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.

(Layered Corn Tortillas, Tomato Sauce, and Cheese)

This delightful open-face omelet is aptly named; it's bursting with flavor and style.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

A staple of Milanese cuisine, polenta is delicious here teamed with tomatoes and spinach, two other ingredients typical of the Lombardy region. The combination of Parmesan and Gruyère cheeses adds richness to the dish. If you prefer, the eggs in the center can be replaced with more spinach. Simply sauté ten ounces of fresh spinach leaves in one tablespoon olive oil, then divide the spinach among the cups. Serve these with Dolcetto d'Alba, a mild red wine from the neighboring Piedmont region.

This strata is ideal for Christmas morning — it is assembled a day ahead and baked just before serving. Mimosas are a nice addition to the menu.

Flat omelets known as frittatas are popular throughout mainland Italy. In Apulia, this version is made to celebrate the harvest of spring onions.

Most of the work on this dish is done the day before, leaving plenty of time in the morning for opening presents or simply sleeping in.

Aurelia C. Scott of Portland, Maine, writes: "I would love to know how to make the red pepper frittata on the breakfast menu at the fabulous Five Gables Inn, in East Boothbay, Maine."

Easy sides would be a salad of mixed lettuces with balsamic vinaigrette, a whole wheat baguette and roasted baby potatoes. Finish with apple tarts.

Hangtown Fry This omelet hails from Hangtown, a town northeast of Sacramento that was named for the notorious hangings once held there (it's now called Placerville). The dish seems to have come into existence during the Gold Rush, as the high-priced breakfast of a lucky miner, and later became a specialty at San Francisco's Tadich Grill. It is traditionally served with bacon.

Why Madame? Because it has an egg, of course.