We had a big weekend down here in Birmingham. For many of us here, football = life. And for one weekend a year, I live in a house divided. My husband bleeds orange for the University of Tennessee, while I'm a fan of the Crimson Tide. We drove to Tuscaloosa for the game (what a nail-biter!).

Tailgating notwithstanding, game days are always hectic. Especially now that we must wrangle with strollers and diapers, shortcuts that lead to good food are a must for our family. If meal can do double-duty and still be delicious, even better.

Since I knew we'd be leaving early Saturday morning to beat the game-day traffic, I made a big breakfast casserole the night before. My recipe, handed down from my mother, could feed a football team (well, almost).

I've adapted it to be a little more waistline-friendly than my mother's version. It is super-easy, soaks overnight and you can pull it out to serve as at breakfast or brunch. Sunday night, I added a green salad and we had it again for dinner.

Ingredients:

Delicate and beautiful, Japanese mushrooms are a celebrated autumn food. They add distinct earthy flavors, interesting textures, and visual elegance to dishes from soups to stir-fries and rice dishes. While some families still forage for them in the wild, many varieties -- shiitake perhaps the most familiar -- are cultivated commercially.

Shiitakes are a staple in my kitchen. I add fresh ones to soups and stir-fries and steep dried shiitakes to create a woodsy dashi that's great for braising meats and vegetables. But I've always wanted to experiment with other types of Japanese mushrooms.

The opportunity arose when our Test Kitchens received a sample of maitake, bunashimeji, and eryngi mushrooms from Hokto Kinoko, a subsidiary of Japan's largest mushroom producer. This company began selling mushrooms grown at its California facility fairly recently.

Most of these varieties were new to me, so I did a bit of research and interviewed Yukari Sakamoto, a Japanese chef and blogger who is working on a book called Food Sake Tokyo. Here are a few highlights from what I've learned:

Maitake (my-TOCK-kay, aka "hen of the woods"): This ruffled fungus (shown above) grows in the mountains of northeastern Japan. Maitake means "dancing mushroom," because foragers allegedly did a little jig when they found them. Its distinctly rich and sultry flavor is great in stir-fries but not the best choice for clear soups, because it colors the broth a murky brown. Yukari says maitakes are great fried tempura-style or grilled in oil, salt, and pepper. Health note:.Read this interesting American Cancer Society article for info on maitakes and cancer treatment.

Eryngii (eh-RIN-gee, aka king trumpet, king oyster, or eringi): With a whimsical shape like something out of a Japanese fairy tale, this thick-stemmed mushroom contributes umami -- the so-called fifth taste that lends many vegetarian dishes a meat-like savoriness. It can be sliced, sauteed, and served as a side dish, on salads, or in Italian-style pastas. When cooked, its texture is often compared to abalone.

Bunashimeji (BOON-ah shih-MEH-gee, aka brown beech): Sold in clusters that could almost be called cute, this mushroom has a springy-crunchy texture and a mildly nutty flavor that makes it a prime candidate for all sorts of dishes. Individual stems or smaller clusters look dramatically pretty in soups, and their texture stands up well in stir-fried and sauteed dishes. They're wonderful in nabe (cook-at-the-table hot pot meals).

Recipes: Here's a roundup of interesting mushroom recipes. I can't vouch for any of them personally, because I didn't use a recipe when experimenting. But I think if you stick with simple methods (sauteeing, grilling, stir-frying, adding to soups) you can't go wrong. 

• Steak, Shiitake, and Bok Choy Stir Fry from Cooking Light. You could sub any of these mushrooms in for the shiitakes.
• Mushroom Rice (Kinoko takikomi gohan) from Just Hungry. This can work with any of these mushrooms, according to author Makiko Itoh, who blogs about cooking Japanese food outside of Japan. (Also see her vegan version.)
• Vegetarian Dashi from Cooking Light (a good soup base).
• Quinoa and Maitake Mushroom Pilaf from Hungry Cravings.
• Hokto Kinoko has a number of recipes on their site, both developed by the company and by various American chefs. (Most of them are more Western than Japanese.)

Our reader bloggers were excited about the theme of this month's Virtual Supper Club: Cooking with Wine. Perfect for cooler months, wine is a key ingredient that can lend a distinct fragrance and another layer of flavor to your cooking, whether you're sauteing fish, simmering soup, or adding a splash to a dessert or side dish. Plus, it's enjoyable to sip while you cook.

"For me this would be a bit of a challenge," says Shelby, a Virtual Supper Club member who blogs about cooking on The Life and Loves of Grumpy's Honeybunch. "I don't really drink wine much less know what to buy for cooking with it!"

As a general rule, you should cook with a wine that you'd enjoy drinking. But if you don't drink wine, that shouldn't stop you with experimenting with it as a flavor-enhancing ingredient.

Shelby consulted a wine-loving friend, who referred her to a Chardonnay for the Cheese Fondue with Apples recipe that she brought to this month's table. (That's her yummy-looking photo at left.) She says she was pleased with the results.

"It was great with apples," she wrote in her post, "but I also enjoyed it with some crusty French bread!"

I asked Associate Food Editor, Julie Grimes, for other good wine picks for this recipe. She suggested a riesling or a gewürztraminer would work well.

We hope you'll join us in uncorking a bottle to participate in this month's theme. Hope our menu inspires you.

October: Cooking with Wine Menu

French Onion Soup -- Helene
Cheese Fondue with Apples -- Shelby
Baked Rice with Butternut Squash -- Val
Salmon with White Wine-Mustard Sauce -- Jamie
Red Wine Pear Crisp with Spiced Streudel -- Aggie

Photo: Courtesy of Shelby of The Life and Loves of Grumpy's Honeybunch

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Join the Club! The Virtual Supper Club is a group of Cooking Light readers who dazzled us with the idea of blogging CL recipes once a month. They live in two countries and several states, but get together (virtually) once a month to enjoy a seasonal menu of their choice. Please make sure to visit their blogs to read more and enjoy their great photos. If you're a food blogger and wish to join, post a link to your blog here or send us an email.

In an effort to trim down his sympathetic pregnancy weight, my DSW (dear sweet husband) has decided he's going "salads-only" for dinner this week. Since I'm still breastfeeding, a meal of roughage won't work for me. (It upsets baby's belly...sometimes it feels like I'm still eating for two!)

So it looks like I've got a challenge on my hands. Not only do I have limited time in the kitchen, now we'll both want different things for dinner this week?!?!? Um, I think not.

The solution is simple strategy - cooking one meal that can be served two ways. On today's menu is a basic flank steak. I'll give it a simple dry rub, then grill or broil it, and serve it up two easy ways:

For him: Sliced flank steak over salad greens.

For me: Sliced beef tacos with all the fixins.

This basic recipe will serve us for at least two nights this week, as we don't mind eating leftovers these days. 

My simple, go-to dry rub:

1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper

1. Combine all ingredients in a small bowl; rub mixture evenly over beef, chicken, or pork (whatever meat you have on hand).
2. Grill or broil to desired degree of doneness.

*Bonus Tip* Dried herbs and spices keep well in a freezer for up to a year. (my freezer is full of the ones I use most often). Want a shortcut? Buy a seasoning blend, such as McCormick. They have a decent Cajun or Fajita Seasoning.

* Note: This and other recipes printed on the blog have not been through the formal Test Kitchen testing process that vets the recipes you see in print and on MyRecipes.com.

My husband and I just spent our first weekend away from the baby. After a few tears, we enjoyed some much-needed rest and relaxation due after our first three months of parenting.

We got back fairly early on Sunday night, but with much catch-up on baby/laundry/dogs, etc...I had zero time to head to the grocery store for meal planning. Thank goodness for a well-stocked pantry (and freezer and fridge)! 

My husband's go-to meal is spaghetti (I think he could eat it every night and never tire of it), so I always keep marinara sauce and pasta in the pantry, ground beef or ground turkey in the freezer, and an onion and freshly grated Parm-Reggiano in the fridge. It also helps that I have a basil plant in a pot on my patio.

That's all it takes for a simple home-cooked meal:

4-Step Spaghetti:

1. Brown 1 cup chopped onion in 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet.

2. Add 1 pound thawed ground beef/turkey; cook 6 minutes, stirring to crumble, until lightly browned. 

3. Add 1/2 jar marinara sauce; simmer 5 minutes or until heated through. (Stir in 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, if desired).

4. Serve over pasta (any shape) cooked according to package directions. Garnish with freshly chopped basil and freshly grated Parm-Reg.

With the pantry always stocked, I know I have a quick, healthful meal my family will love. You all have a go-to meal that your family could eat 10 times over. Please leave it in your comments below so that we can all learn something new.

P.S. The chili from last week was delicious and I know we'll be able to enjoy it again and again. I froze 2-person portions into zip-top bags so that I can take out only as much as we need next time we eat it.

In July, we posed a question to our Facebook Fans: What's your ultimate comfort food? Mashed potatoes ranked No. 2, just behind mac and cheese. While this might not seem surprising, what intrigued me was that mashed potatoes rocked the vote in the height of summer, when they seem like such an un-summery food, and one that I make just twice a year.

This got me thinking about a deep personal flaw of mine, which is the tendency to pigeonhole mashed potatoes as a winter-holiday side. Tomfoolery! As our Facebook fans attest, mashed potatoes can and should be eaten with everything, in any season, and sometimes as a meal in and of themselves.

So I made a resolution: Eat more mashed potatoes. And learn a few ways to sexy them up.

This made a great excuse for me to loiter in our Test Kitchen, where I can pepper our expert cooks with questions as they test and develop recipes. (It's a cherished part of my job; I learn a lot, and sometimes they feed me some very tasty scraps.) I was unprepared for the outpouring of ideas:

• Use buttermilk instead of regular milk.
• Add herbs -- thyme and rosemary work well.
• Mash boiled turnips with regular potatoes.
• Mix in blue cheese for a flavor punch.
• Roast cauliflower, and mash that instead of potatoes.
• Mix in shredded cheese: we like gouda, goat, manchego, and fontina.
• Swirl in boiled, mashed sweet potatoes.
• Add a head of roasted garlic (wrap garlic in foil; bake at 400 degrees for an hour; mash).

So what's your favorite way to mix things up?