Chimayo Joe

I tried my first dumplings in the air fryer yesterday, Bibigo Mandu Pork & Vegetable Dumplings and Wei Chuan Vegetable & Pork Dumplings. I overcooked them (on parchment liner, 390° for 12 minutes flipping halfway through.) Too crispy around the edges, but I still liked them enough that I bought three more varieties last night. I'm starting with pork dumplings because I tend to prefer pork egg rolls. Bibigo Mandu were very good. First one I had was really hot. I'm not sure if they are inconsistent or if my mouth just adapted quickly because the next two didn't seem as hot. I'd buy these again, for sure. Wei Chuan didn't pack the punch that the Bibigo did but were very nice. These reminded me of the potstickers from the local Chinese restaurant I frequent. Similar flavor profile, not as vibrant as the Chinese restaurant's potstickers but still good. I'd buy them again, too. The ones I've bought but haven't tried are: Pagoda Pork Potstickers (got these because Pagoda Pork Egg Rolls are my favorite) Beksul Duru Duru Vegetable & Pork Dumplings [I think this is another brand of the same company(CJ Foods) that does Bibigo.] Bibigo Japchae Potstickers Beef & Pork Dumplings (to see if beef brings anything extra to the dumpling)

I've made them. I don't do it very often because I don't have a mandoline or anything else to easily slice onions as thin as they really should be. It's tedious trying to slice them thin enough with a knife. I like smash type burgers, and an onion burger is a nice variation to have occasionally.

One more addition to the frozen potato products that I like, Kroger Seasoned Hash Brown patties. I don't have much experience with that specific type of product. They're thinner than Arby's potato cakes (I used to get those often, but they're now discontinued, I think) and the McDonalds product of that type (I think. It's been a long time since I've had something like that from McDonalds.) The seasoning is pretty good on the Kroger version. These are greasier than any other frozen potatoes I've had. It doesn't bother me, but it's probably worth mentioning.

I've done just about every frozen egg roll I can find in the stores here. It depends on the size and shape but 12-15 minutes at 375-400 flipping halfway turns out about right in my air fryer. That will vary a bit depending on the air fryer. I use parchment liners because egg rolls exude a sticky oily substance than can be a little harder to clean. My favorites are Pagoda Pork Egg Rolls (best cabbage flavor, IMO) and Good & Gather Chicken Thai Basil Spring Rolls. Good & Gather is a Target store brand. Chung's Pork Egg Rolls and Minh Pork Egg Rolls are pretty good, too. I wish I could still get Private Selection Butter Chicken Spring Rolls. Those were great, but they've apparently been discontinued. Haven't tried pot stickers/gyoza/dumplings in the air fryer yet, but I'm sure I will.

I prefer Original Cheez-Its, but I like the Extra Toasty,too. I have some of the Extra Cheesy now. Figured I would like those more than Original, but I don't. I haven't tried a lot of the varieties. I've had White Cheddar which was okay, but I still preferred Original. I've also had Grooves, I think just the basic, original version of those. I like them but don't really consider them a Cheez-It. I've also had the Cheez-Its Puff'd Double Cheese. Did not like those and don't consider them to be a Cheez-It either. They're more or less an inferior version of Baked Cheetos shaped like a square. I ended up using those as dog treats. He liked them, so it wasn't a total loss. And I've had Cheez-Its Snap'd Double Cheese. Those are more like Cheez-Its but were a little too sweet for my tastes.

I don't know how big of a problem those central holes in the tray would be since the top and bottom elements design is supposed to eliminate the need to shake the food, but it still seems like something that Cosori could have easily avoided.

No personal experience with it, but I checked out the customer reviews on Amazon. People seemed to love it except for a few who had complaints about it smoking if grease drips into the basket, the controls being difficult to read sometimes, and the design of the tray. Reviews were overwhelmingly positive other than a very small number. The food falling through the holes in the tray would bug me.

i baked a few potatoes in the air fryer when I first got mine. While the results are good, it's really not much faster. Microwave first then finish in the oven is my usual method for baking potatoes, but for some reason I didn't try that in the air fryer. I'll do it next time.

I wonder if maybe the pan needs to be preheated enough to cook the egg a bit before it goes into the air fryer or if the material of the pan makes a difference. Seems to me the egg needs to firm up quickly, so the fan doesn't cause big problems.

I've never done it, but it looks like it works pretty well.

I had a couple more McCain products recently. I didn't really expect to like either, but the Craft Beer Battered fries surprised me. I had tried McCain beer battered onion rings, and those are now my favorite frozen onion rings, but I was fairly certain I wouldn't like the battered fries. They are very good. The batter is almost imperceptible, and unlike the onion rings, so is the beer flavor. There's added flavor to the fries, but I doubt I would have pegged it as beer if I hadn't known before eating them. They browned well, too. First time I cooked them at 400° for 16 minutes, and that browned them too much. 12-13 minutes is about right in my air fryer. The other I had was a shaped mashed potato product called Smiles. Those I did not like. Very bland and I didn't like the texture either. Give me tater tots if I'm going to eat something in that general category of frozen potatoes.

The stores here don't carry Superfries, but I've had lots of fries that fit that description. It may not matter so much if the fries are being deep-fried, but for the air fryer the manufacturer needs to get the right amount of crisping agent on the fries and the right amount of oil in the fries.

Yeah, just for easier clean up. I only use them for certain things.

You probably already have the things I consider essential -- instant read thermometer, tongs for nonstick, spatula for nonstick. I use parchment paper that I fold and punch holes in to make liners, but you already have the silicone liners. I wouldn't want to be without some kind of liner.

I've been buying McCain products since they've shown up in my local Safeway recently. I've had the Quick Cook Crinkle Cut fries, Quick Cook Straight Cut fries, Quick Cook Waffle fries, Crinkle Cut Sweet Potato fries, Craft Beer Battered Onion Rings, and Baby Cakes. That's everything my supermarket carries. I'd rate each at or near the top of its type except the Baby Cakes. Those are mini-hashbrowns. I put those in the tater tots category and don't like the texture or flavor of them much. They're not bad. I just prefer other products for that type of thing. I'm not a big fan of waffle fries, but I'd still rate McCain the best of those that I've had.

I cooked some of those yesterday, not many more than it took to cover the tray. I cooked them just to the edge of being over-browned, and they crisped well enough. I like the flavor of those better than the Alexia crinkle cut.

I haven't seen video of dehydrating food in that particular fryer, but I've seen it done in fryers that don't go that low in temperature with limited success. Haven't ever tried it with mine. i'm not seriously into dehydrating food and doubt that I ever would be, but someting like this would probably give me enough capacity.

That's my thinking, too. Possibly useful but I'm not sure how useful. Chefman has a few windowed models, too. The dehydrate function of the Instant Vortex interests me more than a window does. Here's a video of the model you're considering. It's compared to a couple of other windowed fryers. I don't really like that youtuber's rating system because much of it seems irrelevant or trivial, but at least you can that fryer in action.

Make sure to give them a good shake halfway through the cooking. The sweet potato fries I've cooked have been stickier than other fries and take a little more shaking to get them to move. Nah, I don't use the presets either.

I think we're talking about the same type of design--a drawer with a removable tray(grill) that sits in the bottom of the drawer. I've had Alexia and McCain crinkle cut sweet potato fries in the air fryer. They get crispy, but the problem with those is that the edges of the crinkles have a tendency to get too browned, and over-browned sweet potato doesn't taste as good as over-browned white potato. I haven't gotten around to trying straight cut sweet potato fries in the air fryer yet. I'm hoping those will be easier to get right. FWIW, I like McCain crinkle cut sweet potato fries better than Alexia. Alexia crinkle cut have garlic & onion powder, too much for my taste. I don't think Alexia straight cut sweet potato fries have that.

I have this one. https://www.target.com/p/chefman-5qt-air-fryer-black/-/A-83469603#lnk=sametab I had no experience with air fryers before buying mine a few months ago. I wanted one that had a square cooking area (more usable space for the size of the appliance), decent wattage for the capacity, dishwasher safe parts, and I decided the lift-out tray style might be easier to clean than the lift-out basket style. I use it much, much more than I thought I would. It works great. The only reason that might make me not buy the same one again is that it's 5 qt., and I wouldn't mind having a slightly larger one. I've been happy enough with the brand and style that I'd probably buy this one. https://chefman.com/collections/air-fryers-1/products/turbofry-touch-air-fryer-1

One of my local Safeway stores sells wedges of Black Bomber. It's great.

You might give this one a try. I haven't made it, but it's in a baking book that has never failed me, Fearless Baking by Elinor Klivans. https://books.google.com/books?id=HYbl2tfICE4C&pg=PT261&lpg=PT261&dq=klivans+"fearless+baking"+pineapple&source=bl&ots=rTBtetjhC6&sig=ACfU3U29cago5htFz5o0b8cWaVmls5euKg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjRg7uKx5_3AhWaJzQIHUmiBbQQ6AF6BAgjEAM#v=onepage&q=klivans "fearless baking" pineapple&f=false

Smashburger used to be my favorite semi-fast food burger, but there's no longer a Smashburger locally, and it's been many years since I've had one. My usual order was a bacon cheeseburger and a chocolate shake. I liked their fries (and onion rings, too, as I recall), but I was usually trying to limit the calories a bit, and since I didn't want to pass up the shake (made with Haagen Dazs ice cream) I tended to skip the sides.

Guga Foods has quite a bit of burger content on youtube.