Crimini Mushroom

Tender pieces of short rib and barley add body to a delicate herbal broth you can make ahead and enjoy for days.

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.

Baked creminis bursting with a buttery pecan and garlic stuffing make for eye candy just waiting to be devoured.

Quinotto de Hongos y Camarones
This dish—quinoa prepared risotto-style—is so good, you'll forget it's good for you. Quinoa, whose name means "mother grain," is indigenous to Peru and dates from the time of the Inca civilization. Compared with other grains, quinoa is very high in protein and relatively low in carbohydrates. If you're pressed for time, we found a great substitute for fresh clam broth.

We are happy to announce that Emily Connor has won our October "Cook the Cover" contest with her delicious variation on Emeril Lagasse's grillades. Emily Connor explains her variation:
Some of the most memorable recipes are those that combine the best of both worlds: In this case, Southern comfort food and classic Italian. The addition of crimini mushrooms, fresh thyme, and rosemary imparts the "hunter-style" (or cacciatore) while preserving the authenticity of the grillades. A few other changes — a simplified version of the spice rub, elimination of several dried herbs, and the use of olive oil and balsamic vinegar — streamline the recipe without sacrificing any of the flavor. As a twist to the dish, try serving with cauliflower purée. Not only does it complement the flavors and nicely soak up the braising liquid, but it's a great way to highlight the freshest of fall ingredients.

Plain old pasta goes low-fat gourmet. Creamy pasta, good-for-you greens... What's wrong with this picture? Nothing! It's a weeknight-easy, flavor-packed treat from Alfred Portale, chef at New York City's famed Gotham Bar and Grill and author of the new Alfred Portale's 12 Seasons Cookbook (Broadway Books). Make this low-fat dish even healthier by using reduced-fat goat cheese, which we think is one of the best-tasting slimmed-down cheeses around.

Everything about this dish is light, clean, vibrant, and harmonious, with the wonderful taste of corn perhaps taking center stage. The corn's refined sweetness is marvelously juxtaposed with the elegant sour flavor in the cheese. Mushrooms provide an earthiness, and spinach leaves cut through all the elements to insure a clean, bright taste. A playful salad featuring buttery lettuces, tomato pieces, and Rawmesan adds even greater depth on the palate. Here, both the flavor and textural variety are extraordinary.

An adaptation of Viennese butterschnitzel, these individual meatloaves are incredibly moist and juicy.

Toasted homemade croutons are tossed with a warm dressing for a stuffing that's lighter than the traditional Thanksgiving version.

Lynn Brown of Houston, Texas, writes: "For me, it's fun to see how much I can simplify or revise a recipe to make it my own. That's what I've done with the soups here (they're one of my favorite things to make). The mushroom soup is from a restaurant, but I've added more flavor with wild mushrooms."

Creamy, cheesy, and light, this wonderful custard packs a few of the most delicious ingredients—sweet corn, earthy mushrooms, and spicy chorizo—into one amazingly satisfying dish.

Here's a very simple trick for making pasta dishes as delicious as possible: cook them in the classic Italian fashion by adding almost-cooked, drained pasta to the pan or pot with the sauce and let it finish cooking there. Instead of swelling with more salted water during the final minutes, it'll drink in as much flavor as possible, in this case, the potent essence of sautéed mushrooms, red onion, cream, and herbs.

This recipe serves 4 as a main course after you set aside 3 cups to make the mushroom and mozzarella arancini or the mushroom risotto cakes. Otherwise, it serves 6.

Daryl Getman of New York City, NY, writes: "I'm a second-year theater student at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, so most days are more about running from class to rehearsal to a performance than they are about cooking. But since I moved out of the dorms last year, cooking has become my favorite distraction. And on the weekends, it's my idea of a break." Daryl likes to use top-notch applewood-smoked bacon for this salad.

The classic dish is updated by adding oven-roasted tomatoes, mushrooms, and onions to deepen the flavors. What to drink: A soft, fruity Sangiovese.