Brunch

This breakfast sandwich has been passed down through our family: My grandfather used to make it with my mom, and she would make it with us. Now I’m passing it on to you.

The perfect snack food—sweet and spicy and crunchy and totally satisfying. The nuts can be made two days ahead; store airtight at room temperature.

When asparagus is in season in springtime, use it to capture the flavors of the garden with a minimal amount of effort. It cooks quickly by any method—steaming, boiling, grilling, or sautéing, as here—and it’s very easy to prepare. To trim asparagus of its woody stem end, simply hold one end of the spear in one hand, the other end in the other hand, and bend gently until the spear snaps—which it will do exactly where the stem starts to get woody. Asparagus has its own built-in sous chef.

It’s very European to use potatoes in omelets, tarts, and frittatas—even on pizzas. The key is to use small cubes of potato, as here, or very thin slices. You don’t want to be biting into a whole mouthful of starch, and you want your potatoes to cook through in a reasonable amount of time.

Essentially a berry bread pudding, the ricotta and eggs in this dessert make it substantial and rich enough to serve for brunch. Serve with a side of maple syrup for breakfast, or a dollop of lightly sweetened whipped cream for dessert.

Believe it or not, cakes like this one, featuring nuts and dried fruits, are very popular in Venice. There it would be considered an afternoon snack to serve with coffee, but it’s wonderful for breakfast as well.

Looking for fancy food made really easy? Look no farther. For this suave little number the pesto is purchased and the puff pastry is from the freezer. You will be amazed at what a spectacular dish you can make in about fifteen minutes with just five ingredients.

My brother and sister and I craved this dish so often as kids that we finally learned to make it ourselves; it is actually one of the first dishes I ever made for myself. These days I consider it special-occasion food, not everyday fare, and it’s especially good for Sunday brunch. Add champagne and a fruit salad and you’re done. The basil aioli keeps for up to a week in the fridge and it works as a dip for veggies, or as a sandwich spread.

In this frittata, pasta plays a supporting rather than starring role, giving the eggs a little body. It makes a very pretty, satisfying lunch served with a simple side salad.

Here’s a fun way to use up leftover pasta. When I was young, my mother would throw leftovers of any kind of pasta—red-sauced, white-sauced, whatever—into her frittata mixture for a quick snack for us kids. She generally made one large frittata, but I like to make them in individual servings; that way you can keep them in the fridge and grab one for a quick, nutritious snack, hot or cold.

Pomegranates and cranberries are both widely available in the fall, making this the perfect cocktail for any holiday party.

Olive oil in a muffin? It may sound strange, but the first impression you’ll get from these muffins is the citrus zests and almonds, not the fruity flavor of the olive oil. What the oil contributes is a more delicate, cakey consistency and a moist, rich texture.

Everyone seems to love this simple combination of clean, fresh flavors. If watermelon is not in season you can substitute cantaloupe, but for a burst of pure flavor that really plays off the herbal flavor of the tomatoes, you can’t beat watermelon. Stacking the skewers vertically and serving them upright looks especially elegant.

Every time I visit Venice, Italy, one of my first stops is Cipriani for their signature Bellini cocktail, a wonderful mixture of fresh peach puree topped with cold sparkling Champagne. To make my milkshake version kid-friendly, just top it off with a splash of seltzer water.

There are some mornings—and they usually come after a long night—when all I can think about is a breakfast sandwich piled high with eggs, bacon, and cheese. Add a side of hash browns and I might as well be in heaven. Given my love of a good breakfast sandwich, it was only a matter of time before I decided to move that sandwich out of breakfast-only terrain and into a burger. Breakfast, lunch, dinner . . . now I can get my fix any time. I prefer my egg cooked over easy because I love how the yolk runs out and saturates the burger after the first bite, but if that’s not your thing, you should of course cook the eggs according to your preference.