It’s chanterelle season in California, and we’re gorging ourselves on them. I love the combination of the mushrooms with pumpkin spaetzle.

Konigsberger klopse, a German meatball made with anchovy, capers and lemon zest. It’s normally done with veal or pork; I used wild boar.

A Russian-inspired goose stew with barley, celery root and wild mushrooms. It is a hearty meal for a cold winter.

A refined dish of wild mushrooms in a parsley sauce: Seared black trumpets, hedgehogs, crispy guanciale and pickled yellowfoot chanterelles.

A rich, custard-style ice cream with pine nuts and desert wildflower honey

Smoked duck or goose is one of the great joys of this world. Add a little maple flavor to the applewood smoke and you are in heaven!

The ultimate mushroom burger, done with venison. The secret? Powdered wild mushrooms in the burger mix…

This is a classic recipe for roast duck, a wild canvasback in this case. The fried hominy cakes are from a 120-year-old recipe.

Ever hear of the Sichuan dish ma po tofu? Well, this is ma po puffball, where I skip the tofu and use wild puffball mushrooms.

Braised duck legs simmered in duck stock with leeks and wild mushrooms.

Think you’ve had venison chili? Think again until you’ve tried this version. Lots of different chiles and coffee make this special.

Sharptail grouse gently poached and served with flavors of the Great Plains: Wheat, sunflower seeds, wild onions and malt vinegar.

A smooth trout bisque enriched not with cream, but with wild pinon pine nuts.

My version of a fantastic recipe for rabbit braised with roasted red peppers I found in the cookbook, “My Calabria.”

Inspired by a Sicilian Easter pie made with lamb, my version uses ground venison for this rustic, hand-held pie.

Cardoons are a relative of the artichoke, only you eat the stems – preferably baked with pecorino and mozzarella…

Bacon isn’t only a Western tradition. This is a Chinese style bacon smoked and flavored with star anise, Sichuan peppercorn and cinnamon.