I chose this book for a couple of reasons. One, we are looking at ways to eat less meat and have more meatless meals. Eggs are kind of middle ground, since they are an animal product, but in our home, we'd consider an egg meal to be meatless. My other reason? We have a few laying hens, and sometimes I feel like the eggs on hand vastly out-number the ideas I have to use them. My hope with this book was to find some new ideas that would help me use our farm-fresh eggs in different, tasty ways.
The actual book is sturdy, well-bound (I received the hard cover edition) and beautifully photographed. Each recipe (with the exception of a few technique tips in the first chapter about things like boiling eggs) has a corresponding photo. Even though beautiful photography can be a setup for a 'Pinterest fail', I do appreciate the attention to detail and the gorgeousness of all the final products. The photographs help me decide which recipes might most appeal to my family.
This book does include detailed recipes, but the authors also encourage you to make substitutions and adjustments here and there. This is how I cook all. the. time., so that resonates well with me. If you prefer to follow recipes exactly, you can, but I appreciate the....permission?....to take a recipe and make it my own.
One thing I'm happy to tell you is that this book is not full of breakfast dishes...or strictly egg dishes. Sure, it has both, but it also has recipes that will work throughout the day. Some of the recipes are for breads, soups, and even some spreads - from mayonnaise to an egg butter. I found many recipes that are different from anything I've ever made or eaten, so I am happy with the scope. I like to try foods from various cultures, and this book offers many options in that regard as well.
I plan to make the savory strata this coming week, and there are quite a few recipes I'd like to try in the next few weeks. If you like to cook, if you like eggs in general, and if you're looking for new ideas and inspiration, then I think The Perfect Egg is the perfect place to get a little inspiration!
I'm glad you have this book as a resource now!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Lana - I'm pretty excited too! There are some ideas here that never crossed my mind, plus some recipes from various cultures that I'm eager to try!
DeleteSounds like a good book.. We eat a lot of eggs..
ReplyDeleteI like eggs, but I was needing inspiration, so that it's not just the same old, same old every time. There were a lot of recipes I'd never heard of, a few I'd heard of and never tried, so I think we'll make good use of the book. :)
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