Acknowledgments

This cookbook took five years to research, organize, and write. Many people have generously helped me, often when I needed it most. Mycological Society members made suggestions and contributed recipes as we worked on the book. You will see their names below their favorite recipes. I would like to thank them all, and I hope they will take pride in having contributed to this book. I could never have completed it without them. I would like to express a special thank you to the following colleagues who were always available for a late-evening phone call or an opinion on the many questions that arose:

Teeda LoCodo, for combining her knowledge of mushrooms with elegant artistry to make this a beautiful book.

Stan Stillman, who recognized the potential market for the cookbook and rescued me from the puzzling intricacies of the publishing business. Without his know-how, this book could not have been published.

Fred Stevens, Ph.D., for writing the section on home cultivation of mushrooms. He assisted in editing the text. He politely answered my many questions on the phone, and never tried to escape when I cornered him at our society meetings.

Harry Thiers, Ph.D., who took time from his busy teaching schedule at San Francisco State University in San Francisco to check the manuscript for scientific and taxonomic accuracy, and who wrote the section on mushroom manners.

Paul Vergeer, for offering his encyclopedic understanding of mushroom toxicology. I appreciate the time he spent verifying that we had not over- or understated remarks about the risks of eating wild mushrooms.

Larry Stickney, for sharing his storehouse of knowledge about mushrooms and their uses in the kitchen. He reviewed the manuscript and offered ideas and recipes.

Francesca Freedman, my daughter, who helped prepare the manuscript for the publisher.

Henry Mee, Ph.D., for making his unique and extensive knowledge of Chinese medicine available to us. For many of us, this is a promising new subject with which to become more acquainted.

Jon Jacobs, for contributing data on the culinary history of mushrooms.

Norene Wedam, a member of the North American Truffling Society, who responded to my call for help in preparing the section on truffles.

Herb Saylor, for supplying material for the truffle section.

Greg Wright, for reviewing the manuscript for technical accuracy.

Diana Kirk, for advice on how to submit material to publishers.

David Largent, Ph.D., for his encouragement and assistance in initiating this project.

Toby Freedman, for assistance in editing the final manuscript.

Roy Halling, Ph.D., for providing information from the New York Botanical Garden concerning East Coast mushrooms.

For supplying foreign mushroom names: Joan Plumb, Finnish; Bea and Stellan Aker, Swedish; Paul Vergeer, German, French, and Dutch; and John Lennie, Russian.

Roma Wagner, for reviewing recipes.

John Garrone from the Farmer's Market in San Francisco, who supplied mushrooms for testing.

Walter and Arline Deitch, for describing their culinary experiences with East Coast mushrooms.

Ann Hart, for providing the list of mushroom societies.

Gene Coleman, John Lennie, Karel Edith for reviewing the galleys.

The following members of the Mycological Society of San Francisco for their continued support: Loraine Berry, president, l985-86; Leon Ilnicki, vice-president; Karel Edith; Peter Hart; David Moon; members of the MSSF Council for l985-86.

I especially wish to thank the staff at Aris Books and Carolyn Miller, our proficient editor. I am indebted to John Harris, publisher of Aris Books, for solving many of our problems, and to Karen Hewitt, in-house editor, for her support and understanding.

Finally, Bill Freedman, M.D., my husband, who was always available to add copy, rewrite, and edit every word and page and chapter in this book, and who happily put on ten pounds by bravely volunteering to be stuffed just like my mushrooms. I especially appreciated his analytical approach to each dish I prepared. It would have been difficult to complete this project without him.