Mushroom

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Slow-cooked garlic combines with bacon and mushrooms to give this first-course pizza a smoky, woodsy and oh-so-satisfying flavor. Serve a crisp green salad alongside.

"My husband and I ate dinner at the Dilworthtown Inn, a colonial-style restaurant in West Chester, Pennsylvania," writes Judy Kamp of Oxford, Pennsylvania. "I'd love to know how to make the creamy mushroom soup we both had to start the meal."

Active time: 45 min Start to finish: 25 hr

This Russian dish has been around for several centuries, but it wasn’t until the fifties that it became all the rage in the United States (despite our fear of Communism). Here is a delicious rendition that pays tribute to the "gourmet" chafing-dish dinner party. Now, as then, beef stroganoff is a good thing to cook in front of a small crowd.

This venerable cold-weather dish has never looked so pretty or tasted so good. Partner it with a tossed green salad and French bread. Uncork a dry red wine.

At the restaurant the chef garnishes this dish with fresh seasonal flowers, chervil, and chives.

Tarragon brings its distinctive flavor to this salad. Serve it alongside the strata.

Sweet, salty, and spicy, nuoc cham is the indispensable sauce of Vietnam's cuisine. It's a favorite dipping sauce for spring rolls and for fresh rice-paper rolls such as these.

October is the beginning of white truffle season, but if you have trouble finding white truffles, don't despair — these soufflés are delicious without them. Much of the deep flavor of this dish comes from Bra Tenero cheese. We tried lots of alternatives, and American Münster was the closest, though it won't turn the same golden brown color.