Eggs

You'd be surprised how many famous American chefs were raised around very simple food prepared by mothers, grandmothers, and aunts. ''In Mother's Kitchen: Celebrated Women Chefs Share Beloved Family Recipes" by Ann Cooper and Lisa Holmes (Rizzoli), the authors tell lots of stories about women in the food world and capture some of these basic meals. We learn about Washington restaurateur Nora Pouillon's Hungarian goulash, the French Culinary Institute's founder Dorothy Hamilton's Czechoslovakian strudel, and other dishes from Europe, Asia, and the Far East.

For want of a better term, the more-vegetable-less-egg frittata, one in which the proportions of eggs and vegetables are reversed, and the veggies take center stage. Instead of six eggs and a cup or two of vegetables, I use two or three eggs with three or four cups of vegetables. Think of it as a big vegetable pancake bound with just enough creamy-cooked eggs to hold the thing together. Which vegetable you use barely matters.

This hearty breakfast meal, full of fresh tomatoes and mushrooms, gets much of its terrific flavor and texture from the English muffins that line the bottom of the dish.

The Italian word frittata derives from fritto, the past participle of "to fry" (friggere), and was originally a general term for cooking eggs in a skillet, anywhere on the spectrum from fried egg, through conventional omelette, to an Italian version of the Spanish tortilla de patatas, made with fried potato. Outside Italy, frittata was seen as equivalent to "omelette" until at least the mid-1950s.

This recipe works best with asparagus that is at least 1/2 inch thick near the base. If using thinner spears, reduce the covered cooking time to 3 minutes and the uncovered cooking time to 5 minutes. Do not use pencil-thin asparagus; it cannot withstand the heat and overcooks too easily. See below for instructions to reduce the number of servings to 2 to 3. 

Haute ham and eggs! These appetizers are protein-rich, and cutting out the crust makes them incredibly low-cal.

Pipérade (Gascon) or Piperrada (Basque), from piper (pepper in Gascon) is a typical Basque dish prepared with onion, green peppers, and tomatoes sautéd in olive oil and flavoured with red Espelette pepper. The colours coincidentally reflect the colours of the Basque flag (red, green and white). It may be served as a main or a side dish. Typical additions include egg, garlic or meats such as ham.

You can use rice left after Chinese takeout (you need 2 generous cups of cooked rice). This version begins with brown rice, which you can prepare in advance and keep in the refrigerator. Freshly cooked rice needs just a minute in the pan. If you use leftover rice that’s been refrigerated, it will need 5 minutes to heat through.

Spicy fried potatoes and a classic egg scramble combine to make a hearty and zesty breakfast.