Mushroom

Green beans go upscale in this fresh take on a favorite Thanksgiving dish.

Beefy shiitake mushrooms stand in for the standard ground pork in this version of ma po tofu. What to drink: The bit of heat here calls for a spicy white wine with ripe fruit and crisp acidity, such as a Riesling from Alsace or Germany's Rheingau.

Serve this rustic dish with French bread or rice to savor every last drop.

"Recently I had dinner at a fine restaurant with a peculiar name: The Place Next to the San Juan Ferry," says Beth Fogarty Day of Redmond, Washington. "It's right by the water in Friday Harbor, Washington. I'd love the recipe for the mushroom and goat cheese appetizer."

Active time: 45 min Start to finish: 1 1/4 hr

"The bruschetta topped with portobello mushrooms and caramelized onions at Tapas 177 is one of the best things I've eaten in this town," writes Laurence Schacht of Rochester, New York. "I'd like to re-create this dish at home for my friends." The restaurant-style results of this recipe are worth the effort. Use roasted red peppers from a jar instead of roasting fresh ones, if desired, and note the do-ahead steps.

This recipe is a great use for cold leftover rice. Order extra rice with Chinese takeout or make a double batch of your own one night — you can keep it, chilled, up to 1 week. Active time: 35 min Start to finish: 35 min

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

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.

"While visiting Long Beach, California, we dined at a bit of elegant, imported Italy called L'Opera," writes Shirley Harris of Sun Lakes, Arizona. "The service was excellent, each dish divine, but the veal scaloppine was what my husband begged me to try to re-create. It would be great to surprise him with this dish at home." If you can't find porcini powder in the spice aisle of your supermarket, grind 1/4 cup dried porcini mushrooms in a spice mill; that will be enough for one tablespoon.

Steamed jasmine rice is all that's needed to turn this into a meal.

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

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

At the restaurant Antico Martini in Venice, Italy, they include the scallop coral-or roe-in the dish and use fresh porcini when in season.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.