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stevenpiziks ([personal profile] stevenpiziks) wrote2021-01-01 03:24 pm
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New Food Item

For Christmas, I got an air fryer.  Go me!

I've been wanting to play with one for a while, but Darwin said, "No more kitchen gadgets!"  I felt slighted.  I'm not one of those home chefs who collects kitchen gadgets I never use.  I use my Instant Pot, bread maker, Kitchen Aid, and deep fryer regularly. The only gadget I stopped using was my rice cooker, because the Instant Pot does a better job--and I gave the rice cooker away.

But I forbore getting an air fryer.  Until now.

I've been playing with it all week, and I have to say that it works as advertised.  The air fryer is really a small convection oven with a non-stick baking surface that promotes quick crispness.  The big thing about it?  It's =fast=.  Way faster than an oven.  The first thing I tried was frozen tater tots.  They were done in less than ten minutes and were super-crispy in a way tater tots are supposed to be but never actually are.

Next I tried some home-made fries.  I sliced up a potato, tossed it in some olive oil, and slid it into the fryer.  In less than fifteen minutes, I got hot-hot-hot, crispy french fries.  In an oven, it would have taken an hour, and there'd be no crispness.  This was great!

Then I cut chicken into bite-sized pieces, breaded them (egg, spiced flour, breadcrumbs), and air-fried them.  In 15 minutes, they turned into the best chicken nuggets in the world--a crispy outer crust and a tender, juicy inside.

Baked chicken was next.  Marinated chicken breasts tossed in olive oil and salt.  Instead of taking an hour, they took less than 20 minutes.  Let them rest for five minutes, and they were fantastic!

On New Year's Eve, I made cheater donuts.  I opened a can of biscuit dough, cut holes in the center, and air-fried them.  Took eight minutes.  Brushed them piping hot in melted butter and rolled them in sugar and cinnamon.  They were wonderful!  Next time, I'll try spraying them with butter-flavored cooking spray and rolling them in sugar substitute to make a more Darwin-friendly version.

Another plus: I can bake stuff in summer without roasting the entire kitchen.

More cooking adventures ahead!

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