How To Cook An Amazing Duck Breast Dinner For Two

Set up a station like this so you can peel each potato and put it in water so it doesn't brown after you've peeled it.

So even though you're cutting the Yukon Golds into quarters, you might cut the Russet into more than four pieces so they can be equal in size to the others.

When you boil potatoes, always start with cold water — and don't salt the water.

Once the water has started boiling it will take about 5 to 10 minutes for them to get tender — you can test how tender they are by poking them with a fork or knife, and once it goes through without much resistance, drain the potatoes.

The butter will melt without any heat, and you can just briefly heat it before you put it in the mashed potatoes later.

They will take 20 to 30 minutes to cook, depending on how large they are. If you like them firmer, take them out when there's still a little bite.

This allows the fat to render better as you saute it.

Duck breast is different than many other proteins in that you don't want to cook it over high heat. You want to cook it slowly over very low heat to render out and then crisp the fat.

Hold the duck breast firmly against the pan with a spatula or wooden spoon (the person in this photo is using his hand because he is a professional cook and thinks he is cool/is kind of cool), and drain the grease off into a glass jar or something else that won't immediately melt when it comes into contact with hot grease.