Mushroom

These individual lasagnas are perfect for a dinner party.

Crudités and dip are party staples. Choose whatever seasonal veggies you like, but mix up the colors. Some veggies, such as carrots and peppers, can be served raw, while others, like zucchini and asparagus, should be blanched but still have a slight crunch. There's nothing sexy about a limp piece of asparagus! And keep the vegetables separate—it makes it easier to refill the platters.

The Original: Expensive beef tenderloin cooked with button mushrooms and served over egg noodles. Our Version: Flavorful, inexpensive tri-tip roast in a wild mushroom sauce, served on toasted sourdough bread.

A Japanese-style noodle soup that's full of healthful things: mushrooms, yams, carrots—and even salty, savory, vitamin-and mineral-rich seaweed. For details on the ingredients used in this dish, see "Ingredient Tips" at the end of the recipe.

Porcini and crimini mushrooms give this hearty soup its deep, almost meaty flavor. Cottage cheese holds the cheesy, parsley-flecked dumplings together.

Porcini mushrooms reinvent a traditional Eastern European pilaf and add oomph. Try it as a meatless main course.

It does not get cozier than this hearty dish. Yes, you’ll make your own gnocchi. And yes, it’s totally worth the effort.

This is a mash-up of my French and Japanese influences, with a very American meat-and-pasta sensibility. "Scaloppini" refers, of course, to a thin cut of meat, which here is Gardein, a vegan substitute that's a great transitional food for meat-eaters. Instead of European wine, this sauce calls for sake, and shiitakes are swapped in for traditional button mushrooms. The udon noodle cakes and pea shoots are another Asian touch, but the overall complexity and lushness of the dish give it a French feel.

Rustic and delicious, this healthy meatless stew is a hearty main course.

To get a 12-ounce flank steak, cut a 1 1/2-pound flank steak lengthwise.

Smothering—that is, braising—both tenderizes the pork shoulder chops and concentrates the flavor of the sauce.

Look no further for a go-to recipe when making vegetarian stews and gravies. The stock here gets its deep flavor and color from roasting the vegetables and then deglazing the pan with red wine.

An irresistible vegetarian main course can take a little extra love and time, but food editor Melissa Roberts would be the first person to tell you it's worth it. Fortunately, all the components of this shepherd's pie—from the heady vegetable stew with its red wine gravy to the crown of fluffy mashed potatoes and celery root—can be made ahead. Protein-rich seitan (pronounced "SAY-tan," it's sometimes labeled "wheat gluten") has long been used as a meat substitute by Asian cooks, who know how to coax the most out of its satisfyingly chewy texture. Seitan doesn't have a strong taste of its own, but it soaks up the flavors of whatever it's cooked with.

A complete, one-pot meal.