Eggs: All Day, Every Way

In this charming and comprehensive monograph, Nilsson (Ramen) takes readers on a world tour of egg-centric recipes. It opens with in-depth how-tos, accompanied by helpful step-by-step photos, on frying, scrambling, boiling, and making meringues and emulsions. For brunch, there’s classic eggs Benedict (on home-made brioche)—followed by riffs featuring mushroom and fennel, and salmon with dill-horseradish-hollandaise—and an Instagramable egg baked inside half an avocado. Other recipes span the globe, including Chinese tea eggs, Korean bibimbap, Spanish tortilla, salads Nicoise, various types of ramen, and huevos rancheros. Oto, a Ghanaian dish of sweet potato, red onion, and soft-boiled eggs, is often served at celebrations, while chawanmushi, a Japanese steamed-egg custard, is reminiscent of a “savory creme brulée.” (There is also a recipe for creme brulée.) Nilsson nods to her native Sweden with the decadent pelle janzon, or toast topped with raw beef tenderloin, roe, and raw quail egg, and includes fun tips throughout (one can spin an egg to determine if it has been hard-boiled). Desserts and drinks, including raspberry marshmallows and eggnog, round things out. Colorful design, appetizing photography, a friendly tone, and clear instructions support this surprisingly wide-ranging collection. It’s sure to inspire home cooks to crack some shells. (Mar.)