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Incredible, edible eggs
REVIEWS BY SYBIL PRATT
By Michel Roux Wiley, $24.95 304 pages ISBN 0471769134
Southern comfort
By Robert St. John Hyperion, $19.95 288 pages ISBN 1401308384
Long on style, short on fuss
By Jennifer Rubell Morrow Cookbooks, $27.50 192 pages ISBN 0060778474
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Onward and upward with the egg—that divine, but often maligned wonder food that is so basic and essential. I'd better confess up front that I'm an eggophile; I love them for breakfast, lunch, snack or supper, in flan, frittata or floating island. So, it was a special treat to find that Michel Roux, a renowned chef whose restaurant has kept its three Michelin stars for 21 years, feels the same way. He demonstrates his love and respect for these indispensable ovals in Eggs, with more than 130 recipes and 150 egg-stravagent, full-color, full-page, almost-edible photos. Each of the first six chapters focuses on the different ways to cook eggs—boiled, poached, fried, scrambled, baked and in omelets—with explicit, illustrated directions for each cooking technique and recipes from classic Eggs Benedict and "Oeufs sur le Plat" with parsley beurre blanc to distinctive Roux creations like Crunchy Fried Eggs on Dandelion Salad and Pear and Cinnamon Omelet. In the chapters that follow, you'll find crepes, custards and creams; pastry and pasta; sponges, sauces, souffles; mousses, meringues, mayonnaise and more that feature the egg's unique properties. Egg-stra! Egg-stra! Read all about them and enjoy this celebration of one of nature's triumphs.
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In Dixieland, he'll take his stand. He is Robert St. John, chef/owner of two fine restaurants in Mississippi, author of a syndicated food column and a very funny man, and his stand is that "the problem with a lot of Southern cooking is the ever present can of cream of mushroom soup." So adamant is he on this point that he made it the subtitle of his new cookbook, Deep South Staples: How to Survive in a Southern Kitchen Without a Can of Cream of Mushroom Soup. He was originally moved to write this book when he discovered that there are many Southerners who can prepare hip, trendy dishes but can't fry chicken or make creamed corn, not to mention that true Southern basic, biscuits. To rectify this sorry state, St. John gathered this group of recipes for the comforting, heritage "foods of our grandmothers," added a dash of his restaurant know-how adjusted for home cooks, and updated where necessary. Sandwiched among the hush puppies, corn fritters, buttermilk chicken, fried okra and banana pudding, are samplings of his food essays that ponder the possum predicament, funeral food, sweet tea, chitlins and more. But first, turn to page 241 and make his sensational cream of mushroom soup substitute; now you'll have a true taste of Mr. St. John's South.
Jennifer Rubell owns several boutique hotels which she oversees like an eagle-eyed mother hen, making sure every detail is taken care of and that her guests are treated like family. She leads what she describes as a "fast-paced, whirlwind life," but still loves to entertain at home. To carry that off and keep her sanity, Jennifer threw out the old rules, realizing that none of us have the "time, staff or inclination to follow them" and made get-togethers with friends unpretentious and comfortable, an extension of our modern, more casual lifestyle. If you'd like to do the same (and who wouldn't), check out Real Life Entertaining: Easy Recipes and Unconventional Wisdom, due out next month. You can use paper napkins and mismatched plates, serve all the components (salads, mains, etc.) at once, serve from the cooking pan and call friends at the last minute—in other words, relax, improvise, have fun. You'll find great ideas, menus and recipes here for drop-in dinners, sit-down dinners—without starched tablecloths, silver and crystal, dinners for a crowd, brunch, lunch and no-effort desserts. Get with the program and get real!