This is exactly what you think about when you think of pub food. This Irish dish was adapted from the comforting colcannon dish. This dish definitely brought me back to my days of living in Glasgow. The onions and Guinness make an incredible smell. Make sure not to use too much kale - in my case I used spinach because I wasn’t able to get to the farmer’s market, and I think I added a bit too much and it overpowered the onion mixture. This is a great comfort food, and really easy - just needs a lot of time in the oven. This recipe is from the Farm to Table cookbook, I’ll put the recipe below.

Serves 4

4 large (8-10 oz each) russet potatoes, scrubbed (we used 4 smaller ones and each had 2 for the meal)

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon olive oil, divided

2 medium (3 cups) onions, thinly sliced

1 cup Irish-style stout

1/2 bunch kale

1 cup buttermilk

2 tablespoons butter, at room temperature

1/2 teaspoon mustard powder

salt and pepper

1 cup grated cheddar cheese

1. Preheat oven to 400F. Rub the potatoes with 1 teaspoon of olive oil and place directly on the oven rack. Bake until they squish easily when gently squeezed, 45 minutes - 1 hour.

2. Heat the remaining oil in large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring frequently, until they begin to brown, about 15 minutes. Add a splash of the stout and scrape up any browned bits. Continue to cook, occasionally deglazing the pan with the stout until the onions are a deep brown and all the stout is used, about 45 minutes total.

3. Tear the rough ribs and stems away form the kale and discard. Roughly chop the leaves and add half the kale to the onions, tossing with tongs to wilt the leaves. Add the remaining kale, toss, cover, and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat.

4. With a serrated knife, slice off the top quarter of each potato. Use a soupspoon to scoop out the flesh, leaving a 1/4 inch thick shell on the bottom and sides. Mash the flesh with the buttermilk, butter, and mustard powder. Gently fold in the onion-kale mixture and season with salt and pepper. Mound the mixture into the potato shells, sprinkle the tops with the cheese, and place on a baking sheet. Bake until cheese is melted, about 20 minutes, and serve warm as a side dish or a vegetarian main course.

This was certainly something you’d find at a highway diner, but I think better. I’ve been reading a lot about brining, and on Saturday Sonny Anderson did a brine before deep frying some chicken. I thought this would be great with the duck legs I have! OH man, was it good! Here’s the link to Sonny’s recipe - I didn’t have as much meat so I pretty much cut things in half. I’m not sure if the brining helped only because I have no comparison as far as deep frying goes, but oh was the meat moist and tender, and the outside just crispy enough! You’ll definitely need a deep fry thermometer, I bought one at Sur La Table for $12. When deep frying, it’s so important to keep an eye on the temperature - I noticed halfway through the duck frying that the temp was getting to 350F, so make sure you don’t burn it and regulate the temp all the way through. Once I served the duck, I was surprised it wasn’t super greasy - probably because the oil was fresh and not sitting in a deep fryer - not sure. For the mash potatoes, I quartered about 2 pounds of Yukon and Red Bliss potatoes - boiled for about 10-12 minutes and drained. I then throw them back into the boiling pot and began to mash. I like to let them cool just a bit before adding stuff so milk doesn’t curdle as well as the egg. I slowly start adding half and half, or heavy cream whatever you have, about 4-5 tablespoons. Then I add about 1 tablespoon butter and one egg. Be careful not to add the egg to quickly so it doesn’t scramble - trust me I’ve done it - not so pretty lookin’. The egg will cook, you just don’t want scramble. Then finish with salt and pepper - super basic, super rich potatoes. Sonny put garlic potatoes with her fried chicken, but I didn’t want to over power the duck with a bunch of garlic, just basic potatoes. You can also see I added some greens - key when eating fried foods, makes you feel better. I sautéed kale again, this time with olive oil, about a tablespoon cider vinegar, salt and pepper. It was great with the potatoes. Definitely try this for some comfort food or if you’re from the South, a little bit of home.

This is what happens when you’re in a rush to eat - a blurry picture… but I think you get the idea. This was a request from my mom for me to make before I head back up to NYC. This is also one of Johnathan’s favorites, and we usually finish a serving for 4 between the 3 of us - we do try to have another person for dinner for this event. We saw this on Jamie at Home on the Food Network, and have probably made it half a dozen times. This isn’t exactly a cheap meal on its own - fontina and creme fraiche can be pricey - but try it at least once, and you’ll probably go back to it again and again. I used my pasta recipe and pasta machine for the tagliatelle, and here’s the link to Jamie’s recipe. Enjoy… again… and again….

This is the first meal from the whole duck that I bought this week. The really nice butcher at Whole Foods Alpharetta (not Union Square) cut the duck up for me, and when I got home, all I had to do was cut the breast meat from the bones. When cutting poultry, make sure you have a sharp, thin knife - it just makes it easier to get all the rich meat off the bones. Save the breast bones, and make a stock, which I’ll be doing this week for a future soup - which my parents will enjoy, not me…. Every part of the bird can be and should be used. The skin gets crispy unlike chicken and it tastes like filet mignon without the price tag. People seem to be hesitant of the duck, or think it’s too expensive or fancy - but it’s a much healthier, cheaper alternative to beef, and for me has more flavor, even with just salt and pepper. It’s really fun to watch the meat plump up and take on a whole different form from when you took it off the bone. Our fitness instructor has instructed us to eat kale for homework this week, and I was pleasantly surprised. I’d never tried it before, and its crunchier (if you don’t over cook it) and holds flavor better than spinach. This is in season - try it! Here’s how I put the dinner together:

Serves 2 (there are only 2 pieces of breast meat on the bird, but you could cook other parts for more ppl)

2 duck breasts

salt and pepper

1 bunch kale

1 shallot, minced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 teaspoon, or to taste, white wine vinegar

1 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1. With a sharp knife, trim excess fat and sinew from the breasts and score the skin in a crosshatch pattern, being very careful not to cut into the muscle. Pat breasts dry with paper towels - this will make the skin crispier. Season breasts with salt and pepper on both sides.

2. Heat a cast-iron skillet (if you have it, if not use a heavy fry pan) over medium heat for about 3 minutes. Lightly coat the pan with canola (or olive) oil. Gently lay the breasts into the pan, skin side down. Let them brown for about 3-4 minutes - don’t move them! With tongs, flip the breasts away from yourself, being careful not to splash the hot oil and fat on yourself. Cook for another 3 minutes. Remove the breasts to a resting rack, or plate and loosely cover with foil. Let them sit for at least 5 minutes and let the juices redistribute through the meat.

3. Meanwhile, wash your whole bunch of kale, and trim off stems - these can be bitter. Heat a couple glugs of oilve oil in a large pan, and add your garlic and shallots. Let them cook for about 2-3 minutes, until the shallots are limp and translucent. Slowly add kale and with tongs work kale around the pan letting all the leaves hit the sauce. They should start to wilt, and should fit in the pan. Add your vinegar, paprika, and cinnamon, salt and pepper to taste. Don’t over cook them - you still want some crunch. Sauté for about 4 minutes total.

4. Serve breasts with kale and a piece of crusty toasted bread!