The best egg dinner I've ever had was a poached duck egg, served on a bed of sauteed greens next to creamy polenta. I came across the dish at Portland’s Paley’s Place. So good, I prepare at home a few times a year. With a glass of chilled wine, it is so good on a warm day.
Duck eggs have about twice the calories as a large (standard) chicken egg. Ducks can lay about 200 eggs a year, their chicken hen counterparts can do about an egg a day during their peak laying period. The taste of the egg is mostly dependent on the diet of the foul, not what kind of bird laid the egg. Duck eggs do taste a little different, because of they are rich in fats. Fat = Flavor.
Eggs are cholesterol rich - chicken 213mg; a duck egg has 619mg all of it located in the yolk. Before you start listening for the sound of my arteries hardening, eggs are a bit of a paradox. Meat contains 50mgs of cholesterol per equivalent serving size, because most of the fat in the egg is unsaturated, it might have a beneficial effect on serum cholesterol. For example, I am not one to deny myself rich cheese, custards and cream sauces, yet I always get a smiley face on my cholesterol test. (Yes, an emoticon is easier than keeping track of which numbers mean what on the test results.) With the proper caveats that I am not a health or nutrition expert, but a balanced diet, low in saturated fats with plenty of veg, appears to be a far better bet than being frightened of some foods and enamored of the magical qualities of others.
Other egg dinners I have been known to enjoy, eggs poached in marinara, served on top of bread fried in olive oil. The Mexican version - huevos divorciados – two fried eggs, one in red, the other in green salsa, each served on a corn tortilla – this really wasn’t a traditional dinner, rather a personal stab at the 4th Meal, the last stop on a couple alcohol fueled evenings. Hollandaise Sauce, Aioli, Caesar Dressing are all pretty eggy but generally, no one dips a spoon into them to make a meal out of them. And we’ll sidestep the whole discussion of crepes, which are closer to little omelets than pancakes.
Egg Lunch – In Spain I had a Frittata sandwich quite a few times a week – some combination of eggs, potatoes and greens in a small roll. For one or 1-2 €, it hit the spot. Although, I have a hard time eating it because frittata is the lunch the family packed for the dad on his first day of work in The Bicycle Thief, it is a meal that makes me a little sad, making it the type of meal no one will ever wax about nostalgically, a discomfort food. Take that Mac + Cheese.
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