I'm Bourdain, Dammit!

I generally find Anthony Bourdain to be irritatingly self-centered and self-consciously "extreme." But his reaction to an insult by Alan Richman is pretty priceless:
“It was like being mauled by Gumby. Afterwards, you’re not sure it even happened.”

[via The Gurgling Cod]

Marmite Soup

It had to happen sooner or later. Butter and Marmite go so well together. The base for them is usually toast, but in this case, pumpkin puree makes a nice, mellow base for those flavors. Too easy and absolutely delicious!

2 tbsp butter
1 15 oz can pure pumpkin (Libby's)
1/2 tsp Marmite
Salt
Stale baguette
Sour cream

Heat a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat. Add butter and cook until the solids are decently brown and foam has subsided. Add the pumpkin a spoon at a time to the butter. This will stop the butter burning, and will also caramelize the pumpkin a little bit, developing more flavor. As the pumpkin dries out and begins to stick to the pan and brown a little bit, add about a quart of water. You want a pretty thin soup for what comes at the end.

Bring the soup to a simmer and stir in Marmite, stirring well so that it is completely incorporated. Add salt to taste.

Put pieces of stale baguette into a deep bowl. (I used a baguette that was nearly a month old!) Pour soup over the bread, and garnish with a little sour cream and some fresh ground black pepper. Careful, the bread will soak up the soup really quickly and very well. Even if you think the soup is really thin, you're likely to end up with a fairly thick concoction at the end.

Serves 4. Do me a favor and serve this to people who hate Marmite. (M's got a bowl of it in her future.)

It's time

I may already have waited too long. But the winds of history are blowing and it's clear to me that the time has come to put my dream into practice. So, next party:

Hot Dodka: the hot-dog-infused vodka.

Stay tuned. Stay scared.

Rich