Egg

Pat: My kitchen sinker—also known as the omelet with everything—includes bacon, ham, two kinds of cheese, and anything else I find lying around in the fridge. When my girls get involved, I need to change it up a bit by adding vegetables to the mix, so I sauté up a mixture of onion, tomato, pepper, and scallion. But if you ask me, they just get in the way of the meat and cheese, and since I’m always the first one up, I make it my way! With my omelets, there is no flipping or flapping—I just bake them in the oven.

Pat: A breakfast sandwich should be a thing of beauty, a stackable, delectable, calorie-laden gut-buster of a meal. This one is all those things. I usually have this sandwich on a warm buttermilk biscuit, but you can also split a glazed doughnut in half and use it as the “bread” (you’re already down the rabbit hole with the bacon, sausage, and cheese, so you might as well go whole hog with the biscuit or doughnut). Butter and hot sauce are the only condiments that I need, but feel free to add a slather of mayo, mustard, or ketchup, if you like. Have a fresh pot of coffee ready when you prepare this one.

Gina: This recipe calls for four Momma Daisy’s Buttermilk Biscuits, but a batch makes ten, so you’re going to have a few left over. This is never a bad thing. You can have them for breakfast the next day, and the next, and then when you run out you can make another batch!

Pat: When we were growing up, deviled eggs were a staple at any celebration, like a Fourth of July picnic or Easter Sunday brunch, and at family feasts at Momma’s, alongside fried chicken, pork roast, green beans, and creamed corn. In my mind, deviled eggs are an appetizer or a snack, something you grab when you’re passing through the kitchen or hanging out by the picnic table. But every once in a while, Momma served deviled eggs with tuna fish and crackers for a light Sunday dinner, proving that they can work as a meal just fine. This is our spin on a great Southern tradition (one of the many joys of cooking is infusing a recipe with your own personality). The sweet, tangy flavor of barbecue sauce blends surprisingly well with rich, creamy egg yolks. Topped with thinly sliced scallions, these eggs are perfect for a picnic, a backyard party, a down-home brunch buffet, or a light Sunday dinner (thanks, Momma). Gina: I wonder what the grandmothers would say about our adding barbecue sauce?

These eggs aren’t really boiled, but slow-cooked in hot water, giving you a tender white and an evenly cooked creamy yolk without a trace of green.

What makes this frittata different is the bread. It soaks up the egg and cream and gives the frittata a firm but still tender texture. It also makes it easier to slide onto a serving plate, if that’s how you want to serve it.

The unhealthy parts of deviled eggs are the yolks and the devilish amounts of fat—usually in the form of mayonnaise—that most recipes call for mixing into the yolks. These deviled eggs are yolkless. The traditional seasoned mashed yolks have been replaced with seasoned mashed sweet potatoes mixed with mustard. They look just like the real thing. No one will miss the yolks—or the fat and cholesterol, either.

Frittata is a dish I have eaten and served for my entire life. It was always there just in case we were hungry or if an unexpected guest dropped by. It’s made with fresh eggs and whole vegetables, nothing unhealthy. I never thought of it as unhealthy or fattening. But at 20 grams of fat per portion, it’s not entirely benign. This dish was a little easier than most to make healthier because it starts out in a good place—but why not have fewer calories without sacrificing flavor?

Because quiche is a custard, by definition it requires that a protein (egg) and fat (cream) mixture set up during baking but remain soft and silky when served at room temperature. Here, the cream has been eliminated completely, making a portion that is just over 200 calories. The flavor comes from caramelized onions, a little bit of bacon, and a small dose of an assertive cheese, such as Gruyère.

I always keep a box or bag of chopped broccoli and chopped spinach on hand in the freezer, because they are so useful in so many recipes. If you have trouble separating the broccoli, zap it in the mic on Defrost a couple of minutes.

Quiche—hold the crust and the work!

Hey, why should tuna have all the fun? Try this even-heartier rendition.

I dunno who came first, but I’m glad they met up in my sandwich! This simple sammy supper stacks together cutlets, egg, cheese, and greens, all in one bun. It’s so good it’s why the chicken crossed the road.