Crimini Mushroom

"Being a vegetarian, I was delighted to find a hearty meatless main dish at the Stamford Plaza hotel in Auckland, New Zealand," writes Barbara Abbott of Santa Rosa, California. "The mushroom risotto was outstanding; I'd be pleased if you could get the recipe."

Use fresh button mushrooms if wild mushrooms are hard to get; you will still have delicious results. Yukon Gold potatoes have a pale yellow color and a buttery taste that adds to the richness of this dish.

Western ingredients are particularly well suited to the Thanksgiving feast, as evidenced by this robust, satisfying gravy. It comes from Montana-based Greg Patent, the author of New Cooking from the Old West (Ten Speed Press, 1996), and it has an appealing home-on-the-range quality, thanks to plenty of fresh sage and the smoky taste of bacon. It's rich, delicious and perfect for smothering turkey and potatoes. Follow these directions to make a foolproof gravy no matter what recipe you use for roasting the turkey. Since the broth and giblets can be prepared one day ahead, the last-minute steps are kept to a minimum.

We make this rich, intensely flavored stock for our mushroom soups, sauces, and ragouts. The dried shiitake mushrooms give the stock depth and tremendous flavor. They're readily available in the Asian section of most grocery stores, but if you can't find them, substitute another variety of dried mushrooms — fresh mushrooms alone will make a weak stock. This stock freezes well.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

For more information about cooking wild rice, see Born to Be Wild. Active time: 1 3/4 hr Start to finish: 3 1/2 hr

Try braised lettuce flavored with thyme, carrots and garlic to accompany this satisfying dish.

John Schumacher bought the historic but deteriorating Broz Hotel, 50 miles southwest of Minneapolis, back in 1974. After renovating the building, he reopened it as a European-style hotel and restaurant. Schumachers' is now on the National Register of Historic Places. John's wife, Kathleen, runs the front of the popular restaurant, and John is the chef. His specialties are central European fare — like this veal sauté.

This pretty slaw with a celery seed and cider vinegar dressing is perfect for a Fourth of July picnic.

"Mi Piaci, a local restaurant, serves a pasta entrée with wild mushrooms called Fusilli alla Boscaiola," says Karen Mungioli, of Dallas, Texas. "Its flavors reminded me of a dish I had in Italy recently. I’d love to try my hand at preparing this authentic-tasting recipe in my home kitchen."

A quintessential Polish comfort food, pierogies can be stuffed with potatoes, cheese, sauerkraut, or wild mushrooms. Here, dried porcini are combined with cremini mushrooms, adding a woodsy depth to the filling. Served with golden sautéed onions and sour cream, these dumplings make a delicious main dish.

Tarragon brings its distinctive flavor to this salad. Serve it alongside the strata.

The combination of dried porcini and fresh crimini mushrooms gives this dish an intensely earthy flavor.

For this salad choose a very fresh, tightly closed artichoke with no brown edges and do all the prep work right before serving to prevent discoloration. Active time: 15 min Start to finish: 15 min

For this recipe you may use whatever mushrooms you happen to have on hand. Serve the dish as an accompaniment to grilled or roasted meats, seafood, or chicken or with soup as a light lunch or dinner.

This crowd-pleasing risotto works well as a main course—accompanied by green salad and crusty bread—or as a side dish for leftover chicken. Active time: 45 min Start to finish: 45 min