Salted Duck eggs are apparently cured in a brine. I had thought so and confirmed it on wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salted_duck_egg Here is a recipe for something similiar, Salty Eggs, which is according to the recipe the Thai way to do it: http://www.khiewchanta.com/archives/ingredients/meats-fish-eggs/salty-eggs-khai-kham.html When I was in SouthEast Asia eggs prepared in this way were for sale at every market, along with the 100 year egg and a few other seemingly preserved types.

Looks like a fun event for a good cause. I hope they were able to raise a lot of funds.

Nobody I know is stupid enough to try and take me to an Olive Garden. I'd rather eat fast food from just about any chain. At least it's cheaper crap. I don't understand the appeal of the Olive Garden or any of the other chains that surround the mall. So many great options in this city, who would wait for two hours on a Saturday night to eat this crap? Or Texas Roadhouse or Chili's or whatever else. I figure it must be out of town people who are done shopping for the day and don't care what they are eating.

Ate at the melting pot for the first time last night. Was not a big fan. The food was decent at best, nothing inedible but nothing that blew me away either, and for the price, I should have been blown away. It was just over $200 for four people, for that price you can eat great food at a number of high end restaurants in Madison. Food that is thoughtfully crafted and you don't have to dip it in a pot of broth. I think the oddest part is that the flavors of the broths don't match up well with the marinades they use on the meat. For the Pacific Rim Dinner for two, shouldn't they offer some sort of Pacific Rim themed broth, maybe Miso or even something with just some soy sauce. I'd never go back to the place. Next door is Sa-Bai Thong and then Saigon Noodles, both of them have better food for way less money. I guess I just wasn't sold on the "experience" of the Melting Pot being worth all of that money. The best part of the Melting Pot was the bathrooms. They were as clean as an I have ever seen, smelled nice, and had great hand towels. They would make George Costanza's list of best bathrooms in town.

That all looks awful, yikes.

Fried turkey sounds great, try not to burn the garage down. I'm still dropping jaws with the butterscotch sauce recipe from ratio. I need to start doing more of the baking though.

Restaurant Alma in Minneapolis served me one of the best meals I have ever had.

Yeah, where else are you eating in Chicago? Kuma's? Sun Wah BBQ? Curry Buns at LaPatisserie? Chicago is so great for food. I think mushroom shots sound good.

I have been telling people about this book too. I have been using this book a lot lately, and everything has turned out well. The pancakes and butterscotch sauce are fantastic. The butterscotch sauce could help a single guy keep a woman around. Also used a brine ratio that worked great. The lemon and shallot mayo is truly great on some asparagus.