After 5: New cookbook gives recipes from local restaurants, raises funds for UDA

I read through the new "Taste of Springfield Downtown" cookbook on an empty stomach. Bad idea. I had to hit the kitchen to try out a couple of the recipes and see if they really were as good as they sounded.

Now, I'm eating a delicious hummus on toast points (a variation from the recommended pita, but you work with what you've got). The smell of warm blueberry muffins is wafting through the kitchen. And a Crock-Pot macaroni and cheese dish is bubbling away, ready for a meal in a few hours. These recipes and more from the 200-page cookbook - a fundraiser for Urban Districts Alliance - are ones that were easily made, with ingredients on hand, and sized to the home kitchen in spite of being the specialties of local restaurants.

Often, adjusting quantities within restaurant recipes and finding ingredients that are available to the consumer are sticking points in creating a restaurant-quality cookbook. There is a little bit of a disconnect in some of the recipes - I don't regularly keep Ciliegie mozzarella balls, Thai bird chilies or frog legs in the pantry. Also challenging is the fact that ingredient columns read left to right instead of up and down. This means you have to look carefully when a recipe directs "mix dry ingredients" to make sure you got them all.

The cookbook is an outgrowth of what has become an annual event, Taste of Springfield Downtown. Although this event - held Oct. 4 this year - is only in its second year, the Urban Districts Alliance has been building up to its success for many years by establishing good relationships with downtown restaurants.

UDA Executive Director Rusty Worley says the outdoor festival "celebrates three of the areas that make downtown great - food, music and art."

Proceeds from the event - totaling more than $10,000 the first year - and the book help UDA provide supplemental police patrols throughout the year, giving downtown extra police officers 10 p.m.-2 a.m. Thursdays through Saturdays. This year's expenses are not yet finalized, but Worley anticipates surpassing last year's income, particularly since attendance was up to about 7,500, a 50 percent increase from the first year.

The cookbook - which includes recipes from restaurants located throughout Springfield and not just downtown - was produced by cookbook producer J.E. Cornwell, who has offices downtown. Cornwell approached UDA with the cookbook idea.

I was surprised by how the book's recipes translate into home cooking. Some of them read a little like fantasy - lovely to think about, but unrealistic with my facilities and cooking acumen.

For example, Riad's tabbouleh and the Mudhouse berry scones are foods I'll continue to savor - but for my money, it's easier to stop by Mudhouse to indulge than it is to make anything involving 10 cups of flour. I'll have to visit Big Momma's to see how its "life changing blueberry muffins" stack up against my rendition of the recipe. Mine could have used a bit of lemon zest or something to wake up the flavor. The hummus from Maria's will probably be on the menu for my next party - it has great flavor and is easy to make. And the pizza dough from The Grotto was reminiscent of the East Coast Elio's pizza we used to get before moving back to Springfield - a thick, chewy crust with a slightly sweet flavor that might come from the touch of honey.

As for the Deep South Crock-Pot mac and cheese from the 1955 Maple Cafe, the recipe didn't disappoint. It was made with evaporated milk and fresh cheese, but the real bonus came from the Crock-Pot, meaning I can put it in and walk away for hours.

For some people, seeing the recipes will simply be the inspiration for heading to the restaurant and letting the experts make it. Others will enjoy trying to cook like the chefs. Regardless, I recommend buying this cookbook to support the cause, familiarize yourself with restaurants that may not be on your day-to-day list, and have a little fun with a glimpse behind the scenes of some of the best tastes of Springfield.

Kay Logsdon is director of the Food Channel for Noble Communications.