Mushroom

This soufflé-like tart makes a nice lunch or light dinner with a salad of mixed baby greens.

The combination of ricotta, Parmesan and goat cheese and porcini and shiitake mushrooms makes this classic dish new again. Offer red wine throughout dinner and Italian ice cream and cookies-gelato and biscotti-for dessert.

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.

Dried porcini are sold at Italian delis and in many supermarkets.

"To celebrate my birthday, my husband took me to Assaggio, one of my favorite restaurants here," writes Christy Wall of Portland, Oregon. "As I always do, I ordered the bow-tie pasta with wild mushrooms, butternut squash, spinach, garlic and olive oil."

Active time: 3 hr Start to finish: 4 hr

Round out this French-style meal with rice and steamed asparagus; polish things off with raspberry tarts from the bakery.

These rolls are baked instead of deep-fried, making them a healthful, satisfying alternative to traditional egg rolls.

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.

At the lodge, the tenderloin is also complemented by a spicy peach salsa.

There are few places where chestnuts are cooked with more style and appreciation than in those states just below New England. Here they are added to a traditional stuffing, enhanced by mushrooms and herbs.

At the restaurant Becco in New York, where this dish is served, fresh porcini mushrooms are used when they are in season.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.