Oyster Mushroom

This is a perfect dish for a seductively healthy and romantic dinner! What better way to say I love you than sensual pomegranates and healthy brown rice in a sweet but spicy dish? By the way, I consider this a mildly hot meal, while my husband calls it medium-hot. Pomegranate-glazed chicken together with tender pomegranate seeds make an irresistible combination. See page 139 for advice on making your own pomegranate molasses. A pomegranate is easy to seed if you slice it into quarters and then bend it backward so that the seeds are exposed and easy to grab off the rind.

When I was working in Tuscany during porcini season I always wanted to go foraging for mushrooms, but the Italians are so secretive about where they find their prized porcini that I could never convince anyone to take me with them. So, while I never got to go hunting for fresh porcini, I did learn how to use dried ones to make this gorgeous sauce. If you’ve never used them before, dried porcini are a fantastic way to add a huge bump of mushroomy goodness to almost anything. And, because you have to soak them first, you get the added benefit of the fastest, most flavorful vegetarian stock ever; one that you can then add to your sauce to give it an even richer, earthier boost of flavor—just like I do here.

These are one of my favorite things to make: oyster mushrooms tossed with olive oil, salt, and crushed red pepper. They’re salty and spicy and they taste like bacon! To me they’re kind of like mushroom jerky. Who knew an oyster mushroom could be so delicious?

We created this for the opening of our Las Vegas store, knowing that it would be the perfect sandwich to have after a night of Vegas-style fun. The richness of both the steak and the eggs is balanced by the acidity and savoriness of the vinaigrette used to season the mushrooms.

Here is a soup that I had in Pakistan’s most famous northwestern city, Peshawar. Many of the grander Muslim families, in both India and Pakistan, offer some form of aab gosht, or meat broth, at the start of a meal. Sometimes it comes in cups even before one is seated and requires just sipping. This is a variation of that and requires a spoon. What I was offered on a rather cold day was a steaming bowl of well-seasoned goat broth in which floated oyster mushrooms and slices of river fish. It was so delicious that I decided to come up with a version myself. I have used beef stock, though lamb stock would do as well. If you cannot get fresh oyster mushrooms, use the canned ones, sold by all Chinese grocers, or canned straw mushrooms. Just drain them and rinse them out.

In this soup, store-bought broth gets depth from ginger and spices.

I grew up calling any side dish of seasoned, moistened, and baked bread cubes "stuffing," but I've been corrected enough times to have changed my ways: If it goes inside the turkey or chicken, it's stuffing. If it's cooked in a dish of its very own, it's officially dressing. As it so happens, I like to serve this side with more than just poultry, and I especially love the browned crust, so dressing it is! Two other key factors in delivering dynamic texture are to toast the cubes of tangy sourdough bread first and to use a combination of thinly sliced and coarsely chopped mushrooms. Roasting the mushrooms before mixing with the other ingredients heightens their deep earthy flavor while cooking off any excess liquid. Studded with salty bits of bacon and fresh herbs, this side dish is destined to become a favorite of your Thanksgiving—or any dinner—table.

Lee believes that classic dishes are far from being precious artifacts; they are inherently adaptable, and that's what makes them timeless. The starting point here was his "very Italian" wine importer, Enrico Battisti, but instead of polenta, Lee uses quick-cooking stone-ground grits from Anson Mills, in Columbia, South Carolina."They're better than any polenta," he says, "because they're so fresh. I call them hero grits."

This quick preparation really showcases the gentle flavor of oyster mushrooms. The mild dish, brightened with a small amount of cider vinegar, helps balance the forceful spices of the rest of the meal.

Ask your butcher for the chateaubriand (the thicker end) of the fillet, and have him trim it for you. Rub the salt mixture on the beef at least one day and up to three days ahead. Steamed or roasted asparagus spears are the perfect accompaniment to this elegant meal.

You can also roast asparagus alongside. Toss the trimmed spears with olive oil, salt, and pepper, and place on a separate rimmed baking sheet.

Chefs will tell you that sometimes inspiration comes from the exalted—but just as often by chance. "I was shopping for porcini mushrooms at a restaurant-supply store and saw a bag of king oyster mushrooms sitting next to a package of some amazing pistachios," says Chang, though this sophisticated dish would never give away its accidental origins.

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.

Editor's note:
This recipe is adapted from chef Joseph Poon. He also shared some helpful cooking tips exclusively with Epicurious, which we've added at the bottom of the page. To read more about Poon and Cantonese cuisine, click here. Chop suey is an Americanized Cantonese dish that dates back to the late 1800s, when it was served in Western mining camps and in San Francisco's Chinatown. The usual components are bean sprouts, sliced celery, onions, meat, and water chestnuts, all stir-fried with soy sauce. Chef Poon updates and lightens the dish by using a sophisticated array of vegetables and tofu instead of meat, and blanching the ingredients instead of frying.