This year instead of going out to eat I made our Valentines dinner. The plating needs some help but it was outstanding even if I say so myself.  I prepared lobster tails and filet mignon on the grill, with the accompaniment of colcannon and sauteed asparagus. And for dessert, chocolate covered strawberries.

This was the first time I have worked with lobster. I only saw how a lobster was boiled in culinary school so I was completely worried that I would over cook it and it would be rubbery.

The recipe that I’ll be sharing is the colcannon. It is a classic Irish dish that was served at Loft 610. The classic dish is just mashed potatoes, kale and onions that is browned in a skillet. My version adds some zestiness with whole grain mustard, and a little low lites with caramelized onions and mushrooms.

 

Ingredients

4 medium potatoes,baked
2 medium onions, sliced
1/2 lb of crimini mushrooms, sliced
1 lb of kale, de-stemmed and roughly chopped
1 T whole grain mustard
salt and pepper to taste
butter for sauteeing

Method

1. Sautee onions in butter until caramelized, add mushrooms and continue cooking till brown. Set aside.
2. Sautee the kale until wilted.
3. Cut the baked potatoes into chunks and use paddle attachment in a mixer to mash the potatoes, add in the onions, mushrooms and kale.
4. Heat the sautee pan and add a little more butter, make a patty of the mashed potato mixture.  Brown on both sides.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Holidays side dishes colcannon kale potatoes valentines