There is always the Mr. Bean approach:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXKmAG...

Yes, and in addition to the boilover feature, it also switches off if there is excess heat because of a pan boiling dry, and of course there's no danger of a fire because a dishtowel or a potholder has been left a bit close to the cooktop. Great for people who might be getting just a bit forgetful -- or for those with small children (or cats!).

We replaced our old horrible electric stove about a year and a half ago. I'd planned on gas, which would have required propane units, but after some research went with induction. I love the induction and would never voluntarily go back. This year, actually, I'm living in the States in rented accommodation with a gas unit (oven and cooktop), and I can't wait to get back to my induction. Gas is much slower of course, but also much less easy to adjust at the lowest levels, plus it is HOT (the small kitchen is actually much too small for a an unit of its size).

On the question of boil-over, our induction top (Westinghouse/Electrolux) has it and it is a mixed blessing, because even a small spill will turn the cooktop off, which is a pain. If I were buying one again, I'd look for one that had the option to turn that feature on or off.

But it's a great safety feature --I was telling my mother, who lives in a retirement village, that all the cottages should have induction to prevent accidents.

Lyn

I'm in rented furnished accommodation in DC for the year (I live overseas in NZ normally).
Things I brought with me: knives, steel, microplane grater.
Things I had to buy (and wish I'd brought): a good peeler, a good corkscrew, a good can opener, kitchen towels, an apron.
Things I bought but wouldn't have brought (mostly because of weight and/or incompatible wattage): an immersion blender, a cast-iron skillet, one decent baking dish.
Things I miss but can live without: my food processor, my induction hob (I have gas, which is okay, but the kitchen is way too small for the oversize range); my wonderful Breville tea-maker; my Soda-stream; my pressure cooker.

I went there last night with a friend and had a very nice meal. The dining room is nicely appointed, tables aren't too close together, and you forget that you're in a strip mall (except for the sight of throngs of little kids in karate uniforms going to class next door).

It would have been fun to go with more people so that we could have tried more dishes. We had kale chips with our drinks (these were a bit greasy, actually), but my gin fizz was excellent. Then we ordered two 'medium' plates: shrimp étouffée and beef bulgoki (the waiter explained that the restaurant doesn't 'fuse' Korean and Cajun cuisine so much as present versions of both. The shrimp was absolutely excellent, perfectly cooked, with the sauce seasoned beautifully. Bulgoki was also delicious, if not quite as outstanding as the shrimp.

The service was very attentive. I'll certainly go back if in the area.

And just a general question, not really about the restaurant itself: why don't more American restaurants have cheese as an option for those of us who don't really care for sweet desserts?

Thanks for this! I have a friend staying at Algonkian Park and was looking for a place to take her. This looks perfect, and I'll post my experience afterwards.

Yes! I just had a basket of strawberries that was pretty woody, and adding a wee bit of Kosher salt and then letting them sit for a few minutes really brought out the flavour.

Yes, the safety is a big issue. My mother lives in a retirement community in a small cottage with her own kitchen. I was telling her that the complex should use induction for safety reasons. Less chance of getting burned, the burners switch off if pots boil over or if left to boil dry, &c.

I hope the restaurants work out, but that is a really annoying food limitation -- 'salmon and caesar salad only' is a new one on me.

We replaced our old electric range in NZ last year -- I'd been determined to get gas (which where we lived would have been propane, as there was no gas laid on). But after shopping around I went with induction. I LOVE induction. In fact, this year, we're on leave, renting a place with a small kitchen with a gas range, and I really hate how hot it is. Plus it's very hard to clean. So, I am a convert.

I used my cast iron and my enamelled cast iron with no problem on the induction. I sanded down the bottom of the cast iron skillet just to smooth out a couple of rough bits so it wouldn't scratch.

I bought this book years ago and have never really cooked from it. I hoped this thread would reinspire me, but I guess it's just made me realise why I haven't found it useful. But I will give at least one recipe a try before I give up.

I found it pretty good, but agree that you should not use first-quality fresh tuna. I picked up tuna off-cuts from the fish shop, which were perfect for this, and I re-used the oil from poached brill in olive oil. Good quality canned tuna in olive oil is expensive here (NZ) and not always easy to find.

Thanks! I couldn't bear to throw out all that nice olive oil -- staples like that are much more expensive here than in the US, so I was happy to be able to re-used it. We are planning a modified salad Nicoise tonight with the tuna.

Oil-Poached Halibut with Gribiche and Poached Eggs (p. 96)

This was the first recipe I tried from the cookbook (and this is my first post since voting for it!).

I used brill for the fish -- this is a lovely flatfish fairly widely available here in New Zealand -- it has delicate flavour and a beautiful pink color.

Cooking the fish was very easy. Since there are just two of us at the moment, I used our cast-iron pan to minimise the amount of oil. I didn't have the timing quite right, so I held the fish for a few minutes in a warm oven, which didn't seem to harm it.

I used fennel instead of tomatoes for the gribiche, as it is dead winter here and the tomatoes are not very good just now. I added a bit too much vinegar and had to add a teaspoon of brown sugar to balance the acidity.

The spinach was easy to do, and the poached egg was absolutely delicious (I was fortunate to have very fresh eggs from our farmer's market). As the recipe said, the egg yolk blends into the gribiche to make a lovely sauce.

The entire meal was very nice; it did not taste oily at all, and if fact felt very light. I saved the olive oil and used it the next day for the tuna preserved in oil recipe.

This was a good start for me, and I'll certainly add this recipe to my repertoire. Tonight I'm going to try the brill broiled.

A couple of hours south of Christchurch is the Riverstone Kitchen, which won Cuisine Magazine's award for best casual dining a couple of years ago: http://www.riverstonekitchen.co.nz/. We went there recently for our anniversary and had the tasting menu, which was delicious. It's also well known for great lunches. Be sure to book, and it's closed on Tuesdays.

If you do go down that way, you could stay in Oamaru, which is a nice town with a small Victorian centre. The Loan and Merc gets somewhat mixed reviews, but is worth a look, and even better (40 minutes south of that) is Fleur's Place, a funky little fish place in Moeraki: http://www.fleursplace.com/

Thanks, @dkennedy and @smtucker! There are always challenges when cooking from North American cookbooks here, since produce availability is much more seasonal that it is in the States (where I'm from originally). But I think I've become a more creative cook as a result of the constraints.

Thanks for the welcome, and sorry for the newbie mistake. I vote for FISH WITHOUT A DOUBT.

I've been lurking on these boards for quite a while, but I'd like to vote for Fish Without a Doubt. I'd like to improve my repertoire of fish dishes (and my fish-loathing daughter will be away in July, so it's a good opportunity). I live in NZ, so some of the recipes won't work for me (no good fresh prawns here, ever), but it looks like the book has a good range of recipes, with many suggestions for substitutions.

Looking forward to playing!