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Eat Your Books » Cookbooks & Authors » Book Recommendations » Egg book recommendations?

Egg book recommendations?

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clare_b74

#1 Posted : Tuesday, September 21, 2010 5:21:10 PM(UTC)

Hi all,

The fourth of my beautiful chooks has just started laying and I'm rapidly running out of egg-y ideas! Souffle, frittata, on-toast are all mastered and getting a bit boring so I was wondering whether anyone had any recommendations for good egg cookbooks? Egg-specific or just "egg-friendly" I'm not fussed, but I've got to do something! Even a favourite recipe or two would be grand :)

Cheers,

Clare

Breadcrumbs

#2 Posted : Wednesday, September 22, 2010 6:05:21 AM(UTC)

Hello Clare, what a lucky problem to have!! I'd recommend the following book:

The Good Egg: More Than 200 Fresh Approaches From Soup To Dessert by Marie Simmons

Good news as well, it's already indexed here on EYB so you can chk out the recipes in advance and see if they are of interest.

Also, I live in Canada and our provincial egg marketing board has some terrific egg recipes on their website. I did some research for them years ago and know they place a high value on the quality of the information they share. Here's the link if you are interested:

http://www.eggs.ca/default.aspx

Enjoy!

mcvl

#3 Posted : Wednesday, September 22, 2010 6:10:49 AM(UTC)

Two swell egg books:

Gayle Pirie & John Clark
Country Egg, City Egg:
More Than 5 Dozen Recipes for New Egg Classics
Artisan, 2000

Marie Simmons
The Good Egg:
More than 200 Fresh Approaches from Soup to Dessert
Houghton Mifflin, 2000

and a classic, out of print, but easily available at ABE:

Helen McCully, Jacques Pepin, & William North Jayme
The Other Half of the Egg:
Or 180 Ways to Use up Extra Yolks or Whites
M. Barrows, 1967, distributed by William Morrow

Happy eating!

xxx, mcvl

warner

#4 Posted : Wednesday, September 22, 2010 6:42:55 AM(UTC)

Can't help on the egg book, yet, but here is one on the committed side of the partnership: http://www.eatyourbooks....bacon-cookbook-more-than

Foodelf

#5 Posted : Wednesday, September 22, 2010 7:24:07 AM(UTC)

Michel Roux has a book called "Eggs" which is already indexed here.

"An icon of the cooking world, Master Chef Michel Roux has created a masterpiece with his newest single ingredient cookbook, Eggs. This is sure to become the definitive book on cooking eggs with clear explanations from everything to boiling an egg to making pasta. Accompanied by 150 amazing photographs, you'll find many classic recipes (with a twist) like Hollandaise Sauce and Eggs Benedict, as well as an assortment of innovative dishes.

Chapters are divided into cooking methods: boiled eggs, poached eggs, fried eggs, scrambled eggs, baked eggs, omelets, soufflés, crêpes & batters, egg-rich pastries & pasta, custards, creams, & mousses, ice creams, meringues & sponges, and sauces & dressings."

clare_b74

#7 Posted : Wednesday, September 22, 2010 2:17:36 PM(UTC)

Thanks everyone!

I was thinking about dropping upcoming-birthday hints to the fella about Roux's Eggs and now will also hunt down "The Good Egg" as two recommendations must be good :) And the egg-board link will keep me happy until either of those eventuate - thanks Sue!

And yes, it's a great 'problem' to have - I'd recommend everyone getting some chickens, even just a pair, if they've got the space. They're wonderful pets and the fresh eggs can't be bettered!

thanks again,

Clare

LVautier

#8 Posted : Friday, September 24, 2010 1:01:52 AM(UTC)

Clare,
I think that somewhere on the net someone did a comparison between Michel Roux's Eggs and Marie Simmons the good egg. The michel Roux book focuses more on classic french and elegant egg preparations, and I think that the conclusion of the comparison was that Simmons the good egg was more encyclopedic. Here in the Netherlands Michel Roux is much easier to find than the Simmons book, it is probably the opposite in the US.
Here is a dish that has become a favorite meal for me. I like it so much that it is my go to when I am eating alone even though my husband also enjoys it. It is a simplified version of Judy Rodger's eggs fried in bread crumbs which I found on the internet. It is a riff on using Sicilian 'poor man's parmesan' which is bread crumbs moistened with olive oil and then toasted in a pan till golden brown and dry. For such a simple thing it can really add to other dishes.
What I do is use rustic loaf bread which is no longer fresh but doesn't have a stale taste. I remove the crusts and use the food processor to make crumbs. Season the crumbs and stir in Oil. I have been playing around matching oils and breads for different flavors. Nut oils with whole grain bread, olive oil with sourdough etc. I am also experiementing with how much oil. I am using a lighter saturation than the Rodger's recipe. Let it sit a few minutes to absorb the oil fully and then saute in a pan stiring often to brown evenly. I use this to top poached eggs on top of lightly braised vegetables. Thinly sliced ( on a mandolin) zucchini that was tossed with herbs and fried in butter or olive oil is my favorite. Combined with sliced tomatoes it makes a simple egg dinner something wonderful.
Another possibility would be brioche. I could never understand why anyone would want such a complex, rich bread, until I tasted one made by a good baker. Combined with something nice like dried cherries or chocolate etc it is like a less sweet cake.
A final suggestion. Fresh eggs from healthy happy chickens are such a delight that they would be great for trades with people who may have something that you would like - apples from the garden or something like that.

enjoy your eggs,

Lisa

clare_b74

#9 Posted : Friday, September 24, 2010 1:10:29 PM(UTC)

Thanks Lisa!

I'm in Australia so both books are likely to be equally difficult to find ;) Actually, we have such high book taxes and/or tariffs here, it's often much, much cheapr to order in from the UK or US - so the world's our oyster from that perspective. I feel very sorry for the local, non-franchised book sellers but it is ridiculously un-economic. I've put in a birthday request for either or both, I can do elegant if I try very hard!, and will have to see what happens in Oct :)

In the meantime, that sounds like a fabulous egg recipe - thanks! I need a quick dinner for tomorrow night and my husband would love that. And yes, I give away quite a lot of our eggs but there's not much reciprical produce around here. Maybe I need to interview new friends on the basis of what they have in their yard - "no openings for lemons or eggs sorry, applicants growing tomatoes, beans or peaches will be considered very favourably" ;)

Cheers,

Clare

teaparty

#6 Posted : Sunday, September 26, 2010 4:15:50 PM(UTC)

I have the Roux book and I have had had a lot of success cooking from it. There is a paperback edition now too.

Deborah

#10 Posted : Monday, September 27, 2010 4:51:23 AM(UTC)

clare_b74 wrote:

Clare, Not sure if you've tried clicking the "Buy book" link to the right of book titles in the EYB Library, but it takes you to The Book Depository (US and UK), which ships books free worldwide, including to Australia. I ordered Michel Roux's Eggs from them rather than from amazon.com because even though Book Depository's price was $.50 (USD) higher than amazon's, the free shipping tipped the balance for me.

P.S. We're big on "breakfast for dinner" and weekend brunches in our family, and everyone loved French toast "eiderdown" with herbs and bacon from Eggs. The Poached eggs on onion tartlets were also a hit. Such a nice, compact little cookbook, too, with gorgeous photos of every recipe -- highly recommended. No chickens of my own, alas -- not allowed in my neighborhood!

robm

#11 Posted : Monday, November 29, 2010 5:21:21 PM(UTC)

Try to find recipes in Portuguese cookbooks or online for traditional Portuguese sweets. (Jean Anderson's Portuguese cookbook is indexed here.) They're rich and delicious, made from egg yolks, butter, almonds and sugar. From so few ingredients it's amazing the number of things they've invented -- there are hundreds! Some are made in Brazil, too, but Portugal rules when it comes to these egg-based desserts that are ancient convent specialties! Look for recipes for "toucinho do ceu," "ovos moles" (which can also be used as a cake filling), "quindim" or "quindão" (in Brazilian recipes, with coconut), etc. Also look for Spanish recipes for "yemas." Serve in small portions, because they're amazingly rich and sweet, but they're such a satisfying end to a good meal!

mcvl

#12 Posted : Tuesday, November 30, 2010 12:55:13 PM(UTC)

Thanks so much for this tip! I visited Portugal for the first time last spring and have had Portuguese sweets on my to-do list ever since but without getting any further. There's Jean Anderson up on the tippy-top shelf, where's my ladder?

robm

#13 Posted : Friday, December 3, 2010 6:01:22 PM(UTC)

Two great dessert books from Portugal that are bilingual are "Doçaria Conventual Portuguesa" (ISBN 9789724-729015) and "Doçaria Popular Portuguesa" (ISBN 9789724-726076). You might be able to find some copies on line, or through libraries. They're by Chefe Silva. (Antonio Silva.) Together they have a couple hundred recipes for egg-yolky deliciousness! I ordered them online from bookstores in Portugal and Brazil, but you probably need to understand Portuguese to maneuver through their websites. Shipping costs from Bertrand.pt are high, because they use express delivery services. LivrariaCultura.com.br and LivrariaSaraiva.com.br offer less expensive mail service as well as express delivery. It only took a couple of weeks for books to be delivered by mail, though.

robm

#14 Posted : Saturday, December 4, 2010 6:22:09 PM(UTC)

Another book with a good selection of egg-yolk dessert recipes that should be easier to locate is "The Taste of Portugal" by Edite Vieira (ISBN 9781902-304397) . She has recipes for "toucinho do ceu," "ovos moles," "fios de ovos," etc. She also includes the recipe for "doce de chila," or candied spaghetti squash, which makes a very nice spoon sweet on its own but is also one of the basic building blocks of many other Portuguese desserts. There are many recipes, like versions of "toucinho do ceu," which require "doce de chila." It's easy enough to make at home and keeps well, so if you like Portuguese sweets you can make a large batch to have plenty for making other recipes! She also includes a recipe for "fios de "ovos," or egg threads, another basic element of Portuguese sweet making. (There are also good recipes for "fios de ovos" and "doce de gila" -- the alternate spelling -- on Wikipedia.) You can sometimes buy ready-made fios de ovos at Portuguese bakeries, or in jars online. They're made both in Portugal and Brazil. To make your own you need a special funnel with numerous fine holes, which you might be able to find if there's a large Portuguese community where you live. Otherwise, I've heard of people using a powdered-sugar shaker (which has many more fine holes than the funnels) to drizzle the eggs over the hot syrup. The higher you hold the funnel/shaker over the syrup, the finer the threads will be.

mcvl

#15 Posted : Sunday, December 5, 2010 1:00:59 PM(UTC)

Omigosh, I can hardly thank you enough. I have a little Italian, so although I can neither speak nor understand spoken Portuguese it looks familiar on the page. With a little help from the Babel Fish translator and the XE currency converter I managed to order the two baking books -- well, at least I'm pretty sure that's what I did; it's always possible that the Feds will show up at my door tomorrow morning with a warrant for my extradition to Brazil.

I have the Edite Vieira already, and also Portuguese Homestyle Cooking by Ana Patuleia Ortins, from which I made my only foray into Portuguese desserts so far, her recipe for those lovely soft meringue puffs (farofias), which were easy and helped me with my meringue problem; most of the year, Seattle is too cold and humid for making crispy meringues, as for pavlova or dacquoise, so what am I supposed to do with all my extra eggwhites? Aha, farofias to the rescue.

robm

#16 Posted : Monday, December 6, 2010 7:28:32 PM(UTC)

I think you'll find the two books by Chefe Silva to be fascinating! I'm impressed you were able to use Babel Fish to maneuver through the websites. Good for you! Vieira also has a lot of egg-based desserts, definitely many of the standards. I'm constantly amazed at the number of confections the Portuguese have invented from so few ingredients! To use up the egg whites look for a recipe for Molotoff/Molotov pudding. It's one of the ways Portuguese cooks get rid of their extra egg whites! The name is a mystery -- there's nothing Russian about the dessert -- but it's a Portuguese standard. (There are recipes in Anderson and Ortins, and in Doçaria Popular, when you get it.) They also make versions of floating islands as a way to use up egg whites. Then there's chocolate mousse -- always popular! Let us know what other Portuguese goodies you try and how they came out! And for non-sweet dishes, have you tried the pork with clams (carne de porco à alentejana)? It sounds strange but is absolutely delicious -- a great dish for Seattle where you can get good clams easily! (In Kansas City I have to go to our big Asian market to find the little Manila clams that work best with this recipe.) Easy to make, just start the night before to give the pork cubes a chance to marinate thoroughly!

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