How you doin’? In the good old days many restaurants made their own onion rings. Curly’s on Wilshire Boulevard’s Miracle Mile had about the best. Today, most restaurants use frozen onion rings, a far cry from the rings of yesteryear.
 
I’ll be honest, I won’t mess with frying onions at home. In fact, I don’t oil fry much of anything these days. I’ve found that air fryer onion rings are just as satisfying as the deep-fried ones and they won’t coat your backsplash with oil or give you high blood pressure. However, they may cause elevated heart rates… it’s just so thrilling to eat a pile of great onion rings.
 
For my Air fried Onion Rings I use Vidalia onions, so I get great, big, sweet rings. They’re dipped in panko crumbs, buttermilk and flour, which yields a super light, crispy, crunchy onion ring. The crust is terrific with the sweet onion. Don’t forget my Comeback Sauce—just a dollop or quick dip will do.
 
If you’ve never had Comeback Sauce, it’s the South’s answer to fry sauce, and it’s got elements of Thousand Island dressing and barbecue sauce. My version is sweet and tangy with just a hint of heat. It really brightens up the onion rings, and yes, you will be coming back for more—it’s a dipper’s paradise and it okay to double dip (take that, Seinfeld).
 
Prep time:  12 minutes
Air fry time:  10 to 12 minutes a batch
Yield:  2 servings
 
Ingredients 
For the onion rings
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, divided, plus more for seasoning
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons buttermilk
2 cups panko breadcrumbs
1 large Vidalia onion, cut into 1/2-inch rounds and separated into rings
Cooking spray
 
For the Comeback Sauce
1/4 cup plain 1% low-fat Greek yogurt
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 tablespoon ketchup
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon hot paprika
1/4 teaspoon sriracha hot sauce
Pinch of kosher salt
 
Directions 
To make the onion rings

1. In a shallow dish, stir together the flour, smoked paprika and 1/4 teaspoon of salt.
2. In a second shallow dish, lightly beat the eggs with the buttermilk.
3. In a third shallow dish, stir together the panko and remaining 1/4 teaspoon of the salt.
4. Dredge the onion rings in the flour mixture, shaking off the excess.
5. Dip the rings in the egg mixture, allowing any excess to drip off.
6. Dredge them again in the panko mixture, pressing to adhere.
7. Coat both sides of the onion rings well with cooking spray.
8. Place the coated onion rings in a single layer in an air fryer basket and cook them in batches at 375° until golden brown and crispy on both sides, about 10 minutes.
9. Turn the onion rings over halfway through cooking.

To make the Comeback Sauce

1. Stir together the yogurt, mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard, garlic powder, hot paprika, sriracha and a pinch of salt in a small bowl until smooth.
2. Transfer the cooked onion rings to a platter and serve immediately with a side dish of the Comeback Sauce.
3. Allow your guests to eat them while they’re hot while you make the next batch.

ChefSecret:  Onion rings are definitely happy hour treats. You’ll want to double the recipe and pair them with an ice cold beer. Think about something light, refreshing, and not too hoppy, like an IPA.

Quip of the Day:  Why did the onion ring go to school? Because it wanted to be a “ring-leader.”
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Do you have a question or comment? Send your thoughts to [email protected]. All recipes and cooking tips are posted on our website https://www.perspectives-la.com/covid-19-survival-guide. We have added a new search feature to make it easier to navigate through our blogs.
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To you and everyone dear to you, be strong, positive, stay well, stay safe and be kind. Take a breath and count your blessings, and if you have a little extra to share with others, please consider donating to  Feeding America, Tunnel to Towers, Union Rescue Mission and/or American Red Cross.

#Appetizer #AirFryerRecipes #AirFryerOnionRings #OnionRings #ComebackSauce #2024Recipes #URM #T2T #FeedingAmerica #RedCross #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup  
 
                                                                               ©PERSPECTIVES/The Consulting Group, LLC, 2024

How you doin’? I love the hot chicken that you used to only be able to find on some of the back road stands on weekends run by African Americans. There was particular place to which I was willing to drive 20 miles. I have never had bad hot chicken… some is just better than others. Today you can find Nashville Hot Chicken in chains and independents alike. And now, thanks to this blog, you can find it in your own kitchen, too.
 
Like the old 1959 crime comedy movie directed by Billy Wilder--Some Like It Hot! If you’re one of them, you’ll go crazy for my air fryer version of classic Nashville hot chicken. The tenders come out of the air fryer crispy and irresistible, and you can customize the heat level to your own taste. I like to serve my Nashville Hots with my own secret recipe homemade sweet and spicy pickles with some Texas toast for the full Nashville experience (yes, I know Texas toast isn’t Nashvillian… but whoever heard of Tennessee Toast unless it’s to celebrate a Jack Daniels cocktail?).
 
Prep time:  15 minutes
Marinade time:  3 hours or overnight
Cook time:  20 to 30 minutes
Yield:  4 servings
 
Ingredients 
1 cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons hot sauce (must be Crystal brand hot sauce)
1/4 cup dill pickle brine
1 large egg
2 pounds chicken tenders
3 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
1-1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper, divided
1 cup all-purpose flour
Cooking spray (I prefer Pam)
 
for the sauce
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cup lard (can’t get any more southern than this)
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1-1/2 teaspoons dark brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
for the garnish
parsley, chopped, for garnish
sliced white bread, for serving
 
Directions

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, hot sauce, dill pickle brine, and egg until fully combined.
2. In a separate medium bowl, sprinkle 1 teaspoon of salt and 1 teaspoon of black pepper over the chicken tenders and stir to coat evenly.
3. Pour the marinade over chicken and mix until the chicken is fully coated. Cover with plastic wrap and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours or, better yet overnight.
4. Take the tenders out of the refrigerator about 30 minutes before you want to cook them, to remove some of the chill.
5. Preheat the air fryer to 400⁰ F.
6. In a large bowl, whisk together all-purpose flour and the remaining 2 teaspoons of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper.
7. Remove the chicken from the marinade, reserving marinade, and place the tenders on a paper-towel lined baking sheet.
8. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels.
9. Dredge the chicken in the seasoned flour, then dip it into the reserved marinade, and dredge it in the flour once more.
10. Place the breaded chicken on a baking sheet lined with a wire rack.

Note: Work in batches, coating only as many tenders as you can air fry at one time. Coated tenders that aren’t cooked right away won’t be as crispy.

1. Place the chicken in the air fryer basket and spray with cooking spray.
2. Cook for 10 minutes, flip, and cook for another 10 minutes, until golden brown and the internal temperature reaches 165⁰ F.
3. Transfer the cooked chicken to a large bowl. Repeat with the remaining chicken.
4. In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the butter, lard, cayenne powder, dark brown sugar, chili powder, garlic powder, remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon black pepper.
5. Over medium heat, cook until the sauce begins to bubble and is very fragrant, whisking constantly to prevent burning, about 5 to 7 minutes.
6. Pour the sauce over the cooked chicken and gently toss to coat completely .
7. Using the tongs, place the chicken on a large serving tray and garnish with fresh parsley.
8. Serve hot with sliced Texas toast.

ChefSecret:  You can substitute leftover bacon fat for the lard—it’s kind of the same thing, just a little smokier. For the full Nashville Hots experience, serve with a ramekin of blue cheese and honey for an extra delicious meal. You can also cut the pieces up, drizzle ‘em with the hot sauce and serve a top air fries.

Quip of the Day:  What do you call a country song about Nashville’s famous hot chicken? A cluckin’ good tune!”
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Do you have a question or comment?  Send your thoughts to [email protected]. All recipes and cooking tips are posted on our website https://www.perspectives-la.com/covid-19-survival-guide.
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To you and everyone dear to you, be strong, positive, stay well, stay safe and be kind. Take a breath and count your blessings, and if you have a little extra to share with others, please consider donating to  Feeding America, Tunnel to Towers, Union Rescue Mission and/or American Red Cross.

#Entree #Appetizer #Lunch #Dinner #NashvilleHots #ChickenTenders #SomeLikeItHot #CrystalHotSauce #2024Recipes #URM #T2T #FeedingAmerica #RedCross #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup 

                                                                               ©PERSPECTIVES/The Consulting Group, LLC, 2024

How you doin’? We had kind of a foodie block party last weekend where most of the people attending receive our Survival Guide. I was asked why I don’t do any recipes using Air Fryers. Here was my excuse—years back, as they were first coming on the market, we had several air fryers in our test kitchens. Some worked better than others, but honestly, I personally lost interest in them. They were just another kitchen appliance that took up counter space. We have professional restaurant convection ovens in the test kitchen that created pretty much the same recipes that we could make in a home air fryer.
 
For this blog I decided to give it a second look at what was once a novelty. Fred van de Wiel, an inventor in the Netherlands, is credited with starting work on the modern-day air fryer in 2005 when he was looking for a healthier way to prepare leftovers or frozen French fries without drying them out.
 
I read some sales data that claimed that the gadget is in nearly two-thirds of U.S. homes—a claim that I find hard to believe. Nevertheless, air fryers have forced manufacturers to play catch-up and introduce compatible food products to the marketplace.
 
We have been using heat susceptors for half a century. Hot Pocket has been synonymous with the metallic crisping sleeve used to heat the cheese, meat and vegetable-filled turnover in a microwave. But the rapid growth in popularity of the air fryer has changed how many consumers warm the popular snack, leading brand owner Nestlé to ditch the sleeve altogether. These heat susceptors have all been used in microwave popcorn to get that burst of heat centered on the oil and popping corn in the bottom of the bag.
 
Nestle claims that once you cook Hot Pockets in the air fryer, you’ll never go back. Some people claim it’s just much better and crispier. Some food processors see the future is all about the air fryer. Is it just a generational shift or is this just another kitchen appliance that will go the way of the dodo, nesting in the deep dark corner underneath the counter?
 
The air fryer has rapidly become a force in the food industry, upending which products consumers buy and how they prepare them.
 
Two years ago, it was claimed that the air fryer became the fourth most popular cooking device behind the stove top, microwave and oven, and that many more people have an air fryer today in their kitchen than a coffee maker—another claim that falls faint on my ears.
 
Regardless of how I feel, Nestlé, Conagra Brands, Campbell Soup and Perdue Farms are developing an array of products just for an air fryer. An even larger number of products in stores now contain instructions on preparing them in an air fryer. In some packages, air fryer instructions are included along with microwave and/or oven instructions. Is the future of cooking going to be all about air fryer? I don’t think so.
 
Home meal providers are still using the microwave with greater frequency, but the highest level of air fryer use is among teens and college kids. Many university students have the device in their dorm rooms (against cooking in dorm rooms policies) instead of a microwave.
 
Most new products created for air fryers are sold in the frozen section of supermarkets. What can I cook from scratch that will give me a better product than any frozen boxed product?
 
So, I borrowed a neighbor’s air fryer to do some testing. My chicken wing recipes cooked in a conventional oven are certainly as good as Buffalo Wild Wings. My home made pizzas can hardly be improved upon in an air fryer except warming up day old pizza. I decided to take some baby steps with Air Fryer Fish. I will get more adventuresome in future blogs.
 
I love the classic beer-battered London-style Fish & Chips. For this blog I created a quick and easy way to make crispy fried fish and it turned out to be extra-crispy, flaky and oh so tender using with less oil and with less effort.  A perfect quick and easy seafood dinner.
 
My recipe works well with any firm, mild white fish. Haddock, pollock, cod, halibut, flounder, whiting, walleye–you get the idea. Cod is usually on the thicker side, so if you’re using a thinner fish like whiting or cooking flounder, just adjust the cook time. You'll know the fish is done when it can be flaked with a fork.
 
Plan your meal so you can cook in batches to avoid overcrowding the air fryer. Overcrowding will create steam, and steam is the enemy of perfectly crispy fish. To make sure the breading sticks to the fish when you bite into it, pop the breaded pieces into the refrigerator for 10 minutes on a parchment-lined sheet tray before frying. Once the fish is chilled, if you see any spots that look wet or soaked through, sprinkle a pinch of panko on the wet spot and pat gently before frying. Most air fryers have a nonstick coating on the basket, but if you want to be extra careful, try lining the basket with air-fryer-friendly parchment paper.
 
While Old Bay is certainly the gold standard when it comes to seafood seasoning, there's plenty of room to get creative here. Try your favorite blend of Cajun seasoning, a spicy jerk seasoning blend, or even za'atar.
 
I love to serve this fish with a good tartar or cocktail sauce. French fries are traditional, but you can't go wrong with old southern hush puppies, vinegar coleslaw, Greek lemon potatoes, or any of the traditional side dishes for fish.  Alternatively, use this fish in our fish tacos or fish taco bowls to give some added crunch.
 
For a low carb, keto-friendly version, sub in almond flour for the AP flour and crushed pork rinds for the panko. The pork rinds will break down with a few pulses in a food processor; be sure not to grind them into a powder. If you’re looking for a gluten-free version, go for almond flour and crushed corn flakes.
If there are any leftovers, they can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 3 days and reheated in the air fryer.
 
Prep time:  10 minutes
Cook time:  10 to 12 minutes a batch
Yield: 2 servings
 
Ingredients 
1 pound cod, cut into 4 even strips
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 large egg, beaten
1 cup panko breadcrumbs
1-1/2 teaspoons Old Bay seasoning
4 lemon wedges for serving
1/4 cup tartar sauce or the sauce of our choice, for serving
 
Directions

1. Pat the fish dry and season on both sides with salt and pepper.
2. Place the flour, egg and panko in three shallow bowls.
3. Add the Old Bay seasoning to panko and toss to combine.
4. Working one at a time, coat the fish in the flour, then in egg and then in the panko, pressing to coat.
5. Working in batches, place the fish in the basket of the air fryer and cook at 400° for 10 to 12 minutes, gently flipping halfway through, or until fish is golden and flakes easily with a fork.
6. Serve with lemon wedges and the sauce(s) of your choice.

ChefSecret:  Don’t forget to have a bottle of Malt Vinegar on hand for truly authentic London-style fish & chips.

Quip of the Day:  Did you hear what they named the newest fish & chip shop in town? The New Cod on The Block!
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Do you have a question or comment?  Send your thoughts to [email protected]. All recipes and cooking tips are posted on our website https://www.perspectives-la.com/covid-19-survival-guide.
-------------------------------------------
To you and everyone dear to you, be strong, positive, stay well, stay safe and be kind. Take a breath and count your blessings, and if you have a little extra to share with others, please consider donating to  Feeding America, Tunnel to Towers, Union Rescue Mission and/or American Red Cross.

#Entree #Dinner #Fish&Chips #AirFryer #Cod #Haddock #Perch #TartarSauce #CocktailSauce #MaltVinegar #2024Recipes #URM #T2T #FeedingAmerica #RedCross #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup 
 
                                                    ©PERSPECTIVES/The Consulting Group, LLC, 2024