Cookbook connoisseur and collector of more than 5,000 rare cookbooks, Peter D. Franklin is an expert at delivering tasty morsels from the latest cookbooks. With both book reviews and sample recipes, Cookbook Nook is rare and wonderful ingredient for both the professional and everyday cook.

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"As the new millennium unfolds, the clouds are beginning to lighten and the Big Scare is over," writes Marie Simmons, author of "The Good Egg" (Houghton Mifflin, $27).

The "scare" was that eating eggs contributed to heart disease because of the relatively high cholesterol level of the yolk. It was a bum rap. Most scientists and nutritionists now agree, she says, that the egg, which has fewer grams of saturated fat than a cup of whole milk, is a nutritious food when consumed in moderate amounts in a balanced diet.

This is the 14th cookbook for Simmons, who with Richard Sax won both a Julia Child and a James Beard award for "Lighter, Quicker, Better" (Morrow, 1995). In "The Good Egg," she demonstrates the same care and attention to detail that have earned her accolades.

Throughout, Simmons offers friendly tips about eggs and how best to buy, preserve and prepare them. For example, she advises that eggs be stored in the refrigerator in their carton and not transferred to the egg pockets in the door. The carton, she says, "prevents moisture loss and absorption of odors from other foods in the refrigerator." Elsewhere she discusses the different attributes of fertile, free-range, nutrient-enhanced, organic and vegetarian eggs. In case you were wondering, as I was, about the latter category, it applies to eggs produced by hens that have fed solely on feed from vegetable foods. "These tend to have an eggier flavor," Simmons notes.

Simmons also explores vegetable dyes for Easter eggs, various methods of frying eggs, rescuing Hollandaise sauce, making a crust for quiche, and her favorite breakfast: a soft-boiled egg and toast fingers. It's mine, too.

There are some 200 recipes in "The Good Egg," and when you see them all packaged like this, it says a lot for the versatility of the incredible, edible egg. There are omelets and fried eggs, poached and boiled ones, sandwiches and souffles, and "seductively stuffed" eggs. Beyond these basics are the likes of Carter House Potato Risotto With Poached Eggs; Spaghetti With Bacon, Soft-Scrambled Eggs and Cream; a classic Vanilla Creme Brulee With Raspberry Sauce; and Braised Veal Roulades Stuffed With Herb and Prosciutto Omelet.

Crack open "The Good Egg." You'll enjoy what's inside.

The 60 or so recipes in "Country Egg, City Egg," by Gayle Pirie and John Clark (Artisan, $15.95), bypass most of the basics, preferring to concentrate on "new egg classics." Among these are Huevos (Spanish for eggs) a la Flamenco, which are made with a spicy sausage, tomato, bell pepper and green beans; Eggs in Duckfat; Caramelized Apple Omelet; Balsamic Fried Eggs; and Poached Eggs in a Potato Nest. There also is a recipe for Mother's Schaumtortes, a cookie made with egg whites, vanilla extract, cream of tartar and sugar.

Few recipes contain as many as six ingredients, and many of the Pirie/Clark offerings are for one or two servings.