PG tested

This recipe initially caught my eye because it doesn't contain eggs. Add some plain or vanilla yogurt on top of the cherries, and you've got a filling meal; my kids enjoyed them with a sprinkling of confectioners' sugar. You can also spoon on whipped cream.

-- Gretchen McKay

• 12-ounce bag frozen pitted dark sweet cherries (do not thaw)
• 1 cup cherry preserves
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 11/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups buttermilk
• 9 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, divided

Lightly sweetened whipped cream or plain yogurt for topping

Combine frozen cherries and preserves in medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring until cherries begin to thaw and juices form. Boil gently until sauce thickens slightly, about 3 minutes. Remove sauce from heat; stir in almond extract.

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in medium bowl to blend. Whisk in buttermilk, then 6 tablespoons melted butter. Heat waffle iron according to manufacturer's instructions. Brush waffle iron grids lightly on both sides with some of the remaining melted butter. Pour 1/2 cup (or more) waffle batter (depending on size of waffle iron grid) over each grid. Close waffle iron and cook until waffles are crisp and golden on both sides. Transfer waffles to rack set over baking sheet and keep warm in oven. Repeat cooking with remaining batter, brushing waffle iron with melted butter between batches as needed.

Place waffles on plates. Top with cherry sauce and whipped cream.

Serves 4.

-- Bon Appetit, March 2009

PG tested

Pasta sauced with eggs is a common dish in Italy. This easy recipe from cookbook author/restaurateur Lidia Bastianich of Lidia's Pittsburgh fame adds another breakfast staple: bacon. I used frozen cavatelli but dried pasta works, too.

-- Gretchen McKay

• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for the pasta pot
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 8 ounces slab or thick-cut bacon, cut into 1/2-thick pices
• 5 large eggs
• 11/2 pounds fresh cavatelli or 1 pound dried pasta
• 2 cups shredded Fontina Val d'Aosta (an aromatic, soft Italian cheese)

Fill a large pot with salted water (at least 6 quarts water with 1 tablespoon salt) and heat to a boil.

Pour the olive oil into the skillet, and set it over medium-high heat. Drop in the butter; let it melt, then scatter in the bacon pieces. Cook the bacon, stirring and tossing the pieces, for 5 minutes or so, until they're crisp and caramelized. (If bacon renders lots of fat, you can pour off 1/2 the fat from the pan.)

Beat the eggs and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a bowl until well blended.

When the water is at a rolling boil, drop in the cavatelli, stir, and return the water to a boil. Cook cavatelli 4 to 5 minutes, until al dente, lift them from the pot, drain briefly, and spill them into the skillet.

Over medium heat, toss the cavatelli with the bacon pieces, coating the pasta with the oil, butter and bacon fat, too. Pour the beaten eggs all over the pasta, stirring and tumbling them together; keep scraping the coagulating egg from the sides and bottom of the pan, and incorporate it in with the wet eggs. Cook for a minute or 2, just until all the egg is lightly cooked and custardy and evenly scrambled into the cavatelli.

Turn off the heat, scatter the shredded fontina over the eggs and pasta, and toss thoroughly to blend in the cheese as it melts. Serve immediately.

Serves 6.

-- "Lidia Cooks from the Heart of Italy" by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich and Tanya Bastianich Manuali (Knopf, 2009, $35)

PG tested

This stollen-like breakfast bread was among the 20 or so reader-submitted recipes Food & Flavor staff tested for this year's Holiday Baking Contest (post-gazette.com/food). Carolyn Rosso of O'Hara got it from her aunt Mill (short for Philomena) Gavlick "many, many years ago." She usually makes the bread at Easter because "there are so many cookies at Christmas," but it's appropriate for any holiday.

Mrs. Rosso serves it warm from the oven with butter; we enjoyed it the next morning sprinkled with powdered sugar.

-- Gretchen McKay

• 3 1/4-ounce packages of yeast
• 1/2 cup warm milk
• 4 tablespoons sugar, divided
• 5 cups sifted flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 pound butter or oleo
• 7 egg yolks
• 1 cup cold milk

• 11/2 pounds shelled nuts, ground (I used chopped pecans)
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 7 egg whites
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1 cup honey
• 1 stick oleo or butter, melted
• 1/3 teaspoon salt

In a small bowl, dissolve yeast and 1 tablespoon of sugar in warm milk. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.

Add flour, salt, butter or oleo, egg yolks, cold milk and remaining 3 tablespoons sugar. Work, like pie dough, until smooth. Place dough in a greased bowl, cover with a damp cloth and refrigerate for at least 3 hours or even better, overnight. Dough will double in volume.

Cut risen dough into 4 balls. Roll each ball out on a lightly floured surface into a short, wide loaf as opposed to a long, thin loaf. (This will prevent splitting.) Spread nut filling on top, and roll dough into a short, fat log. Make sure to tuck under ends so the filling does not spill out. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Bread will be golden brown. Cool on a rack and if desired, sprinkle with confectioners' sugar.

Makes 4 loaves.

-- Carolyn Rosso, O'Hara

PG tested

Legume Bisro in Regent Square often serves this substantial, delicious pancake with caramelized apples and whipped cream. At home, I topped it with cinnamon-scented apple butter, slighting warming it in a saucepan, before spreading it on the pancake. This batter can also be used to make regular pancakes.

-- China Millman

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup cornmeal
• 1/4 cup quick oats pulsed in food processor a couple of times
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 21/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon (preferably Vietnamese)
• 5 scrapes nutmeg

• 3 ounces butter, divided
• 13/4 cups whole milk
• 4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter, divided
• 1/4 cup honey
• 4 large eggs

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Melt 2 ounces of the butter over low heat, let cool while you mix the dry ingredients.

Mix all the dry ingredients together in a big bowl. Mix the wet ingredients together including the melted butter and then mix gently into the dry mixture.

Melt 1 ounce of butter in a warm 10-inch pan over medium heat and swirl it around to coat the bottom and sides. When the butter starts to sizzle, add 3 4-ounce ladlefuls (11/2 cups total) of the batter and cook a minute or 2 on the stove, until it is just starting to set, but hasn't started to brown. Move the pan to the oven and cook for about 15 minutes, until the cake feels done when you gently press on the middle.

Unmold onto a platter or cutting board and cut into 4 pieces. Use the remaining batter (and butter) to make a second cake, or use the rest to make regular pancakes.

Makes 2 large cakes.

-- Trevett Hooper at Legume Bistro, adapted from "The Joy of Cooking"

Looking for more from the Post-Gazette? Join PG+, our members-only web site. You'll get exclusive sports content, opinion, financial information, discounts from retailers and restaurants, and more. Our introduction to PG+ gives you all the details.