Seared Duck Breast w/Brown Sugar–Vinegar Cabbage, Roasted Potatoes, and Herb Salad

The richness of duck elevates the commonness of cabbage to fancy dinner status. That said, this dish would be perfectly at home with chicken, pork chops, or seared salmon. Note that if you don’t have the rendered duck fat in the pan, simply pan roast it with olive oil. Also note that if the skin softens while finishing the cabbage salad, simply kiss it in a hot pan or recrisp under the broiler.

This brown sugar–vinegar sauce lives on my counter, close to the stove, ready to turn up