Mushroom

Luke Ostrom is a great cook. We've worked together for a long time; we've spent long nights drinking and talking food; we even traveled through Italy together. He knows his stuff, no doubt. So when he tells me we should try something, I usually listen. But when he started going on about orzo in our opening-menu-planning sessions, I was less than enthusiastic. He loved it when he was a kid, he said. It was so soul-satisfying and delicious, he said. It would make a great side dish on our menu, he said. But I wasn't buying it. I thought orzo was the kind of comfort food you fed to children and invalids: too bland, too soft, too ... boring. Boy, was I wrong. Luke's take on orzo can definitely qualify as comfort food: it's hearty, warm, and delicious, the kind of thing you can't stop eating. But it's also grown-up and complex: the wild mushrooms give it a rich earthiness, and the orzo has a great mouth-feel. It's sort of like the mushroom risotto of your dreams—only it's way easier. It's a great match with poultry or meat; but as far as I'm concerned, ain't nothing wrong with sitting down to a big heaping bowlful of this stuff all on its own, topped with a handful of Parmigiano-Reggiano.

In order to be kosher when served with meat, the risotto in these cakes is dairy-free. It gets its creaminess exclusively from the starchy rice, so it's important to cook it slowly, stirring continuously, to release as much starch as possible. If you don't need to avoid dairy, you could replace half the vegetable oil with melted unsalted butter and stir in 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese with the mushrooms and thyme for extra flavor.

Luscious and satisfying—a little goes a long way. Make the gratin up to one day ahead. Before serving, cut it into pieces and rewarm in the oven.

Speck, lightly smoked pork that is cured and air-dried, adds a richness to this dish. Look for Speck at Italian markets, specialty foods stores, or online at igourmet.com.

A vegetarian spin on rillettes, the rich, creamy pàté traditionally made with duck or pork.

These come out extra-crispy when you use a pizza stone. If you don’t have one, a heavy-duty rimmed baking sheet works well; invert it so that you can remove the pizza easily.

Here, chanterelles provide a delicate but satisfying topping for baked fish.

Instead of traditional baked pasta, we broiled mozzarella-topped penne and sausage to get that bubbly melted cheese everyone loves, minus a lot of oven time.

If you're hankering for a spectacular centerpiece for a vegetarian meal, look no further than this hearty pie. Flaky pastry gives way to cremini mushrooms and chewy farro (an ancient Italian grain) bound together by ricotta..

When food editor Shelley Wiseman was asked to develop a recipe for an over-the-top turkey, she began by rubbing truffle butter under its skin. "It’s a cheap shot," she admitted, "but it’s damn delicious." We all agreed—it’s the best turkey most of us have ever tasted. The butter, an excellent carrier of that unmistakable truffle flavor, moistens the turkey’s meat and crisps its skin during a high-heat roast. For this splendid centerpiece, a nuanced French shallot-wine sauce is just the thing.

Sturdy forest-green collards provide the wrapping for buttery, juicy mushrooms. Elegance comes easily when it comes to these bundles, since they can be assembled a day ahead.

This substantial early-fall dish was inspired by one served at Au Vieux Chêne, in Paris. Roasting some of the mushrooms and sautéing the rest until just warmed through creates different flavors and textures. Cumin seeds—popular with today's Parisian chefs—deepen the earthiness.

Use a mix of the best wild mushrooms available. They elevate the stuffing from simple to sensational.

Pumpkin seeds are available at many supermarkets and at natural foods stores and Latin markets. The pumpkin seed oil can be found at specialty foods stores and at surfasonline.com.

The traditional crostini topping is a soft pâté, but the wild mushrooms with truffle oil served by chef Julian Marucci at Baltimore's Cinghiale are just as indulgent.

The brown rice in this side dish is full of fiber. (Cooked white has none.)

If possible, use flat no-cook lasagna noodles: They look and taste more like homemade than the curly kind.

Neal Fraser, Executive Chef and co-owner of Grace and BLD in Los Angeles, shared this recipe with Epicurious. The dish is perfect for entertaining, since the endive and celery root flans can be made ahead and reheated. The garlic nage should be made shortly before serving and kept warm while you quickly sear the turbot. A shaving of earthy black truffles finishes the dish. "Grating them on top makes them soft and allows their perfume to stand out," says Fraser.

This simple, delicious dish hails from China's Shanghai region. It's a great way to use up leftover rice—if your rice is already cooked, you'll need 3 cups of it.