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I make several dishes with mushrooms by first pan roasting them. I like to put them on one side in a pan with hot olive oil, kosher salt and fresh ground pepper, leave them in the pan uncrowded until they begin to weep and turn brown on one side. Then I turn them individually and roast another 2 minutes. Then I add garlic, then butter, then toss. They are perfect for topping sliced baguette with chevre or tossing with pasta. I got the method from a book by Tom Colochino.

Sheet of tin foil + bunch of enoki mushrooms + small pat of butter + mirin + touch of soy

Close up foil. Toaster oven for 10 minutes

Divine.

I love pedestrian button mushrooms tossed with garlic, salt and olive oil simply roasted in a hot oven until finished - about 13 minutes. This is only the first step to many applications. Use your imagination. More important is that by this method, the mushrooms release liquid gold - pure mushroom essence. Try reducing this juice and finishing with butter for a delicious foil for white fleshed fish. Or replace the jus one might expect with prime rib with this mushroom goodness. The possibilities are endless.

Another favorite of mine is tossing the roasted mushrooms (sans jus, of course) with chimichurri for a room temperature delight.

My other secret - most always use white pepper with mushrooms. It nicely complements their earthiness.

Here's what I'm doing tonight:

Smoked Oyster-Stuffed Mushrooms

1 cup heavy cream
16 medium fresh mushrooms
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1/8 teaspoon salt
Dash of Tabasco
1/2 teaspoon mild curry powder
1 4-ounce can larger smoked oysters, drained
2 tablespoons softened butter
2 tablespoons dry fino sherry
2 cups grated smoked cheddar cheese
Pimiento strips for garnishing

In a small saucepan over high heat, bring the cream to a boil. Watch out—cream boils over easily. Reduce the heat to a simmer and reduce the cream by half, scraping down the sides of the pan with a heat-proof spatula and stirring often.

Meanwhile, remove the stems from the mushroom caps and wipe the caps clean with a damp paper towel. Mince the stems very fine in a mini-processor and toss them with the lemon juice. Stir the minced mushroom stems, the salt, Tabasco, and curry powder into the reduced cream. Cook, stirring, until the mixture is quite thick. Remove from the heat and stir in the drained smoked oysters.

Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Butter a gratin large enough to hold the mushrooms in 1 layer. Moisten the bottom of the gratin with the sherry.

Arrange the mushrooms in the gratin, cap sides down. Place an oyster and some sauce in each mushroom cap, and top the mushrooms with the grated cheese. Bake until the cheese melts and bubbles slightly, about 15 minutes. Garnish with pimiento strips and serve.

Yield: 4 servings

I buy mushrooms in big lots. I dry them in the good ole dehydrator them put them through the coffee grinder (clean of course) I have friends that tell me they hate mushrooms, but the powder mixed into meatballs or meatloaf or even just added to sauces and gravy adds a wonderful earthieness, and they love the taste.

I make a great wild mushroom pasta, tossed with fresh thyme. Mushroom risotto is always a good option too. If you wait a few months, you can always make a hearty boeuf bourgignonne - I use buffalo instead of cow, a good(ish) bottle of red zin, and whatever hearty mushrooms I can find. YUM.

Gotta go with the simple saute in butter/olive oil with garlic, salt and pepper. I'm fond of the breaded, deep fried buttons to accompany a burger, fries and onion rings; all with tartar sauce. While living in the Czech Republic, I participate in the national past-time of mushroom gathering and the big ones get the "breaded snitzel" treatment.

Hillary---gathering of edible mushrooms in the wild is what a interpreted the term to mean. I have heard people get fanatic about this---especially hunting & cooking the morels.

A block of feta crumbled into a roaster. Mushrooms ripped into it. Tomatos sliced. Olives and capers sprinkled. Bit of black pepper. Mix up. Moderate oven. Eat with Warm rosemary flat breads (scoop the cheesy mess out of the pan, no plates or forks). My mouth is watering as I type.

hereandthe--tummy rumbles are asking for "serious eats" :)

Stuffed mushrooms: Melt some butter and saute in it a clove or so of garlic, pressed. Pull stems from mushrooms, chop fine (add a few poorly shaped mushrooms as well; I do this in the food processor), saute in garlicky butter until they have absorbed butter and the released liquid is mostly reabsorbed. Let cool a bit. Meanwhile, make bread crumbs from white bread (preferably French, preferably sourdough). Grate some mozarrella fine and mix with crumbs. Proportions should be, roughtly, 1/3 mushrooms, 1/3 cheese, 1/3 crumbs. Add mushrooms, mix, and sprinkle some Worcestershire sauce in. Mix. Taste. Add more sauce if needed. Put mushroom caps in baking pan, stuff them with mushroom, garlic, cheese, crumb mixture, and bake at 350 for 15 minutes to half an hour - until browned on top.