Flesh and Silicone

This past weekend, I went to the "Bodies" exhibit with Joe. It features 22 real human bodies, not to mention a selection of real preserved organs, nerve systems, fetuses, tumors and bones. It's pretty amazing. The full bodies are displayed in the open air right in front of you. You could reach out and touch them, and I saw quite a few people getting too close for comfort. Apparently silicone was injected into the muscles and cartilage to replace the water and preserve the bodies. I learned that tumors are totally freaking looking and TB creates actual holes in your lungs. There was one display, in the "fetus room" of a woman's body (all real, folks) and her stomach cut open to show the tiny baby that had died in her uterus along with her. The final display was an entire body cut into half-inch cross-sections and spread out so you could see what each layer of the body looks like. A bit of a pricey trip, but worth the time and money.
Afterwards we went to a play, "Almost, Maine," a Norther-Exposure-like romantic comedy. It was very cute and happy, though I wouldn't recommend it for the non-lovey-dovey types among us.
Friday night we ate at a little French restaurant called mas(farmhouse). It was a delicious meal and they let us craft our own tasting menu, which is unusual. I don't believe the review I linked to is a great representation of the place. Joe got to have lobster (which always fails to impress me) and shortribs and I had butternut squash risotto with grilled portobello mushrooms and the duck, which I thought was slightly undercooked. Never thought I'd see the day when I would question a New York Chef with his own French restaurant!
Finally, check out Joe's Wisconsin Pictures. Be sure to click on "Why I Love Wisconsin Part 2" underneath the picture of the beer cans in the snow to see all the Smith Family Christmas Photos.

Chew your food 100 times

New Year's Eve was quiet for me this year. All of my and Joe's friends had no idea what they were doing, so we decided just to stay in and do our own thing. We went out to dinner that night at EN Japanese Brasserie. Lots of delicious little dishes, including fresh, homemade tofu which tastes a little bit like bread pudding. We had deep fried taro root balls and a raw tuna and avacado salad, plus several kinds of sake, of course. For dessert we had mochi covered ice cream and chocolate souffle with green tea ganach ice cream. We sat around the big communal table in the middle, which features a pool of water and the standard artful branches arranged in the center. The music was way too loud, but they were incredibly gracious about turning it down when I asked. We watched them pound rice using a giant wood mallet and an old-school stone bowl. After a few rounds of pounding, it becomes a sticky gooey mass known as mochi, used to make a traditional Japanese New Year's Eve treat. They passed out samples of it, with sugar-soy sauce poured on top. It's so sticky that it's difficult to chew and swallow and apparently every year at least one or two people choke and die from it. Happy New Year's!