Our Little Lebowski Fest

Our gal Jane has been weathering a hell of a year. On top of some serious health challenges, she has recently lost her beloved pup Molly. We realized that it was time to surround her and lift her spirits again, and as this group's best medicine is seriously gut-busting laughter, what better time to gather for a viewing of one of Jane's favorite flicks, The Big Lebowski? Shut the #@!* up Donny, it was time for own little Lebowski Fest.

Most of us attending were familiar with The Coen Brother's irreverent cult flick The Big Lebowski. Jane is such a fan that Linda had gifted her with a mug bearing the image of Jeff Bridges as The Dude. We agreed in advance that a Lebowski Fest should feature foodstuffs that reflected the flick. Classic bowling alley grub was indeed the featured fare, including mine and Keith's Rotel Dip and some takeout Pizza Hut. Ronnie made some of he and Jeff's killer pigs-in-the-blankets, Linda some delicious Fritos pie and Jo made neon-blue but tasty bowling-ball cupcakes. Yes, it was all decidedly non-healthy, but watching The Big Lebowski doesn't exactly lend itself to fancy crudite. And then there was Jane's contribution....

Jane had asked for an idea of what to contribute. As the rest of our offerings were set, I suggested a food item with a possible German twist, in reference to the German nihilists in the movie. She eventually decided that she was preparing creme brulee for the Fest.

(sounds of tires screeching)

Creme Brulee? You can almost see John Goodman's character Walter fly into a rage over the very idea of this delicate French dessert being served along with the cholesterol-challenging chow we were serving. Jo and I were momentarily aghast at the idea and then were immediately overtaken by new thoughts...

.....Mmmmmm...Creme Brulee...

...and our brief purist outrage evaporated. We put out all the food in Jane's kitchen and made our way downstairs to watch the Main Event. Armed with Linda's wicked White Russians and some Sarsaparillas a la The Stranger, we settled into the room that surrounded the rug that...you know...brought the room together. As we guffawed over various scenes, Jane commented, "Forget the gourmet dinners...this food is GOOD". Indeed, it was damn good, including the "creme" with fresh berries. The "brulee" part didn't pan out and that's what we get for trying to create a dessert in honor of nihilists...who care about nothing. It didn't matter...the berries and cream paired with the glowing cupcakes reminded us that you could never have too much blue food.

Jane probably laughed the hardest of all of us throughout the film and that was the point of the evening, after all. Turns out Jane, like the Dude, abides.