There are different ways to make a lemon tart. At Bouchon, the French Laundry, and Per Se, we use a sabayon method, in which the eggs are first cooked with the lemon juice and sugar over hot water, then the butter is gradually incorporated—an easy method that results in a consistently good lemon custard or curd. The crust is made with sweet and nutty pine nuts, which I think are the perfect balance for the rich, tart custard.

“The classic solution to using both the whites and yolks of eggs is a custard pie topped with meringue. This deconstructed crustless version gives you a sweet meringue that is crispy outside with a chewy, marshmallow interior, all balanced by tart lemon curd. I actually like this curd made with ghee better than the traditional recipes that use butter. A little lighter and more fresh tasting—letting the lemon shine through.” —Houser

“One of my favorite pueblitos in México is Tepoztlán in the state of Morelos, south of Mexico City. The markets are known for pre-Hispanic food—food that existed before the arrival of Spanish colonialists. The Spanish brought pigs, cows, wheat, and methods for making cheese to México, but before their arrival, the indigenous people had a very plant-forward diet. They ate mostly vegetables like corn, beans, squash, amaranth, chia, chiles, nuts, and flowers as well as wild fowl and game, insects, fish, and shellfish.“Crispy-fried tlaltequeada fritters are beautiful and flavorful. I loved seeing the vendors at the market display all of the different kinds. Some were made with beets and were garnet red. Some, made with seasonal native wildflowers, were white, purple, and yellow. Others were made with quelites, different varieties of native leafy wild greens, and were emerald green. I even had one that was pink from red plums and served with a creamy nut-based sauce.“Tlaltequeadas can be sweet or savory and spicy or not, depending on what is in season and what flavors you like. The fritters are held together by chia and flaxmeal, both of which mimic the consistency of eggs when added to a liquid.” —Martínez

Pickled beets are incredibly flavorful—sweet, earthy, and tangy—but store-bought versions can get a little mushy. When they’re finely chopped or grated, it’s not an issue, so we took a cue from Hetty McKinnon and made a pickled beet version of her beet tzatziki. It would be a welcome condiment with almost any meal, and it’s a nice cooling yet sweet counterpart to the savory spiced chickpeas, spicy arugula, rich egg, and briny feta and olives.

The breakfast taco bar is the ultimate choose-your-own-adventure meal. It’s great when you’re hosting a bunch of people who all have different tastes and dietary needs (we’ve included alternative ingredient suggestions). There are a lot of components here, but you can cherry-pick your favorite fixings if you don’t want to go all out. Many of these ingredients come ready-made at the grocery store (tortillas, organic refried beans, salsas), and the rest is pretty easy to prep (roasted sweet potatoes, sautéed peppers and onions, scrambled eggs).

Inspired by the savory Japanese pancake called okonomiyaki, this dish is made with greens and eggs, so it’s a healthy way to really fuel up. The yucca is our smart swap for potato, giving the pancake some starchy heft but with a much lower glycemic index.

This is classic Italian comfort food (“risi e bisi” literally means “rice and peas”) made over for summer. It’s the perfect combination of raw and cooked—it works great as a side dish or with a seven-minute egg for a main dish.

"This is a traditional Japanese dish that most people know from eating it on sushi. Don’t be deterred by the process. There is a knack to making it, but once you learn the method, it is surprisingly quick and easy to create. The slightly sweet addition of mirin, a small amount of sugar, and (optional) dashi broth transforms eggs in the most comforting of ways. I rarely have dashi broth ready-made, so I usually don't include it; however, if you have some, definitely include this traditional seasoning."

This dish is quick, simple and light. The fish takes 10 minutes to cook, and the caponata tastes best when made ahead. This recipe makes extra caponata: It’s great on crostini or served with eggs for breakfast.