Yesterday, I purchased a Cuisinart Convection Toaster Oven Airfryer Digital in silver from Amazon. It was supposed to arrive between 10:00 – 3:00; it arrived at our house around 3:00 pm.
So why did I get an air fryer? It has been on my research list for quite a while. I was turned off by the bullet/egg-shaped air fryers that I had seen. I can’t tell you why I despise them. I do. However, when I saw the Cuisinart air fryer used on the YouTube user’s channel, I occasionally watched (Plantiful Kiki). I will admit that I was open to MAYBE getting one eventually. Yes, I know I can get the same crispness in the oven. However
- I don’t always want to use the oven.
- This uses a lot less wattage while cooking.
- From what I’ve read, it does not take as long to use.
- You don’t have to preheat.
My Cuisinart was packaged well. It didn’t take me long to set up the fryer and prepare my first meal. General Tso’s chicken. The chicken, which I’d cubed, and marinated, was crispy. It’s a shame that I did not take pictures or think to get my daughter to do that for me; however, there will be other times.
This morning, I cut up five russet potatoes to make my famous oven-baked crispy fries. After cutting the potatoes into fries, I let them soak in cold water for an hour. Why? The cold water draws a lot of the starch from the potatoes and results in a crispier fry. Another trick is to add a few tablespoons of vinegar to the water.
Once they’ve soaked, I place them on a paper towel, blot the excess moisture, and then add my seasonings.
I then placed them into the oven. Results? The fries were crispy; however, I still need to get accustomed to using the oven before I find that perfect crispness for the oven-baked, not fried foods that I make. Unfortunately, I don’t have any pictures of the prepared fries. I’ll get better. I thought the fries I made could have been crispier; my daughter loved the seasoned fries. Guess what? I’ve “fried” three items thus far. I already mentioned the “fried chicken” and the homemade fries.
This evening, after work, I cut cornmeal tortillas into triangle squares, added a bit of garlic powder and a tiny amount of salt to them, and made pita chips. Those were also a hit with my daughter, and they were the perfect companion to the lentil soup that I prepared this evening. It’s still too early to tell how I feel about the fryer; however, I enjoy gadgets, and I love preparing homecooked meals, and my daughter loves eating them.
In other news
Today’s work remotely was overwhelming; being inundated with all the policies, procedures, and numerous steps I had to do, I felt lost. If I was the type that cried, today might have been one of the days I did that; however, I pushed through knowing that it would become easier. Also, I reached out to my mentor towards the end of our time together and asked if they would virtually watch me while I did the procedure. That worked out well since I was able to ask questions while doing the procedure. I have no one to blame but myself. I should have done that much earlier. While I did reach out, I did not request that they stay while I walked through an activity. Lesson learned.