Portobello Mushroom

At the restaurant, this dish is served as a starter. It would also make a great main course for four.

Offer a small salad of baby greens with a shallot and tarragon vinaigrette.

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."

These individual vegetable terrines can be assembled a day ahead.

Small portobello mushooms are sometimes labeled portobellini or baby portobellos. Pair this dish with a salad and white wine for a light lunch or supper.

Peyton Hughes of Iowa City, Iowa, writes: "My extended family met for a reunion in Boston a few months ago. For our last night together, we decided it would be appropriate to have dinner at Finale. I'll never forget the unusual grilled portobello salad." Farro, or spelt, is a cereal grain that's been eaten in southern Europe for ages.

"When I was staying at the Metropolitan Hotel in Toronto," writes Constance M. Shertzer of Indiana, Pennsylvania, "I discovered a fabulous restaurant there called Hemispheres Restaurant and Bistro. The pasta with mushrooms and tomato sauce was as good as any I've ever had in Italy."