Somebody once convinced me to get up at the crack of dawn to send my family off with a good breakfast, even when I had to turn around and hit the road to work myself.

It was a happy time in our lives when we all got together — this hardly ever happened at lunch and seldom at dinner when the childrens’ activities intervened. I still cherish those early morning memories. We feasted on cold or hot cereal and fruit, pancakes (batter prepared the night before) or eggs (we didn’t’ know about cholesterol then).

Many of these recipes are still good in retirement if you entertain at brunches, which are very popular on Marco Island.

Choosing a menu is easy: you can always begin with a Bloody Mary of mimosa, but one of my favorite starters is this cold soup we learned about in France.

Puréed tomato soup

This recipe serves two — multiply as needed.

1 cup tomato juice of V8

1 fresh tomato, cored but not seeded or peeled

Salt and pepper to taste

1 thin slice of onion

Fresh basil as desired

Sour cream, heavy cream, croutons (see below)

Whirl juice, tomato, onion and seasonings in blender until puréed. To serve cold, simply chill the soup overnight and top each serving with sour cream. To serve hot, pour soup into a saucepan and heat gently, adding heavy cream at the last minute.

Garnish with herb croutons.

Low fat beef sausage

This recipe comes from a Texas friend and is worth knowing, even if you never serve it to guests.

2 pounds boneless beef chuck

1 teaspoon dried thyme, sage or mixed poultry seasoning

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper

Liquid Smoke (optional)

Trim meat of all separable fat and gristle and grind it fine at home, or ask the butcher to do these jobs for you. Mix by hand with the herbs, salt and pepper, adding a dash of Liquid Smoke if you like the flavor.

Fry a very small test patty to check seasoning. Shape remainder loosely into small patties and freeze or else cook immediately as follows: Place patties in a cool non-stick skillet and warm slowly to moderate heat, turning only once. Do not press with spatula while cooking. This makes about 16 small patties.

You can, of course, use this as bulk sausage for many recipes — simply cook as above without making patties, breaking up meat so that it crumbles while cooking.

Sausage ring with pasta

Nobody enjoys a visit to the dentist, but at the office where I go the girls all love cooking, and I always come away with a new recipe. This one is unusual and easy to do. Use a sprayed bundt pan.

1 ring sausage such as Kielbasa, about a pound

1 1/2 cups seedless grapes

1/2 cup Balsamic vinegar

1/2 pound linguini, cooked

Parmesan cheese, grated

Simmer sausage intact for five to 10 minutes. Remove from water, snip off ends and cut into one-fourth inch slices. Place slices in the bundt pan on a bed of seedless grapes drizzled with Balsamic vinegar. Roast in the oven at 350 degrees until sausage browns, 20-25 minutes. The grapes and vinegar will form a sauce when you turn the dish out onto a platter.

Serve ring filled with hot buttered linguini (serve any extra pasta on the side). Pass grated parmesan cheese.

Squash pancakes

A new England friend sent this recipe which sounds like a winner now that fall is approaching.

1 cup flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons sugar

1 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup cooked and mashed yellow squash

2 eggs

1/4 cup salad oil

1 teaspoon vanilla

Maple syrup

In a large bowl, combine all dry ingredients, then add buttermilk, squash, eggs, oil and vanilla all at once, and mix well. Using an ice cream scoop to measure batter, cook pancakes on a hot greased griddle until bubbles form, then turn and finish cooking. Keep hot in oven while you finish. Serve with maple syrup. Recipe makes about 18 pancakes.

Kitchen tip: When a recipe calls for buttermilk, remember to keep on hand some of the dry version. Find this where you buy canned milk, and keep it in the refrigerator.

Banana French toast

Here’s an easy treat that doesn’t call for last-minute cooking. Make it ahead and keep it ready to bake when the company comes. Serves eight people.

8 slices purchased raisin bread

Softened butter for bread

2 medium bananas

1 cup milk

4 ounces cream cheese

3 large eggs

1 cup sugar

3 tablespoons flour

2 teaspoons vanilla

Dash of cinnamon

Powdered sugar for dusting

Place four bread slices in sprayed square baking dish and butter them generously. Cover with sliced bananas and add remaining slices of bread. Place all other ingredients except for powdered sugar in processor or blender and combine thoroughly.

Pour the liquid over the bread slices and allow to soak for at least five minutes — overnight is fine if you cover the dish with plastic wrap and chill it. Plan to remove from refrigerator next morning to return to room temperature.

Bake at 350 degrees for 50-55 minutes and dust with powdered sugar before serving.

Crab imperial

If you don’t care for sweet things in the morning, try this elegant dish instead. It’s based roughly on the one Denny Kilcoyne used to serve at the Blue Heron when he was the original chef/owner. This serves four.

1 pound cooked crab meat

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons flour

2 cups milk or half and half

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1 tablespoon snipped fresh parsley

1 teaspoon dry mustard

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1/2 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning

Dash of Tabasco

Buttered bread crumbs

Place four ounces crab in each of four buttered ramekins and sprinkle with lemon juice. Melt butter, mix in flour and then milk to form a white sauce.

Add all remaining ingredients except crumbs and ladle sauce evenly over crab. Sprinkle with buttered bread crumbs and bake at 400 degrees for 10-12 minutes, until sauce bubbles and top is golden brown.