Dinner With Shari

"Wanna come over to eat kale?" I said. Hardly the kind of invitation that makes most people jump. But we have a lot of kale and we haven't seen enough of Shari.
Kale two ways I declared. Braised and fresh. For fresh I decided on a piquant kale caesar salad -- a recipe I borrowed from San Francisco's temple of baked goods, Tartine. I used some hearty day old bread for homemade croutons and whipped up a creamy lemony anchovy dressing (6 anchovy filets, 3 garlic cloves, 1 TB lemon zest,  -- mix these to a paste --1 egg yolk, 2 TB lemon juice -- blend again, 1 1/2 cups olive oil, drizzled in while the blender keeps running until the dressing emulsifies). A perfect make ahead but still impressive dish. For my second kale side I stuck to tried and true, slow braised kale with plenty of chile peppers and onion. Two dishes with hearty flavors joined by two more -- stovetop pan roasted chicken with a rich lemony sauce and crunchy  new potatoes tossed with crisp chorizo, cilantro and basil. Easy on the cook, mostly make ahead dinner for our favorite guest.