“I eat boys like you for breakfast/ Where’s my salt and pepper now?/ Oregano, basil and thyme/ And my Tapatio” — “I Eat Boys Like You For Breakfast,” from Ida Maria’s album Katla

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THE DISH
Frittata and smoked salmon sandwich with hot sauce (Recipe here)

THE INSPIRATION
Norwegian rock singer Ida Maria’s songs are typically about drinking booze, being heartbroken, kicking ass, and getting it on. Her first album, Fortress Round My Heart (home to the song “I Like You So Much Better When You’re Naked”), soundtracked my summer between college and moving to New York, so a couple months ago my mind was blown when I learned she had already released LP No. 2, Katla, in Norway late last year, and I didn’t already know about it. It’s finally out in the U.S. tomorrow (June 7) and it’s fantastic.

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I teamed up with Missy and Mariel, the lovely ladies of What We Wore To Work Today (who are just as sassy as Ms. Maria) to make a dish based on her song “I Eat Boys Like You For Breakfast,” in which Ida shuns a dude for pissing off her dog, insulting her mother, groping her sister and crapping on her father (!!). We made a frittata served on a sandwich with smoked salmon (a nod to her Norwegian roots) and a side of potatoes, and it uses all the foods she mentions in the song: tomatoes, potatoes, onions, oregano, basil, thyme and hot sauce. It’s also linked to Katla‘s super-fun and sorta-raunchy first single, “Cherry Red,” with the cherry tomatoes and Mariel’s lipstick in the photo.
Ida Maria on MySpace

THE RECIPE
Serves 4

Ingredients:
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 c diced onions
6 eggs, separated (4 whole eggs, 2 egg whites)
1/4 c milk
Pinch of dried oregano
Pinch of dried basil
Pinch of fresh thyme
8 cherry tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup shredded white cheddar cheese
Salt and pepper

8 slices of bread (or 4 English muffins; we used whole wheat “slims” from Trader Joe’s)
4 oz. smoked salmon
Hot sauce (Ida mentions Tapatio in the song)
Mustard (optional; we used my latest obsession, horseradish dill mustard from Schoolhouse Kitchen)

Directions:
Frittata, sandwich, potatoes

• Cook the onions and garlic in olive oil over medium-low heat, until onions are translucent.

• Heat oven to 225 degrees.

• In a bowl, mix four eggs plus two egg whites with milk. Add herbs.

• Pour the egg mixture over the onions; use a spatula to poke holes in the eggs so the still-uncooked eggs can get underneath. Add the tomatoes on top, then cover the pan for about five to eight minutes, or until the top of the frittata does not look runny. Remove the lid and sprinkle cheese on top, then place pan in the oven for five minutes. Cut into four pieces.

• While the frittata is cooking, dice the potatoes and fry in a pan with olive oil and seasoned salt.

• Assemble the sandwich, with the frittata, smoked salmon and hot sauce. Salt and pepper to taste.