The Fresh Eggs Daily cookbook Over 100 fabulous recipes to use eggs in unexpected ways

Fresh Eggs Daily blogger Steele (Duck Eggs Daily) lays down as many tips and recipes as her chickens do eggs in this innovative and plucky collection. Combining her expertise as a fifth-generation chicken keeper in Maine with inspiration from her Scandinavian forebears, she succeeds at her aim to share "unique and creative ways to use eggs" in delectable recipes that run the gamut from eggs in a hole to frothy cocktails. Eggs are baked inside roasted rings of butternut squash as a healthy way to bring together protein and veg, while a plate of egg yolk ravioli on marina sauce is made "deceptively simple" thanks to wonton wrappers. Recipe headnotes contain helpful pointers--such as dry-shaking egg whites with an acid before adding ice for optimal foam in one's lime bourbon sour, and that a turmeric-vinegar soak ensures a stunning presentation for deviled eggs. In addition to sharing basic cooking and curing techniques, she weighs in on whether fresh eggs are really better (they are) and divulges insider info on how commercial eggs are graded and coded. Most unexpected of the lot--and highly useful--is the book's recipe index listed by the number of eggs needed. This will be hard to beat. Agent: John Maas, Park & Fine Literary. (Feb.)

Steele (blogger of Fresh Eggs Daily and author of Duck Eggs Daily) aims to highlight the versatility of eggs in her latest book. She went from working on Wall Street to owning a bookstore and currently lives on a Maine farm where she raises chickens. Given her access to fresh eggs, it's natural that in her recipes eggs are the focus and the main ingredient, and not just for breakfast. All of Steele's recipes are easy to use; highlights include ricotta scrambled eggs, lemon fried eggs, tomato caprese quiche, and baked eggs marinara. Helpfully, Steele's cookbook starts with the basics of eggs and tips that are helpful for any cook--including nutrition, storage, cooking, and the benefits of using very fresh eggs. VERDICT This latest work from Steele will provide cooks and bakers with plenty of new ways to use eggs.--Ginny Wolter