasn’t rolled thick enough to hold straight sides, and I preferred the balanced cookie-to-filling ratio I ended up with anyway.

Though these are technically holiday cookies, I have no doubt I’ll be breaking down and making another batch in a month or two, unable to wait until next spring.

Recipe: Hamentaschen (Cookthink)

As you may have seen in yesterday’s root source, today is National Something on a Stick Day! Hooray!

You could celebrate with a nice satay or some kebabs (or meatballs on a stick). You could even roast some marshmallows.

The picture comes from Feel Good Anyway studios, who did a great commercial featuring this special holiday. You can see their work here.

Corinne’s comment on my dried herbs post from earlier in the week got me thinking about ways to use up fresh herbs. As she points out, they are often sold in large quantities and it can be a challenge to use them up before they wilt, delicate as they are. Here are some ideas:

1 Make a fresh herb bouquet garni. A bunch of fresh tarragon tied up in string and dropped into a spring soup will add a delicate perfume that will make a change from the ordinary. A fresh basil bouquet garni works well in a pasta sauce.

2 Make an omelette aux fines herbes, which is the French name for an omelet with tons of finely chopped mixed herbs added into the beaten eggs. (This Whispery Eggs With Crabmeat And Herbs recipe is a variation on the classic.) (Or add finely chopped herbs to egg salad.)

3 Make an herb salad. A salad of mixed herbs gently torn and tossed with a drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper makes a lovely sandwich filling or a beautiful side dish for grilled fish or meat.

4 Add finely chopped or simply torn mixed herbs to your regular salads. Adding fresh mint, basil, parsley, or other herbs will enhance the flavor of the salad without overwhelming it. (This Romaine And Mint Salad With Lemon Vinaigrette is a good example.)

5 Make an herbed cheese spread by adding finely chopped herbs to mashed up fresh goat cheese (thin with milk or water if necessary) with a clove of minced garlic.

6 Add lots of chopped herbs to rice pilaf or risotto for color and variety. (I love this Broccoli Risotto With Tarragon.)

7 Make herb oil using blanched fresh herbs such as cilantro, basil, parsley or tarragon, whizzed in a blender with a neutral oil and strained.

8 Make pesto (which freezes well), chimichurri or another herb-based sauce to accompany grilled meats, fish or vegetables.

9 Make an herb soup, like this Parsley Soup by Barbara Kafka.

10 Slather a whole chicken with fresh herbs and roast it. Take this Herb-Roasted Chicken recipe as a template but use whichever herbs you have in your refrigerator.
Other ideas?

On Monday, in keeping with my serious affection for cured meets, I picked up a salami at Whole Foods. When I first got it home, I ate a few thin slices straight up to get a feel for its taste and flavor. Then I had a few slices with mustard on a cracker, along with a glass of Pinot Noir, and thought about different ways to incorporate it into other dishes.

Yesterday, I was in the kitchen and the salami started calling me from the refrigerator (cured meats don’t survive long around here). I had some mixed greens (baby chard, radicchio, spinach, arugula) onhand from testing salad recipes, and some whole grain bread and fresh mozzarella in the refrigerator. So I decided to make a sandwich.

Here’s what I did:

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Note: We’re excited to introduce the Barbara Kafka Dessert Anthology, a new project we’re working on with one of our favorite cookbook authors. Check back here for Barbara’s regular updates about the last, best course. - Chip

One day, I looked at my recipe file—now, mainly on the computer—and realized that although I had written many books and articles and consulted with many restaurants, I had really done very little with all the dessert recipes I had developed. I hadn’t done a proper book on desserts.

Many of the dessert recipes I’ve written were meant to delight restaurant goers. Others were put together with the busy home cook in mind. Still others were meant to be festive, triumphant endings to a dinner or a party. Many involved baking, but there were also recipes for those who don’t like to bake, or even those on a diet.

In short, there was a little bit of everything.

Now, in Cookthink, I seem to have an ideal place to share all these recipes. They’re not all in the same format, because they were developed for different uses and media at different times. However, all of them have been thoroughly tested for the home cook.

Over time, this dessert anthology will grow. There will be a vast variety of desserts, from simple fruit dishes to sorbets, ice creams, custards cold and hot, steamed puddings and a host of baked goods. I’ll be taking a mostly seasonal approach—no strawberries in December. If you have any questions or suggestions, leave a comment at the Cookthink blog or visit bkafka.com and click on “Ask Barbara.” I promise I will answer.

I’m starting with a series of end-of-winter tarts. At least in my part of the world, spring fruits and summer berries are not yet available. However, citrus fruits are plentiful and desserts using them can make a salutary contrast to the somewhat rich foods we tend to indulge in in still cold weather. The last of the storage apples should be used up, and papaya is a current tropical import.

And so:

Recipe: Lemon Tart (The Barbara Kafka Dessert Anthology)
Recipe: Grapefruit Tart (The Barbara Kafka Dessert Anthology)
Recipe: Apple Crumb Tarts (The Barbara Kafka Dessert Anthology)
Recipe: Papaya Tart (The Barbara Kafka Dessert Anthology)

[Update: Read our Q&A with Barbara on what it means to take a “proper look” at desserts.]