It's Like Buttah

For the first time in my adult life I ran out of butter. How did this happen?! I am nothing less than diligent when it comes to stocking crucial kitchen staples: butter, dish soap, wine, chicken stock, and chocolate. I discovered the butter blight just as the hot French loaf came out of the oven. I poked around the butterless refrigerator shelves and thought of the Norwegians who are still recovering from the December butter crisis. Then I poured some good olive out onto a plate, added a few shears of Parm-Reg, lots of cracked pepper, and a swirl of aged balsamic.

If you spent any time dining out during the 90s you might recall the olive oil trend. It was pre-Adkins and starches were still popular. Bread baskets were a prerequisite whether you visited Sidney's, Murray's, or Rock Bottom. Then all things Mediterranean hit our plates, and butter disappeared. I spent the first half of the 90s obediently dipping my bread into oil. I spent the later half of the 90s belligerently asking my servers, "Can you please bring butter to our table?"

Honestly, the olive oil bread bath last night was actually a nice change. But I'll be restocking the butter immediately.