Duck Duck Goose

A few weeks ago, while visiting my elementary school woodworking/gym teacher, I was reminded of one of my favorite childhood games: duck duck goose.  (Perhaps even better than duck duck goose, however, was drip drip splash... )  I'm sorry to disappoint you DDG fans - I may have just faked you out - but the following post has nothing to do with either of these games beyond the fact that duck duck goose is a rather fitting title for this post!  Just thought I'd point out where the inspiration for the title came from!

One of my favorite vendors at the Farmer's Market is Daring Drake Farm, whose owner we lovingly refer to in my house as "the duck egg guy".  What first attracted me to his booth a few years ago was his duck eggs.  I had never thought of eating duck eggs before!  (Nor had I ever really seen them...)  I was immediately fascinated.  What I love about the duck egg guy is that he always refers to his ducks as "the girls".  But he doesn't just sell duck eggs...he sells a plethora of exotic berries (including several varieties from Russia that I've never heard of), unique winter squash (my favorite are the Japanese varieties), the most incredible apples (left one in my bag for a few hours and when I opened the zipper later, I was hit by the most beautiful scent of fall), among many other unique produce items.  Along with his fabulous market goods, he brings an unrivaled passion for and knowledge about his products.  Whenever I go to the market, I spend a decent amount of time conversing with this lovely man!

Just a few weeks ago, he started selling goose eggs.  I was immediately captivated by these huge eggs.  I was tempted to buy one...but I thought, what am I ever going to do with it?  One goose egg is apparently the equivalent of 4 large chicken eggs.  Finally, I took the plunge last weekend and bought one.  I was on my way home for the weekend, so I thought it would make a fun project...and a funny "hello I'm home" gift to my mom.  (Now do you see how the title fits this post?  I hope you do because I thought it was rather clever!)

Goose egg in his bed, all wrapped up safe and sound.

Quite a handful!

We had quite the photoshoot.

Sassy and Mimi sniffed the egg a little but weren't thrilled...

So I decided to make a simple frittata with the goose egg.  The yolk of this egg was incredible.  If you are someone who is afraid of egg yolks and only eat whites, this post is not for you.  If you are like me and love delicious, unctuous yolks, please keep on reading.  The goose egg yolk was an intense dark yellow, almost orange color and made for a beautiful, rich frittata.  The shell of this egg was also amazingly thick...and the membranous layer just inside the shell was - as my mother said - strong as a rubber band.  Indeed, I needed to give the egg a good couple of whacks before I could crack it open.

Anyways, this was quite a success!  The taste wasn't too different from a good chicken egg (organic, small, happy farm-raised), but it was definitely more decadent and delicious.  My next task: buy another goose egg and make a cake!  I'm thinking some sort of a pound cake...mmm imagining the rich loveliness!

Duck Egg Frittata

Ingredients:

• 1 goose egg (or 4 large chicken eggs...perhaps 3 duck eggs?)
• 3 tbsp whole milk
• 1/4 cup grated gruyere cheese, divided
• 1/2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 large handfuls of baby spinach (perhaps 3 cups)
• 1 small shallot, minced
• salt and pepper, to taste
• butter for greasing

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.  Place a small baking dish in the oven and allow it to preheat along with the oven.  I used a small copper skillet.  You could use an appropriately-sized ramekin (or 2-4 smaller ones) or a cast iron pot of some sort.  A cake pan could even work as long as it's not too big.
2. Crack the goose egg into a bowl.  I got some shell shards in there originally...make sure you get all of those out!
3. Add in the milk and 2 tbsp of the gruyere cheese.  Add a little salt (I used 1/8 tsp) and pepper.  Whisk whisk whisk.
4. Heat the olive oil in a sautee pan over medium heat.  Add the shallot and cook for 3 minutes until soft.  Add the spinach and cook for just another minute or two until wilted.  Season lightly with salt and pepper.
5. Stir the cooked spinach mixture into the egg mixture.
6. When the oven and the dish are fully preheated, remove the dish from the oven.  Careful!  It's super hot, so make sure you have your heat-stoppers (aka potholders) handy.  
7. Immediately grease the hot dish with butter and then add the egg mixture.  You will see the edges will cook on contact - this is good!  It means it won't stick later.  Put the remaining gruyere cheese on top of the eggs.
8. Return the dish to the oven and cook for 12-15 minutes until golden brown on top and set in the middle.
9. Remove and serve, perhaps with a few slices of buttered toast and/or a slice of avocado and some sprouts.  This will serve 4 for a light breakfast or 2 for a more substantial brunch-like meal.

Finally succeeded in cracking that tough shell!  Had to fish out those few shell pieces...whoops!

Time to mix in the veggies with the eggy.

All mixed.

The edges of the frittata sizzled up right away.

Beautiful golden brown and smelling delicious.

Look at that intense yellow color on the inside...

Simple yet very elegant.  Perfect for breakfast, lunch, or brunch!

Here's the super thick egg shell and rubber-band-like membrane inside.

When I bought the huge goose egg, I also bought a bunch of tiny bantam chicken eggs.  These are cute mini eggs laid by little bantam chickens, who are cared for by the duck egg guy's daughter.  According to the duck egg guy, his biggest customers for these mini eggs are parents whose children won't eat their breakfast unless it is in the form of a smiley face...and the little eggs make the perfect eyes!  I have yet to try them as I write this post...but I'm thinking they'll make a lovely breakfast tomorrow!  ...and yes, I will make my breakfast in the shape of a smiley face (I'm thinking toast on the bottom, eggs for eyes, chocolate chips for the smile, banana slice for the nose?  I also have some avocado, which would make for some crazy green hair.)

Goose egg, chicken egg, bantam egg.  The whole egg line up!