Goose Addendum: The Potatoes (and oh yeah, some Cranberry Cabbage)

This is a follow-up to the goose posting, because I have a foil pouch of leftovers in the freezer, and still 2 jars of goose fat yet in my fridge. That was after giving a huge pint jug to my mother, and using up another smaller jar here and there to saute different vegetables. In my goose-preparation-research, I found this article which contains a solid recipe along with an excellent introductory pep rally. My mom made delicious roast potatoes for Christmas Day dinner with some of the fat I gave her, but I know she didn't make them the way this recipe calls for, so I'd originally saved it to forward to her. Then I decided to simply try it myself, and that's what I did tonight. Because it was for just me and Will, I only used 2 small baking potatoes in a 9x5 Pyrex loaf pan. I started them off at 500 for 15 minutes, then turned the potatoes them and returned to the oven for 20 minutes, which I lowered to 425 (because I was adding something else to the oven). They, and my vegetable, came out at the same time, both perfectly done.

I probably used about 1/4 cup of fat for my two potatoes, which is less than called for, and I can probably cut it back a little more still. 

Like I said, I turned down the over because I had some other things to put in. After the potates were about half-way through their cooking time, I added the actual goose meat, defrosted, but simply wrapped in a sealed foil pouch. And because we were low on fresh produce due to heading out of town in a couple of days (we have green salad pretty much every night with dinner), I created this "cranberry cabbage" from what I had around. It came out so well that it definitely deserves its place here.

Cranberry Cabbage

Serves 2

thinly sliced cabbage (for two people, I used about two-inches worth sliced off the side of a small-medium head of green cabbage, then thinly sliced cross-wise)

leaves from 4 springs parsley

4 teaspoons dried cranberries (I soaked these in some of the boiling water I drained from the cooked potatoes - they don't have to be soaked, but since I had the time and the water already, I appreciated the softer texture the soaking gave them in this dish)

1/3 - 1/2 cup frozen chopped spinach (no need to thaw)

2 teaspoons olive oil

Toss everything together in a 9x5 glass baking dish. Bake 20 minutes until soft and starting to brown.

I added this to the oven when I turned it down from 500 to 425, but if I was starting from scratch, I'd probably put it in at 450. Obviously, I just used whatever I had around. I like to buy cabbage because it's something that keeps well so when it's getting to the end of other salad greens and vegetables, I still have some cabbage around to make for the green side without having to stop at the store. I usually keep frozen chopped spinach, because it can be added to so many sauces and stir frys straight from the freezer to add an extra level of green nutrition without necessarily even being noticed. It was perfect that way in this, and I think broccoli would work well here too. With the cranberries, this ended up being quite a flavorful and attractive side.