Portobello Mushroom

Active time: 45 min Start to finish: 1 3/4 hr (includes making stock) There's no need for your vegetarian guests to miss out on rich, delicious gravy to pour over the dressing.

In this recipe from Rick Tramonto, chef at Tru in Chicago, chewy pearl barley meets silky European butter in an outstanding alternative to arborio rice risotto. For best results, use Parmigiano-Reggiano.

Offer deli-bought orzo salad tossed with slivered basil and Kalamata olives, along with some grilled red pepper quarters. Raspberry gelato in sugar cones would be a cool dessert.

Active time: 30 min Start to finish: 1 1/2 hr

Cremini mushrooms or their mature form, portobellos—or both—can be used in this side dish from Cory Schreiber's new cookbook, Wildwood: Cooking from the Source in the Pacific Northwest (Ten Speed Press).

These hearty mushrooms, from Il Radicchio in Washington, D.C., are a stellar start to the meal.

Portobellos make this simple dish shine. It's from Alfred Portale's 12 Seasons Cookbook written with Andrew Friedman (Broadway Books). Active time: 30 min Start to finish: 45 min

You can use leftover roast chicken too.

These mushrooms and tomatoes make great side dishes and add zing to sandwiches, salads, and risottos. But we think they're best tossed with pasta and a little extra-virgin olive oil and chopped flat-leafed parsley or basil leaves.

Uncork a Cabernet Sauvignon or Burgundy to serve with dinner.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

H.F. Lippincott of Montgomery, Alabama, writes: "The chicken marengo at O'Briens Bistro, in Pensacola, Florida, is delicious. I'd love to have the recipe."

Use fresh button mushrooms if wild mushrooms are hard to get; you will still have delicious results. Yukon Gold potatoes have a pale yellow color and a buttery taste that adds to the richness of this dish.

Offer the salad with grilled steaks and some bread for mopping up the juices.

I've seen portobello mushrooms in so many restaurant dishes lately that I decided to develop my own recipe," says Eileen M. Watson of Oviedo, Florida. "I like to serve these stuffed mushrooms as an appetizer when I entertain, but they also make a terrific meatless entrée."