Ideas for Eggs

Ever had chickens? How about ducks or geese or quail even? Not sure what to do with all those eggs? Well, either was I. And though I have scads of cookbooks---all with recipes for eggs---I decided to try out these two new cookbooks written expressly for those of us with too many eggs.

The first one EGGS by Micheal Roux I received very recently and haven't really done more than cook one recipe. It has nice little information pieces about eggs (everything from hens to ostrich) and tips and hints on getting more professional results. All very nice reading---though not too lengthy for a cookbook (I mean who wants a novel when it's really a cookbook right?) The recipes range from the simple, like how to do an excellent scrambled egg to the sublime: hard cooked egg and smoked eel on ciabatta.
O.k---so maybe I won't try the smoked eel sandwich, but there are dozens of other recipes that stretch my ideas of how to deal with all my eggs. The author breaks the book into categories of: boiled eggs, poached eggs, fried, scrambled, baked, omelets, souffles, crepes, pastries and pasta, custards/creams & mousses, ice creams, meringues/sponges and sauces & dressings. Some recipes are "basic" but there are others that require some slightly more gourmet ingredients, time or tools. Lots and lots to choose from in this book, its really all about stretching your ideas of how to eat an egg.

The second book is The Farmstead Egg Cookbook by Terry Golson. I have actually used this book a number of times but I will warn you that it is very...familiar. It's a small book, and though it hits the range of appetizer to dessert it doesn't have the number of recipes the first book does. Most of the recipes are the type that I have come across frequently in my lifetime ---but a few of them were new to me. A couple of the recipes struck me with the "ahhh...I forgot about that---I haven't had that in a long time" thought. In actuality---I like this book as much as the first just because it is simple and most everything is something that I am comfortable with and that is easy to find in my neck of the woods. However---I can truthfully say I like having both. One to jog my memory and give me dishes that will appeal to a vast array of my friends and family and the other to stretch my imagination and my taste buds, while teaching me a bit more than I knew before.