Turning breakfast into a memorable meal

Whisk together remaining 2 eggs, 2 tablespoons milk and dashes of salt and white pepper in another small bowl. Melt remaining 1 teaspoon butter in small skillet over medium heat. Add egg mixture and stir with wooden spoon until eggs are softly scrambled. Spread eggs over bread slices. Sprinkle with dill, 1 teaspoon capers and peppercorns. Top with 1/2 cup goat cheese, tomatoes and smoked salmon, reserving some salmon strips for garnish.

Cover filling with remaining bread slices and drizzle remaining egg mixture evenly over top. Sprinkle with remaining goat cheese. Cover and refrigerate overnight, along with remaining smoked salmon and capers. To bake, place pan of strata on baking sheet. Bake at 375 degrees until top is golden, 35 to 40 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes. Remove sides of springform pan and transfer strata to serving plate. Garnish with smoked salmon and capers.

Dried and fresh fruit compote

Combine cooked dried fruits with fresh oranges and pineapple, and you have a tangy, fresh-tasting source of fiber, ideal for quick breakfasts. Serve topped with yogurt.

Makes 6 to 8 servings

1 cup dried apricots

1 1/2 cups water

1 1/4 cups pear juice or nectar

2 tablespoons honey

1 (2-inch) piece fresh ginger root, peeled and quartered lengthwise

zest of 1 lime (removed with vegetable peeler)

1 cup large, pitted prunes

8 dried figs, cut in half

1 large seedless orange

1 cup peeled and diced fresh pineapple

1/2 cup orange juice

2 tablespoons lime juice

Place apricots in small bowl. Cover with boiling water and let stand 5 minutes. Drain. Combine 1 1/2 cups water, pear juice, honey, ginger root and lime zest in large saucepan. Bring to simmer over high heat. Reduce heat to low. Add prunes, figs and drained apricots. When mixture returns to simmer, cover and cook gently until fruit is tender, 30 minutes. Check occasionally to be sure liquid is simmering, not boiling.

Transfer mixture to bowl. Remove ginger root and zest. Let cool to lukewarm. Remove rind and white pith from orange with sharp knife and discard. Cut orange segments from surrounding membranes and add to fruit mixture. Add pineapple, orange juice and lime juice. Mix gently. Cover and chill.

Crepes

Keeping a batch of crepes in the refrigerator or freezer makes it easy to put together a variety of breakfast treats. Here are some simple fruit fillings, alternatives to the traditional glass of orange juice. They make colorful breakfasts that adults and children will enjoy.

Makes about 16 crepes

3/4 cup flour

1 teaspoon sugar

dash salt

1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

1 cup milk

2 large eggs

2 tablespoons melted butter, slightly cooled

oil for brushing pan

warm blueberry and raspberry filling (recipe follows)

maple-applesauce filling (recipe follows)

banana-filling with warm strawberry sauce (recipe follows)

Stir together flour, sugar, salt and lemon zest in medium bowl. Whisk together milk, eggs and melted butter until well blended in small bowl. Add to dry ingredients and whisk until smooth. Cover and refrigerate 1 hour.

Lightly brush surface of 8-inch crepe pan or skillet with oil. Heat pan over medium heat until drops of water flicked from fingers sizzle. Remove pan from burner and hold at slight angle. Pour in 2 tablespoons batter and tilt pan back and forth so batter forms thin, even layer on bottom of pan. Return pan to burner and cook until surface looks set, 30 to 40 seconds. Loosen 1 edge with spatula and turn crepe with fingers. Cook about 30 seconds and slide crepe onto plate. Repeat until all batter is used. (If crepes begin to stick, lightly brush pan with additional oil.)

To store, seal cooled crepes in plastic food bag. Refrigerate up to 3 days. Freeze up to 4 weeks. To reheat in microwave, stack up to 8 crepes on plate and heat on high power 1 minute. To reheat in oven, stack crepes in pie plate and cover loosely with foil. Heat at 325 degrees 5 to 7 minutes.

Warm blueberry and raspberry filling

Makes 4 servings

1 1/2 cups frozen, unsweetened blueberries, thawed

2 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon cornstarch

2 cups frozen, unsweetened raspberries, thawed

8 crepes, warmed

1/4 cup sour cream or yogurt, optional

Slightly crush 1/2 cup blueberries with wooden spoon in small saucepan. Stir in sugar and cornstarch. Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture starts to thicken, about 1 minute. Add remaining 1 cup blueberries and cook, stirring gently, until heated through, about 2 minutes. Gently stir in raspberries and cook 1 minute more.

To serve, spoon 2 tablespoons filling in center of each crepe and fold into quarters. Place 2 crepes on each serving plate and top with 1 tablespoon filling. Add dollop sour cream.

Maple-applesauce filling

Makes 4 servings

1 1/2 cups unsweetened applesauce (preferably homemade)

3 tablespoons maple syrup

1 teaspoon butter

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon plus extra for sprinkling on top

8 crepes

1/4 cup sour cream or yogurt