The Perfect Egg - Cookbook Giveaway & Recipes!

There is no doubt about it, eggs are a super-star food: protein-rich, versatile and a delicious crowd pleaser. Teri Lyn Fisher and Jenny Park, authors of the Spoon Fork Bacon blog, have teamed up to create The Perfect Egg: A Fresh Take on Recipes for Morning, Noon, and Night. Most of us always have eggs on hand, but beyond a quick scramble or a team player in your cake mix, we aren’t always sure what to cook with them. So if you are looking to expand your egg knowledge and culinary palette, this book is for you.

And let me just say, the photographs are lovely. For anyone overwhelmed by the plethora of egg-based sauces and condiments, there’s a side-by-side comparison to answer any lingering questions. Similarly, the introductory “101” section covers all the basics (cooking techniques, storage, etc.) that you always think you know but, in actuality, aren’t really sure of. The authors also included many basic recipes for pasta doughs and breads as well as new dishes that you may not be familiar with like gyeran bbang, chawanmushi and foi thong.

The Perfect Egg is a good book for people of all cooking levels. If you aren’t comfortable with the harder recipes, the more basic recipes will get you started and help you feel more comfortable with all the egg’s many uses. To wet your appetite, we have included two recipes below to get you started on your next creative egg concoction while you jump online to order your copy.

We're so excited to have a copy of this egg-celent book to give away to one of you!

Here's How To Enter -

To win a copy of The Perfect Egg, simply leave a comment below answering this question by Monday, August 1, 2016 (one entry per person please).

GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED

How do you like to prepare your eggs? Why?

No purchase required. Limit one entry per person, please. Entries will close on Monday, August 1, 2016 at 3:00 pm. Winner is chosen by Random Number Generator and announced on our blog on Tuesday, August 2, 2016.

Thank you all for participating! 

The winner chosen at random is Marianne who said:

"My favorite dish when I need some comfort is milk toast. It is something my Grandmother made us when we were little and it is basically an egg poached in milk and everything poured over buttered toast cut into slices. It is really good if you are feeling under the weather or if you just want something comforting. Plus I see and hear my Grandmother whenever I make it. It is funny how some foods are associated so closely with someone in your life. She has been gone almost 30 years now and I still think of her every time I make a milk toast." 

No Leafy Green Salad, Photo by Teri Lyn Fisher

NO LEAFY GREENS SALAD
Serves 4

BALSAMIC VINAIGRETTE
2 tablespoons minced shallot
1 clove garlic, minced
2 teaspoons light brown sugar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1⁄2 cup balsamic vinegar
2 ⁄3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

SALAD
1 cup uncooked farro, rinsed and drained
4 cups chicken stock
Salt
8 baby zucchini, sliced in half lengthwise
10 French green beans, sliced in half lengthwise
2 radishes, trimmed and thinly sliced
4 soft boiled eggs, halved (see page 11)
Microgreens, crushed pistachios, and grated lemon zest, for garnish

Place all the vinaigrette ingredients, except the olive oil, into a small mixing bowl and whisk together. While whisking, pour in the oil in a slow and steady stream. Continue to whisk until the mixture has emulsified. Taste, adjust the seasoning if needed, and set aside until ready to use.

Pour the farro and stock into a medium pot and bring to a boil. Once the stock has come to a boil, reduce heat to medium and simmer for 30 to 40 minutes or until most of the liquid has been absorbed and the grains have softened and split. Drain any remaining liquid and allow the farro to cool, about 1 hour.

Fill a small pot with water and bring to a boil. Once water has boiled, generously season with salt and drop in the zucchini and French green beans. Blanch vegetables for 2 to 3 minutes and then transfer them to an ice bath to ensure the vegetables retain some texture. Once cooled, drain the vegetables and place into a large mixing bowl with the cooked farro and sliced radishes. Drizzle half of the vinaigrette over the mixture and toss together (you can reserve the remaining vinaigrette for another use). Top the salad with microgreens, crushed pistachios, and grated lemon zest, and serve.

TIP: To cool farro quickly, spread onto a sheet pan, in a thin layer, and place in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes.

Egg Salad Sandwiches, Photo by Teri Lyn Fisher

What was once one of my mom’s standard lunches has morphed into an adult favorite. When I was a child and my body ached from after-school sports, my mom would fry an egg and then sandwich it between two slices of white bread slathered with mayo. It was my comfort food. My grown-up versions are these egg salad variations, all of which are made with ingredients that are usually on hand. - Teri

EGG SALAD SANDWICHES
Serves 4

INGREDIENTS
8 hard-boiled eggs (page 11)
2 tablespoons diced dill pickle
3 tablespoons mayonnaise (page 15)
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
11⁄2 teaspoons thinly sliced fresh chives
1⁄2 teaspoon cider vinegar
1 ⁄4 teaspoon salt
1 ⁄4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
8 slices country white bread, lightly toasted

DIRECTIONS

Peel and chop the eggs and place in a bowl. Add the pickle, mayonnaise, mustard, chives, vinegar, salt, and pepper and mix well.

Divide the egg salad evenly among 4 toast slices and top with the remaining 4 toast slices. Press gently and then cut each sandwich in half.

VARIATIONS:

CAPER & DILL: Stir 1 tablespoon diced capers and 11 ⁄2 teaspoons minced fresh dill into the egg mixture.

OLIVE & WHOLE-GRAIN MUSTARD: Replace the Dijon mustard with 11 ⁄2 tablespoons whole-grain mustard and stir 11 ⁄2 tablespoons chopped Castelvetrano olives and 1 tablespoon chopped black olives into the egg mixture.

BACON, AVOCADO & RED ONION: Replace the hard-boiled eggs with soft-boiled eggs. Omit the chives and stir 21 ⁄2 tablespoons crumbled cooked bacon; 1 ⁄4 avocado, peeled and diced; and 11 ⁄2 tablespoons minced red onion into the egg mixture.

FOUR HERB: Reduce the chives to 1 teaspoon. Stir 1 teaspoon each minced fresh thyme, oregano, and sage into the egg mixture.

GREEN ONION & SESAME: Replace the hard-boiled eggs with soft-boiled eggs. Omit the mustard and chives and stir 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil; 1 teaspoon sesame seeds, toasted; and 11 ⁄2 green onions, white and green parts, thinly sliced, into the egg mixture.

CURRY: Replace the hard-boiled eggs with soft-boiled eggs. Omit the mustard and chives and stir 2 teaspoons curry powder and 1 ⁄2 teaspoon ground cumin into the egg mixture.

JALAPEÑO & CILANTRO: Stir 2 tablespoons diced, seeded jalapeño chile and 1 tablespoon minced fresh cilantro into the egg mixture.

EGG WHITE: Omit all of the egg yolks, add 2 additional hard-boiled egg whites, and replace the black pepper with white pepper.
 
The Perfect Egg, book cover photo by Teri Lyn Fisher

Reprinted with permission from The Perfect Egg, by Teri Lyn Fisher and Jenny Park, copyright © 2015, published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC.

Photographs copyright © 2015 by Teri Lyn Fisher