Oyster Mushroom

Traditionally, escabeche refers to fish marinated in a spicy sauce. Here, mushrooms stand in for the fish with delicious results.

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."

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.

Bedell Cellars, along with nearby Corey Creek Vineyards, is owned by New Line Cinema CEO Michael Lynne, who has spared no expense in fine-tuning — not to mention set designing: Art from his private collection, including works by Cindy Sherman, Sam Taylor-Wood, Uta Barth, and Sarah Morris, decorates the tasting room. Bedell has been known since 1988 for producing the best Merlot on Long Island: Less California and more Bordeaux in style (softer tannins, nuanced fruit), the Merlot is a delicious match with duck.

Funghi alla Griglia This dish was inspired by the fresh mushrooms that Gina Miraglia Eriquez and Anna Tasca Lanza picked from Lanza's garden while Miraglia Eriquez was visiting her cooking school, conducted at the Tasca d'Almerita Winery (214-373-1161).

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.

This colorful and delicious dish is perfect with fish, meat or poultry.

A radicchio and fennel salad with red wine vinaigrette adds color and crunch, and warm focaccia rounds out the entrée. End the meal with poached pears and biscotti.

Scrambled eggs are a nice idea to round out the main course for this side dish.

Even though Aux Delices des Bois left Tribeca, Thierry and I still love Zutto, the sushi bar that was near our warehouse. It dates back to when Tribeca's cast-iron canopies cast their shadows on silent streets at night. Its metal loading dock held two tables, the precursor to the neighborhood's current profusion of loading-dock cafes. One evening the sushi chef, Albert Tse, made us this special dish, using a fish from each of the seven seas. Kind of like a Japanese version of the ancient French dish Coquilles St-Jacques, it combines fin fish and aromatic oyster mushrooms with the scallops and sharpens the flavor with rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, and seaweed. If scallop shells aren't handy, use any ovenproof baking dish.

A rich and elegant special-occasion dish.

A cracked peppercorn and rosemary coating accents this luscious cut of meat, which is topped with sautéed wild mushrooms and served with onion rings. Start the meal with a salad of mixed greens and tomatoes with your favorite blue cheese dressing. A rich chocolate cake is the perfect dessert.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Serve with: Orzo with parsley, and steamed carrots and green beans. Dessert: Pear tart.

Remember the green bean casserole made with nothing but convenience ingredients: frozen or canned green beans, canned cream of mushroom soup and, for the topping, canned fried onions? Here it is again, only fresher and better.