Title: 2 Quart Small Air Fryer Cookbook for Men
Author: Olivia Graham
Quote: "Smash 2 garlic cloves and scatter them over the meat. Let them mingle like teammates sharing high-fives."
One thing some readers will love and some will hate about this book is the author's determination to appeal to young men. Most of the recipes can be eaten with fingers or from toothpicks, and some are recommended for serving on a plank--minimal dishes to wash. Most call for just five or even four ingredients; some suggest optional additions, and not all count salt, pepper, and oil in the maximum-of-five-ingredients list. Several recipes recommend serving the dish with cold beer. Most assume that you're willing to use "convenience" ingredients, things some people consider extravagant and/or unhealthy, from an upscale supermarket--premixed sauces and spices and frozen dough are considered as single ingredients. If you do use that kind of ingredients, nearly all the recipes will be ready to eat in half an hour or less. All recipes are consistently written with sports or engineering references in every paragraph.
A more serious concern is how many of the recipes an individual (or family) can use. Most of these recipes feature animal protein, though there are a few recipes for vegetables, one for tofu, and one for fried apple rings. Some also call for cheese or other dairy products. Very few call for wheat flour or for any grains at all. There's an assumption that guys who buy the Air Fryer have both regular stoves and microwaves, and bought the fryer because they're just into gadgets.
If you're cooking for a traditional sit-down dinner, the two-quart air fryer is not the ideal gadget. It cooks enough of anything for one large serving or for a platter (or plank) of snacks to pass around. If you're cooking for yourself in a dorm room where you can expect a dorm mate or two to pop in when the smell of fried apple rings, fried chicken, or pizza roll-ups wafts through the hall, a two-quart air fryer might be just right for giving everyone "a bite." Several of these recipes are, in fact, intended to be served in bite-sized pieces.
If you collect cookbooks, this is an amusing one. Some people may actually use it. These recipes are certainly easy to use, once you have a two-quart air fryer, but they're not frugal and won't fit into the meal as family gathering ritual...even though, addressed to fathers, this book does end with a recipe for air-fried chocolate chip cookies.
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