A taste for the whimsical

After two press runs and 2,000 copies, "The Artist's Palate" sold out.

So the league decided to try it again. "The Artist's Palate II" is due out later this month.

The book will be sold for $20 a copy at the Turtle Gift Shop in the Center for the Arts on Old 41 in Bonita Springs. The first press run is 2,000 copies of the easel-back cookbook that's designed to free-stand on the counter.

Proceeds from the book will funnel back into the Art League, helping to support day-to-day expenses, the scholarship program for children and various outreach programs. Nearly 60 percent of the cost of the book heads back to the league's checkbook, said Joni Loehnis, chairman of the cookbook committee.

Although the basic design of the book is the same -- a binder with the easel back -- the book contains different recipes and different sections than the first, including different categories for the 450 recipes that came from league members, family and friends.

Sections in the book include starters, vegetables, main dishes, desserts, healthy choices, cooking with children, Florida favorites, cooking for a crowd and real men can cook.

Along with all those recipes, the league keeps to its heart and includes artwork by a variety of league members. The works are in a variety of mediums, including sketches and photographs of paper mache, oils and pastels.

All of it keeps with the theme of making this book different from the first.

"The first one, the cover, the inserts and all the artwork was on Old World feel. This time we went for light and fanciful and quirky," Loehnis said. "This is contemporary and modern art. We went for more whimsy this time."

More whimsy, but just as tasty.

Betty Cote of Bonita Springs, a league member for the past six years, submitted a handful of recipes for the new book because she enjoyed the last so much.

"I always look in there first and I use a lot of the recipes in there and I haven't been disappointed yet," she said.

This time around Cote submitted a couple of her favorites, Blue Cheese Meatloaf, Cayenne Pretzels, Inside Out Brussels Sprouts and Celery Almond Bake.

Kathleen Horoszewski also submitted a stack of recipes.

"I cook a lot and they wanted some good recipes so I think I submitted half a dozen recipes. I could have submitted 300," said Horoszewski, an Estero resident who has been an Art League member of a year.

She plans to buy a couple copies to give as gifts, and one to keep for herself as she finds local cookbooks intriguing.

"Some of the best cookbooks I have are like that, like the Philharmonic and Junior League, because they're recipes from real people," she said. "I think they're real interesting when you know the people who submitted them."

Recipes from "The Artist's Palate II" the cookbook of the Art League of Bonita Springs.

Workshop Banana Bread

1/3 cup shortening

1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 3/4 cups sifted all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup mashed ripe banana

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cream together the shortening and sugar; add eggs and beat well. Sift together dry ingredients; add to creamed mixture alternately with banana. Blend well after each addition. Pour into well-greased 9-by-5-by-3-inch loaf pan. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until done. Remove from pan and cool on rack.

-- Recipe by Linda Cummings

Veal Ragu Sauce with Pappardelle Pasta

3 pounds veal blade steaks

1/4 cup olive oil

3 cloves garlic, crushed

1 stalk celery, cut in half

1 small onion, quartered

1 tablespoon fresh

parsley, chopped

4 tablespoons Contadina

tomato paste

1 tablespoon fresh basil, chopped

1 pound pappardelle or

rigatoni pasta noodles

1/2 cup white wine

2 (28-ounce) cans Cento

Italian Plum tomatoes

1 (8-ounce) can Contadina

tomato sauce

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1 Knorr's vegetable bouillon cube

Parmesan cheese

Saut veal in olive oil until browned. Add garlic, celery, onion and parsley. Saut until soft; remove meat. Add tomato paste and saut with vegetables. Add white wine to deglaze. Mix canned tomatoes with the tomato sauce, basil and sugar, then add to meat. Bring to a boil, then turn down to low and simmer for 11/2 hours or until veal is tender and sauce is thickened. Remove veal, cool and shred off the bone. Add back to the sauce.

Boil pasta, toss with sauce. Serve with freshly grated Parmesan cheese on the side.

-- Recipe by Annette Lobis

Texas Ranger Cookies

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup flour

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup shortening

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 egg plus 1 egg white

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup flake-type cereal

(i.e. Honey Bunches of Oats)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup nuts

1/2 cup wheat germ

1/2 cup chocolate chips

1 cup oats

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream together the sugar, brown sugar, shortening, egg and egg white. Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt; add to creamed mixture. Combine cereal, wheat germ and oats; add and stir well. Spoon small balls onto an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes. Open oven, bang pan on side of oven (this deflates the cookies and creates a soft middle with a crunchy edge) and bake for 3 to 4 more minutes.

This is one of those recipes that once you get the basic dough down, have fun and add whatever you want - try raisins or a different cereal.

Makes three dozen.

-- Recipe by Kim Donahoe

Mushroom Bisque

1 pound mushrooms

1 quart chicken broth

1 medium onion, chopped

6 tablespoons butter

6 tablespoons flour

1 quart Land O Lakes

fat-free half-and-half

salt, to taste

white and/or black pepper, to taste

Tabasco sauce, to taste

2 tablespoons vermouth

Chop mushrooms. Simmer mushrooms and onions in chicken broth for 30 minutes. In a large pan, melt the butter over low heat and add flour to make a thickener. Slowly add the half-and-half; stirring or whisking to blend smoothly. Add the mushroom broth mixture and seasonings. Blend well. Just before serving, add vermouth to the pot and stir thoroughly.

I chuckle when I think of using fat-free half and half! It's a great product. Now I can serve my bisque again. It's rich and wonderful.

Makes 21/2 quarts.

-- Recipe by Phyllis Liebman

Crab Cakes with Creamy Caper Sauce

For the Caper Sauce

1 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup capers, drained and chopped

1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped

1/2 cup fresh chives, chopped

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Whisk all ingredients together in a medium bowl. This can be made two days ahead. Cover and refrigerate.

Crab Cakes

11/2 pounds crabmeat

1 cup plus 21/2 cups fresh bread crumbs

made from crustless French bread

1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped

1/4 cup spicy brown mustard

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1 large egg, beaten

2 teaspoons Old Bay seasoning

1/2 cup (or more) vegetable oil

Combine the crabmeat, one cup of the breadcrumbs and the next five ingredients in a bowl. Spread 21/2 cups bread crumbs on baking sheet. Form crab mixture by 1/4 cupfuls into 24 small balls. Flatten slightly; coat with bread crumbs. Transfer to another baking sheet. Cover; chill at least two hours and up to one day.

Heat 1/2 cup oil in heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Working in batches, fry crab cakes until brown (about four minutes per side), adding more oil to skillet as needed. Serve with caper sauce on the side.

If you like crab, you'll love these. I get requests for this recipe from many of my dinner guests.

Makes 24 crab cakes.

-- Recipe by Tammy Connors