Brunch

The exquisitely fragrant beefy filling in our take on these classic Central and South American pastries draws on a number of influences—Chilean, Puerto Rican, and Argentinean. Traditionally eaten as street food, empanadas are ideal for snacking on the go but are just as satisfying to sit down to for a simple dinner.

Anita serves this easy dish for brunch with a mixed-greens salad alongside.

A playful twist on the Bloody Mary, served frozen as a granita with a little vodka poured over. The Tolstoi is a full-flavored red hybrid tomato. If you can't find it, the Brandywine would also be delicious.

Use the ripest white peaches available.

The soft, slightly sweet bread called pulla is made with plenty of butter, which results in tender pieces that can be pulled apart, bite by bite.

Fingerlings have a particularly earthy quality that tastes of the essence of potato. Steaming them, rather than boiling, preserves their delicate shape and prevents them from becoming waterlogged, so that the simple dressing really comes through.

Mango, kiwi, and pineapple are enhanced with a little lime syrup for a tangy, and not incidentally yellow and green, fruit salad.

The charm of this simple dessert is obvious: It takes sweet summer fruits and cooks them down so that everything good about them becomes even better.

This recipe was created by chef Geraldine Ferraro of the Four Swallows Restaurant on Bainbridge Island in Washington. It's part of a special menu she created for Epicurious's Wine.Dine.Donate program.

Top with ice cream, lightly sweetened créme fraîche, or whipped cream.

Why you'll make it: Because it's the simple version of the omelet, and works as well for breakfast as it does for lunch, a late dinner, even with drinks.

Assemble the berries and yogurt up to a few hours ahead, then pour the caramel over shortly before serving.

This gorgeous centerpiece dish comes together in three easy steps.

Papadzules con calabacitas We added zucchini to the eggs in this favorite from the Yucatán Peninsula. It's one of Mexico's great vegetarian dishes.

Elizabeth likes to serve these with bacon. For the ultimate breakfast, she cooks the bacon first, pours off a bit of the grease, and cooks the pancakes in the same skillet.

Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are from Kimberly Kennedy's The Art and Craft of Entertaining. The first time I made these delicious nonalcoholic drinks, they were a big success — the guest of honor had at least four! For twelve guests, I'd prepare the exact recipe below; it can be halved or otherwise divided for a different of number guests. For twelve guests, it's likely that the fourth bottle would remain in the refrigerator, but it's always better to have more than you need, plus the cider keeps for a long time. If you have time and ripe peaches are in season, pit, peel, and purée peaches to make the sweetest of all peach purées.

Great for dessert or even for breakfast, this light, baked pancake puffs up like a soufflé. Make sure your guests see it before you cut it into wedges.

These bread-basket staples are as good with eggs as they are with the grilled "barbecue" beef and slaw.