KennethT

I've got all y'all beat - I've got a whole side of wild caught Florida grouper as well as some pork shoulder steaks, all vac packed, that are many years pre-Covid!!! Every time I see them at the bottom of my chest freezer, they look ok - no freezer burn, but I still don't know what to do with so much grouper and we've been "eating healthy" for a while so I don't know what to do with about 6 pounds of pork shoulder.... so they sit!

@Duvel Happy Easter and I am so glad to see you!

That's pretty much it. I don't know how much difference there is in materials from manufacturer to manufacturer as the technology is old and pretty much standardized by now, but I haven't researched the various manufacturers, so it is definitely possible.

From my understanding of the physics of resistors, all resistive elements are 100% efficient in converting electricity to heat - their efficiency differs in how that heat gets transferred to the pan. That can vary based on how much of the "tube" cross section makes contact with the pan, the total flatness - meaning, how much of the coiled tube doesn't contact the pan at all, etc. Most stove elements are of the "calrod" type - meaning that a thin wire is helically twisted and encased in an electrical insulator which is then further encased in a metal sheath. I imagine that the manufacturers of the heating elements would be able to supply data on their elements' performance.

Within the realm of resistive burners, the only thing that will make one more efficient over another is how well it contacts your pan since the heat created is proportional to the burner's resistance. So a burner that uses less power will also make less heat - so to bring a given mass of water to a boil (for instance) a less powerful burner will take longer to get there while using less energy per minute, basically ending up a wash. To get to be much more efficient, you need a different technology, like induction, but that requires a whole new burner system, not just a part replacement as you may be aware.

If you have a multimeter, you can check the resistance of the heating element and compare it with other elements of the same size/power rating.

Thanks for this!!! I love the Bois de Boulogne... not only is there this restaurant, but there used to be a 3* Le Pre Catelan... I don't know if it's still there, or still 3* though.....

We went to Elmhurst to visit an Indonesian grocery and had lunch at an Indo restaurant across the street.... Most of the menu is padang type food. Fried chicken "kremes". The kremes are the small crunchy pieces on top - it's kind of like a serundeng but only a little bit of it. came with a spicy sambal merah (red sambal) We also got some shrimp chips This is a beef "balado". I've always seen balado dishes using a combination of red chilies, but theirs is just sambal ijo (green sambal). This is the beef buried. It's small pieces that were simmered then fried (typical for balado dishes). It reminded me of the paru dish we had in Jakarta (beef lung that was deep fried until crunchy like a cracker). Kangkong (water spinach) belacan - with chilies, shallot and shrimp paste, served on a sizzle plate.

Not necessarily. We loved the Charolais beef in Burgundy. I still think about it sometimes.

Thanks.... yeah, I don't think it could ever warp on a gas range...

The website says that it's 14 gauge (about 1.9mm) - do you ever have problems with the bottom warping? I have a 14" Joyce Chen cs wok which is 1.5mm thick and the bottom warps on my induction range, even though I heat it pretty slowly. It's not a big deal - I just bang it back flat again with a mallot every once in a while, but I use it so often, I was thinking about replacing it.

Do you know what the cheeses were? The one on the left looks like a roquefort and the round one with the ash rind looks like a Selles-sur-Cher and the sticks could be a Compte? But I'm curious about what they were for real, rather than my guess!

Padang style food is native to the north west region of the Indonesian island of Sumatra but has become incredibly popular all over Indonesia, and especially in Jakarta. It's no wonder - most Padang food I've had is delicious and incredibly addictive, and is served practically immediately after sitting down since most of it is premade and waiting for customers. Padang food has 2 primary kinds of sambals - sambal ijo (green sambal) and sambal merah (red sambal). This is my recipe for sambal ijo as I've tried to recreate it from eating in a few Padang restaurants in Jakarta. Like all my other recipes, I'm writing this here as more of my own record keeping than anything else but if you decide to try to make it, I hope you enjoy it as much as we do. Makes 2-3 portions 250g big green chillies (cabe hijau besar) - mildly spicy green chilli 170g curly green chillies (cabe keriting besar) - medium spicy green chilli 250g green tomato 200g shallots - sliced finely 20g garlic - medium chop rice bran oil to fry 7 kaffir lime leaves 1-2 key limes or about 1/2 of a standard western Bearss lime ---- 1. Cut the chillies and tomato into roughly equal size pieces, simmer until tender then drain 2. Mash the chillies/tomato in a traditional Indonesian mortar into a rough paste, squeezing the lime juice over while mashing 3. Over medium heat, heat a good quantity of oil - maybe 1/2C, and fry the shallots/garlic until the shallots are translucent 4. Add the kaffir lime leaves and fry until fragrant 5. Increase the heat and add the mashed chilli/tomato mixture and fry until the oil starts to separate and seeps through - reducing the heat as the water is reduced so as not to burn 6. Cool and enjoy at room temp

Grilled bison patties with Padang style sambal ijo (green sambal)