After 5: Creative Cuisine

AIDS Project of the Ozarks’ “Haute Cuisine” is hot off the presses, featuring more than 340 recipes from chefs and well-known people around Springfield. There’s Rosalie O’Reilly Wooten’s pumpkin dip, Andrea Croley’s Bavarian cabbage, Carol Noble’s spiced honey nuts and Kim Crosby’s tomato bisque.

JE Cornwell of Springfield-based Recipe Publishers published “Haute Cuisine,” which debuted Oct. 27 and is available at Barnes & Noble and Borders. He describes the recipes as “festival cuisine,” combined with original artwork, including cover art by Brad Noble.

“There are a lot of cookbooks out there, and it’s important to offer something new,” AIDS Project Executive Director Lynne Meyerkord says about the marriage of food recipes and art.

Cooking for a good cause

“Haute Cuisine” is the brainchild of two board members: Clarissa French, former Springfield Business Journal editor and current contributor, and William Brandon “Bucky” Bowman, director of An Arts Patronage Initiative, an outreach group for Springfield Regional Arts Council.

Publisher Cornwell expects the initial 2,000-copy print run to sell out by the end of the year, and, at $29.95 a copy, sales should boost AIDS Project’s coffers.

Junior League of Springfield can attest to the benefits of selling cookbooks. Junior League has published two cookbooks, “Sassafras!” and “Women Who Can Dish It Out – The Lighter Side of the Ozarks.” Combined, about 115,000 copies of those books have sold. At $19.95 a pop, simple math says that’s $2,294,250 during 25 years of sales.

“We all eat,” says Junior League President Heather Trinca about the simple reason why cookbooks bring in the dough.

Cookbooks also give charities a pretty good bang for their buck. Cornwell says groups could pocket between 60 percent and 70 percent of sales after covering publishing costs, largely due to volunteer efforts to compile them.

Alzheimer’s Association, Southwest Missouri Chapter, has raised about $18,000 since 2001 by selling “Recipes & Remembrances – The Mueller Family Cookbook,” says Executive Director Patty Ingle. Recipes for that book were compiled by the children of Paul and Nadine Mueller of Springfield-based stainless steel manufacturer Paul Mueller Co. Nadine Mueller had Alzheimer’s disease.

“Cookbook sales and printing and publishing is really all about fundraisers,” says Cornwell, adding that many cookbook publishers cater exclusively to nonprofit groups, often schools and churches.

For gain

There are, however, some local cookbooks produced for a profit. Cornwell, for example, has compiled, published and sold several cookbooks on his own, namely “Restaurant Recipes of the Ozarks,” which includes dishes from Hemingway’s and Hickok’s.

Another local for-profit cookbook author is Debbi Stinnett, who published “Sinfully Healthy” four years ago. Stinnett, wife of 65 Marketplace developer Steve Stinnett, says the $14.95 book has 100 healthy recipes that she wrote with the help of St. John’s registered dietician Roxanne Mason.

Stinnett, who is set to graduate in December from Ozarks Technical Community College with a culinary arts degree, says she would like to write additional cookbooks in the future.

Home Cooking

Sample recipes from “Haute Cuisine,” published in 2007 by Recipe Publishers for AIDS Project of the Ozarks:

Gallery Bistro Mushroom Sage Cream Soup

by Peter Tinson, Gallery Bistro chef

2 1/2 pounds button mushrooms, sliced

1 large cooking onion, diced small

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 teaspoons rubbed sage

3/4 cup Kikkoman soy sauce

2 liters heavy cream

Place the sliced mushrooms and diced onion in a medium-size stock pot or soup pot. Add the olive oil and sweat off the mushrooms and onion over medium heat until they start giving up their liquids, but do not brown. Add the sage and the soy sauce, increase the heat to high and allow the liquids to reduce by half. Add the cream and bring the soup to a gentle simmer, stirring occasionally. Simmer for 10 minutes and serve.

Fish Dip – Islamorada Style

by Jeanie Morris, wife of Bass Pro Shops founder John L. Morris

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup sour cream with chives

1 teaspoon chopped shallots

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 teaspoon dry mustard

1 1/4 teaspoon white pepper

5 1/2 ounces smoked fish

Combine all ingredients and serve with crackers.