Proper Irish Breakfast

While spending Thanksgiving week in Ireland, we encountered many edible delights. One of those was a homemade, full, Irish breakfast expertly crafted by our friend Bill. A proper Irish breakfast is generous in protein. There are eggs, rashers or bacon, sausages, and white and/or black pudding along with sauteed mushrooms, possibly beans, tomatoes, brown bread with butter, and tea. Bill’s menu included chosen items from the traditional list, and because he’s aware of my indifference toward red meat, my plate received smoked salmon. The meal was perfectly prepared with fresh, delicious eggs, amazing salmon, and what I decided to call right, fine, Irish butter. Incidentally, I’ve become an Irish butter convert. Kurt was very pleased with the bacon and sausages as well. Thanks again to Bill and Sharon for a fantastic treat.

We saw lots of sights and enjoyed many meals along the way each day. At Deep located in Howth, I chose a flaky, savory mushroom tart followed by the organic salmon entree which was incredibly fresh and cooked exactly right. We had a very nice evening with friends and a meal of Lebanese fare at The Cedar Tree in Dublin City Centre. I opted for the haloumi and falafel, but the multi-course chef’s choice meal looked fantastic. Brief stops at Bewley’s Oriental Cafe for tea and chocolate eclairs and at Butler’s Chocolates for cappuccino and truffles provided energy boosts for seeing more sights. At Fallon and Byrne, the oysters were unbelievably fresh and refreshing and another salmon meal was very good as well. Our last meal in Dublin, which was our Thanksgiving feast being that it was dinner on Thursday, was enjoyed at Carluccio’s. Olives, bruschetta, green salad, and pasta con funghi were fantastic. And, the strawberry gelato made for a lovely ending to the week.

I’m still a little travel tired, not entirely ready to be done with vacation, and am moving slowly toward my own kitchen and food books awaiting me at home. It's possible that I added to my food book collection with some titles that caught my eye in Dublin. So, I have even more to read about and cook as soon as I get back into my regular schedule.