Latest Gadget: The Air Fryer

Twenty bucks?

The Kansas Woman asked me what was up with the gas bill. It was down that much over the previous month.

That is a surprise because the cost of gas, the methane, is low. All that additional stuff, the “fees,” pad the soaring bill. If we only paid for the product we used that would be better than paying rent on pipes and such.

The gas range has gotten less use since the air fryer came.

True to my DNA, I love gadgets like my father. The first time I saw him taken by a sales pitch was for a plastic cylinder that came in screw-on halves — a milk shake shaker.

We'd never had milk shakes before that thing came into the house. They had to be a part of a meal since my father never nibbled between meals.

He also, while I'm at it, didn't use the conventional terms “lunch,” “dinner,” “supper,” but used “noonday meal,” and “evening meal.”

When the shine came off milk shakes, the shaker shook up eggs. Then it disappeared.

Joanna presented us with an air fryer last year, and it sat around while we screwed up the courage to try it.

The KW was won over with a batch of crispy chicken wings with a sauce similar to the one she likes at “Game Time” in Washington, Kansas. Wings are easy. No breading is needed, just pat them dry and place them in the cooker “naked.”

The air fryer is mostly my domain, used in place of frying stuff in a puddle of hot grease.

“Sandra at church” isn't afraid to try anything and said she air fries a chicken in fifteen minutes.

Most fried things now are cooked in the air fryer. I dust cut veggies with corn meal and spray them with cooking oil to make them crispy.

Last week we had a bloomin' onion knock off that went well. Roasted corn is easy, as are coconut shrimp, meatballs, pork chops, home fried potatoes, chicken tenders, grilled cheese sandwiches, salmon, pork chops, green beans, turnips, pork schnitzel, and acorn squash.

I baked biscuits in the fryer and they looked like they'd been in a hurricane. That needs work.

The fryer is no longer a gadget but something we use in place of grease frying. The change must be healthy, and maybe it will calm Dr. Patel down a bit.

The Internet is full of recipes at all levels, but I'd start off with baby steps.

Air frying is something new and I've found no down side to it. The results are close enough to the same end that it doesn't bother mentioning.

If you bring home a fryer, make sure it is large enough to accommodate your needs.

Go for it.

joenphillips@yahoo.com