Egg

Active time: 35 min Start to finish: 40 min

Using the freshest eggs possible is the key to great poached eggs. This dish makes a savory breakfast or, when paired with a salad, a satisfying brunch.

This dish is a nice choice for a special breakfast because the potatoes can be mashed in advance, then chilled overnight in the ramekins. Serve with plenty of buttered toast.

Fresh mint adds a summery accent to an elegant egg dish. Round out this delicious meal with a platter of fresh fruit.

Here is a sensational layering of cake and toffee sauce that's served warm, accompanied by whipped cream or crème fraîche.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

The Masa Harina adds a pleasant flavor to the light and fluffy pancakes.

This classic combination of melted cheese and toasted bread is also called Welsh rarebit — an attempt to dignify the original (and slightly silly) name. For best visual appeal, use an aged yellow Cheddar for the sauce.

The following recipe is adapted from one that the early Ohio Shakers made often. This lemon pie, a refreshing finish to a hearty meal, shows how the thrifty Shakers were unwilling to waste even the skin of a fruit that had to be purchased rather than grown in their gardens.

"Sirs: You delight us!" writes Helen Gwyer of Norwalk, Connecticut. "Our Salem ancestors would certainly have burned you as bewitchers of our mental and physical being. But will you tell us how to poach an egg? For years I have tried to achieve the smooth, symmetrical perfection that any French kitchen can turn out with ease. "Will we ever again sit at a little table on the sidewalk at Rumpelmayer's in Menton for petit déjeuner — a poached egg, pâté de foie gras in soft finger rolls, and hot chocolate? "So many recipes call for poached eggs, but can you poach one?"

Nourishing and quick to make, this one-pot meal is perfect for a workday supper. Make the tomato soup ahead, then reheat it and poach the eggs just before serving. For this dish, I like to use medium eggs or, for an even more special touch, quail eggs if I can get them.

These potatoes, oven-crisped on the outside and tender inside, go especially well with red meat.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

The traditional egg and spinach dish is embellished with smoked turkey and porcini mushrooms.

This classic egg and potato dish is called a tortilla in Spain. Serve it warm or at room temperature for breakfast or at brunch.

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less. Serve the frittata with chunky salsa, and put together an avocado, jicama and red onion salad with cumin vinaigrette to have alongside. Melon wedges and pine nut cookies are just right for dessert.