Irish Bacon and a Traditional Irish Breakfast

Happy Saint Patrick's Day! I came home for the weekend to celebrate with my whole family this year, so we woke up early to make a big traditional Irish breakfast. My brother used to work at a great Irish pub in Chicago, so he gets credit for most of this meal. He put together a menu of Irish bacon, Irish sausage, fried eggs, British-style baked beans in tomato sauce, sauteed tomatoes, and Guinness brown bread with Kerrygold butter.

Oh, and don't forget the Irish coffee - made the real way with some good whiskey! Yesterday, my brother Conor and I brined a pork shoulder overnight in preparation for boiling this morning. I rarely eat red meat, so this was a big treat. After boiling the pork shoulder for three hours we sliced and seared it for a nice golden crust and that great greasy flavor.

Conor also baked up Guinness brown bread last night which we ate with some Irish butter. I had never had Kerrygold butter before, but my brother explained the difference is a higher fat content. How are Europeans skinner than us again? If I ate this kind of breakfast each morning I would be doing a lot less baking, that's for sure. Now I need to prepare myself for tonight's dinner of corn beef, cabbage, potatoes, soda bread, grasshopper pie and green velvet cupcakes. (Spoiler alert! I'll be posting this later today...)

Irish Bacon

Makes: 10 servings  Prep: 40 minutes  Total: 24 hours

Ingredients

1 6-pound pork shoulder

3 cups kosher salt

3 heads fresh garlic

1 tbs ground pepper

1/2 tbs butter

Directions

Fill a dutch oven with water 5-6 inches below the rim. Pour in kosher salt and stir for several minutes until fully dissolved. Rinse pork shoulder, place in dutch oven, cover and refrigerate overnight.

When ready to cook, boil pork in salt water for 10 minutes. Remove from heat, dump out salt water and replace with warm water. Bring to boil again for 1 minute, add pepper and garlic, and simmer on low heat for 3 hours.

Pour out water and place pork shoulder on a large cutting board. Slice pork across its natural break into thin strips. Melt 1/2 tbs butter in a large skillet and fry sliced pork one minute each side on medium-high heat. Let drain on paper towels before serving.

Quick and Easy Strawberry Kiwi Smoothie

I don't know what it is, but I've been on a smoothie fix recently. I'm pretty bad about eating enough dairy (unless it's cheese or ice cream, I'm pretty good at that). I can't stand milk, so yogurt smoothies are how I've been incorporating dairy into my diet. They take no more than 5 minutes to put together, and it's a great way to use up my fruit before it goes bad. Strawberry banana is a smoothie combo I make quite often and it's just as yummy as this one. I've heard of people putting vegetables like broccoli in smoothies as well... I don't think I'm ready to make that step yet.

Quick and Easy Strawberry Kiwi Smoothie
Makes: 1  Total time: 5 minutes

Ingredients
1/2 cup vanilla yogurt
4 strawberries
1 kiwi
1 tbs honey
4 ice cubes

Directions
Wash strawberries, cut off stems and cut into fourths. Cut a thin slice out of the middle of the kiwi for garnish, and spoon the rest out. Combine yogurt, strawberries, kiwi and honey into a blender. Mix on smoothie setting for 30 seconds or until ingredients are well blended. Remove the lid and add ice cubes. Mix on chop for 30 seconds. Serve immediately.

Pomegranate Margarita

I made these margaritas in celebration of Cinco de Mayo, yet another holiday where young 20-somethings pretend to honor a culture they have no affiliation with so they can get piss drunk. The original recipe called for limeade concentrate but the stores were out so I had to purchase the mix. When paired with the pomegranate juice, you can't even tell. If you're looking for a great tasting and strong summer drink, I highly recommend this margarita.

PS - This recipe is meant for a crowd. Don't go drinkin' 15 margaritas in one sitting.

Pomegranate Margarita
Makes: 15  Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients
12 ounces margarita mix
2 cups water
3 1/2 cups Jose Cuervo gold tequila
2 cups pomegranate juice
1 cup triple sec
4 cups ice
3 limes
salt
1 cup pomegranate seeds

Directions
In a large pitcher, combine margarita mix, water, tequila, pomegranate juice and triple sec. Stir well. Pour half of the mixture into a blender, and add two cups of ice. Blend on pulse mode until the entire mixture is slushy, about 10 seconds. Repeat with second batch of margaritas.
Pour drinks into individual glasses. Garnish with a slice of lime, salted rim and a sprinkle of pomegranate seeds.