Hard to believe that we’ve reached the 16th Episode of Is My Blog Burning. An event that started over a year ago, on the Internet… still going strong? Unheard of in this day of fickle bloggers!

But it appears that food bloggers have a bit more perseverence than their blogging counterparts. This is a good thing!

Is My Blog Burning #16 is devoted to eggs. It’s a great idea to build an IMBB event around, and kudos go to Viv at Seattle Bon Vivant for creating the theme. Eggs are such a simple thing, yet are vital in so many different ways and different dishes.

Beyond that, I had a lot of leftovers in my refrigerator this morning, along with various bits of produce from my CSA box, so I had the perfect plan! I’d make a Potpourri Fritatta.

Ok, I just made that name up. But that is exactly what this is. Just go to your refrigerator, open the door, pull out the eggs, and then pull out anything else that you need to get rid of, because chances are you can thow it into your frittata. That’s the beauty of eggs. They stand up to anything, they don’t detract from the ingredients, and they act like a glue that holds everything together while subtly enhancing it all.

So this morning I opened up my refrigerator and found the following:

• Leftover Bruschetta
• Chard
• Red Onion
• Bacon
• A smattering of Goat Cheese
• Grated Parmesan Cheese
• *Garlic Scapes

And, of course:

• Eggs

Yes, that would work.

Chop up the bacon and sautee it in an oven-proof, high-sided skillet sprayed with cooking spray. Chop the various veggies (except the tomato bruschetta!) and add them to the skillet to sautee. As these sautee and soften, crack and mix 6 eggs, adding salt, and pepper to taste. Add a splash of water to the scrambled eggs and mix again.

Once the veggies have softened, add the eggs. Keep the pan at medium-high heat. Don’t stir the eggs, just let the bottom start to set. Add the bruschetta around the pan, then crumble the goat cheese around as well. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese.

Once the bottom has solidly set, place the pan under the broiler. Let the eggs cook until the they are cooked through and the top has slightly browned. Remove from the broiler. Allow to sit a few minutes before slicing and serving!

Note: What are garlic scapes you ask? They are the stem and bud of a newly mature garlic plant. I use them as I would green onion and garlic. They are fabulous!

PS: The pupster ate her fair share of the frittata and fell into an egg coma.

Popularity: 7% [?]

Bacon and Cheese Puff Muffins

This month’s Is My Blog Burning event was hosted by I Was Just Really Hungry. The theme: My Little Cupcake (Or Muffin).

Hmmmm. I like to eat cupcakes - who doesn’t? But I am not much of a baker. No offense to any of the bakers out there, but I have found that recipes and precise measurements are vital to the end result of a baking expedition, and I never cook with a recipe, or use measuring implements when I do cook.

When I bake, I feed so…. restricted.

I thought about it a bit. Easter was coming up, and I was hosting brunch for the family. Maybe I could experiment with a savory muffin sort of thing, and if it turned out edible, I’d make it on Easter as well.

And so I made Bacon and Cheese Puff Muffins. I guess you might call this cheating a bit for the theme, but, as Maki said in the write-up, “…I sort of regard a muffin (the American style muffin, not the English kind) as sort of a nude cupcake.”

I hadn’t thought if it like that before, but sure, I can see that. She also indicated that a cupcake or muffin-like silhouette went towards counting as well.

The Bacon and Cheese Puff Muffins I made did not rise as high as I thought they might, but they tried really, really hard to obtain that silhouette shape, so I think that this attempt qualifies.

They actually tasted great, and they will be perfect for my Easter Sunday brunch. Greg and I snarfed the batch down, and the pupster ate her fair share as well. In fact, she may have eaten more than her fair share, as afterwards she waddled into the library and fell asleep perched on top of the couch in the sun.

(Does she look a little queasy to you?)

Recipe below:

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Popularity: 10% [?]

The latest “Is My Blog Burning?” will prove to be quite a challenge for me. Hosted by Derrick over at Obsession With Food, he’s chosen to make the IMBB #9 theme “Terrines”.

I’ve never made a terrine before. I’ve never even thought about making a terrine before!

This ought to be interesting!

Popularity: 5% [?]

The latest edition of Is My Blog Burning is being hosted by “There’s a Chef in My Kitchen“. The theme, cooking with spirits, was one that we could get into.

When I first heard the topic, my mind ran through all of the dishes that we make, often, using spirits or wine to add that extra touch. One of my favorite winter meals, for example, is a beef brisket that is braised in wine slowly for seven or eight hours, til it’s falling apart tender and it has absorbed every ounce of flavor.

There’s also little I love more than a nice tenderloin with a Scotch horseradish mustard sauce.

But this time I thought I’d veer away from hunks of meat in alcohol, and shoot for something that I haven’t made before. For no apparent reason, I decided on a Ragu Bolognese, with a Pine Nut Torte and Port Wine sauce chaser. And I’m glad I did!

We served the meal with a nice Tuscan wine, and we indulged in a glass of Vin Santo with our torte. All in all, a great meal.

See the recipes below.

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Popularity: 6% [?]

The latest edition of Is My Blog Burning has been announced! It’s IMBB 8: Lift your Spirits High, hosted by There’s A Chef In My Kitchen. Entries will be posted on September 19th.

The only rule for this edition: Use wine or spirits as a central component of your recipe.

I can do that!

Popularity: 6% [?]