A couple of weeks ago, I roasted a whole duck for the first time ever. I’ve cooked plenty of chickens in my life, but never a duck. I love ordering duck in restaurants — confit, grilled, Peking, whatever. If it’s got crispy skin and tender duck breast/leg meat involved, I’m typically interested. But I guess I’ve been intimidated to try it at home. I knew there was a whole fat issue to handle, and if you didn’t, then you don’t get the crispy skin, or the whole thing is greasy… Something along those lines.

But then a few weeks ago, I was at my local Whole Foods, about to buy a chicken to roast for a little pre-birthday dinner for my friend Todd and a couple of other guests. And there were whole, fresh ducks. Just tucked in next to the chickens. And I decided it was time. I knew Todd would be a willing guinea pig and a forgiving diner, and if the whole thing was a disaster, we’d just have more bread and wine and have fun anyway.

So here are the lessons I learned about cooking duck:

Lesson #1 — It’s harder to roast a duck than it is to roast a chicken. I wasn’t wrong about this. The bottom line is that you have to somehow drain the fat out of the bottom of the roasting pan. The roasting pan that’s been in a 425F oven and has a dangerously hot, spattering layer of duck fat underneath the hot duck that has to be somehow moved before you can drain out the fat. And this whole thing has to be done more than once.

Lesson #2 — A duck that looks to be about the same size as a roasting chicken serves about half as many people as the chicken would have. There’s just not nearly as much meat on a duck as there is on a chicken. I had planned on serving 4 with my duck, but I bet Todd and I could have polished it off ourselves without too much effort. Fortunately, I also had a pan of roasted root vegetables, a salad, and some bread. (Plus, one of the other guests turned out to not particularly care for duck anyway.)

Lesson #3 — There’s more clean-up with a duck than with a chicken. That roasting pan was a mess and took several good scrubbings to get clean. And I’m not sure that my roasting rack will ever be quite the same.

That being said, the duck was pretty darn good. Burnished, golden, crispy skin, the requisite layer of fat but not too much, and tender and flavorful meat. The recipe I used was straight out of Italian Easy: Recipes from the London River Cafe, by Rose Gray and Ruth Rogers, and it included a final addition of black olives and cherry tomatoes to the drippings, which was a delicious finishing touch. With just four ingredients, plus salt and pepper, it’s about as simple a whole roasted duck recipe as you’re likely to find. Plus, you end up with a container of duck fat that can be used in myriad ways over the coming weeks. I’ve roasted cabbage wedges (recipe coming up soon) and fingerling potatoes, and have a crazy idea about fashioning some kind of duck fat biscuit. We’ll see.

And the wines? I was still in Italy-withdrawal, so I couldn’t resist opening a bottle of Barbaresco along with a couple of Pinot Noirs. Here are my notes:

Produttori del Barbaresco 2006 Barbaresco ($35). Loved it. Aromatic smoke, licorice and brown spices accent a core of concentrated black fruits — berry, blueberry, plum — with a long, complex, structured finish supported by bright acidity. Very nice now but should age well for another 10 years. Locate this wine online or in your area.

Mossback 2009 Pinot Noir Russian River Valley ($25). A smooth cola note balances out some definite herbal character, with red cherry and raspberry fruit, tangy acidity and a full finish. Ready to drink now and over the next 2-3 years. Locate this wine online or in your area.

Paraiso 2009 Pinot Noir Santa Lucia Highlands ($25). Especially liked the earthy note on the nose and palate — a sweet earth, not quite mushroomy thing.  With ripe red berry and plum fruit from beginning to end, picking up sweet spice and toast notes through the full finish. Ready to drink now and over the next 2-3 years. Locate this wine online or in your area.