Poach

Crisp, freshly cooked shrimp are wrapped in prosciutto slices, then set atop a salad of roasted peppers, garbanzo beans and artichokes tossed with a tangy dressing.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less but requires additional unattended time.

Active time: 20 min Start to finish: 2 1/2 hr

Active time: 45 min Start to finish: 1 1/4 hr

Côtelettes de Saumon Frais Dorigny Active time: 1 1/2 hr Start to finish: 1 3/4 hr

Using the freshest eggs possible is the key to great poached eggs. This dish makes a savory breakfast or, when paired with a salad, a satisfying brunch.

Active time: 20 min Start to finish: 40 min

Artichokes and truffle cream make these poached eggs an elegant brunch dish. If you use porcini (cèpes in French), leave the stems attached but trim the side and bottom of each stem well.

Poaching time for pears will vary, depending on their firmness.

This recipe calls for 2 tablespoons of cooked beet. Wrap a fresh beet tightly in foil and put it in the oven with the almond cake if you're making this whole menu (if you're not, simply roast the beet in a 325°F oven for 1 hour). You could use canned beets instead, but fresh beets have far more vibrant color and flavor.

Active time: 30 min Start to finish: 30 min

As a working mother with four daughters, my mom had very little spare time, yet she always managed to turn out meals reminiscent of her native Canton, China. This dish, one of her specialties, takes its name from the moist, velvety texture the chicken gets from being poached at a low temperature. My mother loved the short preparation time (the chicken finishes cooking through heat retained in a covered pot) and that the poaching liquid can be strained and then chilled or frozen to be used again. Active time: 20 min Start to finish: 1 1/2 hr

This dessert, called sciummette ("little sponges") in Liguria, is the Italian version of the French oeufs à la neige. One look at these fluffy ovals of meringue will tell you where the name comes from.

When poaching eggs for a crowd, we've found the baking pan method below to be almost foolproof. Have a friend help you wrap the eggs in salmon before they get cold. If you're working on your own, you may want to simply drape the salmon over the eggs.

Schupfnudeln The potato in this recipe cools for what seems an excessively long time — 4 hours or overnight — but chefs in Baden insist on this step because as the potato cools, more moisture evaporates through the skin, requiring less flour to be worked into the dough. The result is a lighter dumpling. Active time: 30 min Start to finish: 5 hr (includes cooling)

"Sirs: You delight us!" writes Helen Gwyer of Norwalk, Connecticut. "Our Salem ancestors would certainly have burned you as bewitchers of our mental and physical being. But will you tell us how to poach an egg? For years I have tried to achieve the smooth, symmetrical perfection that any French kitchen can turn out with ease. "Will we ever again sit at a little table on the sidewalk at Rumpelmayer's in Menton for petit déjeuner — a poached egg, pâté de foie gras in soft finger rolls, and hot chocolate? "So many recipes call for poached eggs, but can you poach one?"

Active time: 25 min Start to finish: 45 min

Active time: 50 min Start to finish: 50 min