Canine world cup: Spanish v. Netherlands canines

If you're into the World Cup -- the World Series, Olympic gold-medal 1x400 meter freestyle relay and French Open combined for soccer fans -- you're finalizing your plans for Sunday's final. Maybe you're stalking out your place in line at a local soccer bar, a north-of-the-Rainier-Valley phenomenon. Or maybe you're hosting a World Cup brunch that embraces the culture of nations of the finalists: scrambled eggs with Spanish blood sausage (morcilla) and Grolsch lager. Yum, the breakfast of overweight champions.

Here's a thought to ponder while you anticipate the World Cup finale: Which breed would prevail in an athletic competition between the Spanish Ibizan hound and the Keeshond of the Netherlands? The double-coated Keeshond -- dubbed the "Dutch barge dog" -- boasts quick reflexes and strong jumping abilities. The sleek and graceful Ibizan hound of Spain runs hard and long. Your choice lies in whether you prefer an athlete more akin to NFL Linebacker -- and Travel Channel host of Dhani Tackles the Globe -- Dhani Jones or Olympic 400-meter gold medalist Michael Johnson.

One more thought: Who the hell eats sausage with congealed pig blood? Frankly, many of the residents of Europe, Asia and Latin America. The popularity of blood sausage is not unlike soccer: The absence of the American en masse embrace doesn't make soccer -- or blood sausage -- any less legitimate to those living beyond our borders.

But personal preference being what it is, I don't think I could eat blood sausage no mater how hard Andrew Zimmern of Bizarre Foods on the Travel Channel tries to convince me that pastry-wrapped morcilla is the next chicken biscuit.

Fried eggs with Spanish blood sausage

• 1 dozen fresh grown chicken eggs
• Baguette sliced in 12 pieces
• 12 slices of Spanish blood sausage (morcilla)
• Extra virgin olive oil

Gather a dozen eggs from the chickens in your backyard coop. As a foward-thinking locavore, you are three steps ahead of the Seattle Tilth movement. You constructed your chicken shack months back when your scowling neighbors shot you dirty looks and complained to Animal Control about the clucking -- before they recognized how much more progressive you are than they.

If you are mainstream and pedestrian, you will have purchased your eggs from Trader Joe's, PCC, or QFC.

When the oil is hot, fry the eggs two at a time. Top each slice of bread with a fried egg.

Cut the morcilla into ¼-inch slices. Fry the blood sausage in the pan where you prepared the eggs. Remove each slice and place on the bread-and-egg serving.