Egg

Active time: 45 min Start to finish: 1 1/4 hr

This delicious rustic omelet's flavors, when it's served at room temperature, are in full flower.

Active time: 15 min Start to finish: 15 min

This is a classic French preparation that is easy to prepare and quite light. Once you have mastered the base, you can add any fruit that you have on hand. It is a great brunch dish since it is not quite an entrée nor is it sweet enough to be a dessert. One omelette is just enough for two people, and since I think that it is almost impossible to make an attractive omelette large enough to feed six, it is best to make one recipe at a time when feeding more than two people. You can keep the finished omelettes warm in a preheated 300° oven while you make the necessary number.

These special sweet buns, marked with a symbolic cross, are a fixture on many Easter tables. They are delicious plain; with fresh fruit (we loved them with the first strawberries of the season); or split, toasted, and spread with butter and jam.

Can be prepared in 45 minute or less.

A yellow pepper purée gives these egg white omelets color and tenderness without adding fat.

I just happen to love Pickapeppa sauce, and putting some of it in mayonnaise is easy, as would be adding Indian lime pickle, or mango chutney, plus hot sauce for a bit of heat, or even beet horseradish. For a more surprising visual effect and a more complex dish, instead of halving the eggs, cut off the tops and bottoms, scoop out the yolks without damaging the whites, make the deviled yolk mix, then put it in a pastry bag and fill the eggs by piping the egg mixture back into the hollowed-out whites. Serve them standing up with the mayonnaise spooned over. A whole platter of these eggs for a buffet will pleasantly surprise everyone.

This frittata is a marriage of ideas gleaned from two similar dishes tasted in the Piedmont: a delicious zucchini and herb "frittela" at the restaurant Guido in Costiglioli d'Asti and a spinach "frittatini" (both were miniature frittate) at the humble but superb Osteria dell'Unione in Treiso.

This Basque specialty consists of scrambled eggs garnished with tomatoes, peppers, onions, and a slice of ham. The same Basquaise garnish may be prepared in advance and used for chicken and fish. Chez Gladines serves its pipérade with patates sautées — potatoes pan-fried in duck fat and seasoned with garlic and parsley.

If you enjoy spicy food, pass some hot pepper sauce to sprinkle on top of this light, soufflé-like omelet.

Soufflés are a British favorite. This recipe combines pieces of toffee in a creamy soufflé, with chocolate sauce on the side.

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less. Serve this with steamed baby carrots, coleslaw and pickled cucumbers.

Bacon, eggs, and potatoes all in one dish, plus the mild oniony flavor of chives. Elegant for breakfast, brunch, or supper.