Chanterelle Mushroom

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.

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.

Ask your butcher for the chateaubriand (the thicker end) of the fillet, and have him trim it for you. Rub the salt mixture on the beef at least one day and up to three days ahead. Steamed or roasted asparagus spears are the perfect accompaniment to this elegant meal.

There's enough dough for one more pizza, so freeze the extra. The vital wheat gluten flour is high in protein and helps create a chewy crust. It's sold at some supermarkets and natural foods stores. Bread flour will also give great results.

This recipe was created by chef Mark Franz of Farallon restaurant in San Francisco. It's part of a special menu he created for Epicurious's Wine.Dine.Donate program.

Delicious when served hot, this pasta dish is made for the culinarily creative—feel free to use your favorite mushrooms for a recipe all your own.

This recipe provides the filling for Brioche Gaga.

Use the season's first wild mushrooms in this satisfying vegetarian pasta.

Jonathan Waxman makes his polenta using stone-ground grits because he prefers their coarser texture. You will, too.

Sautéed mushrooms are a classic steakhouse side dish. Here they pair nicely with Stilton, the aristocratic English blue cheese. Improv: Try a less pricey combo of baby bellas and shiitakes. Instead of Stilton, go for Roquefort or Maytag blue. Mâche or arugula can stand in for the lettuce mix.

Chef Suzanne Goin prepares this dish with Taylor Bay Scallops in the shell, but it's also delicious with regular bay scallops, which are more widely available. Be sure to use a good amontillado, the medium-dry Sherry that is lightly aged to give it a mellow, nutty flavor. What to drink: Condrieu, an aromatic Rhône white made with Viognier grapes.

In a large menu, the salad is often served after a number of hearty dishes, so the portions are scaled down. For a smaller meal, this amount would serve 4 to 5 hearty salad eaters.