My daughter wants one for Christmas. What features do you have, wish you had, etc...... What brands?

I try to buy kitchen stuff for kids and step kids at Christmas. What appliances are new and handy around your kitchens?

Immersion blender or sous vide. You can get immersion blenders that have attachments for food processing or mixing/whisking for the majority of tasks you would normally need a separate tool for.

Have one, never use it. Now it's taking up space in the basement. It works well enough, but I have an extra large, and still can't cook for a family of three without doing multiple batches.

Got a $40 3.4 qt from best buy. Love it so far (if you have the space). Fyi, my oven is old so can't really compare.

A real fryer would be better. I got one as a wedding gift recently even though we didn't ask for one. It's awesome. Pork chops, fries, falafel so far

Also second the immersion blender, sous vide, or a enameled cast iron pan or Dutch oven

I'll add a good mixer if she doesn't have one.

Bruce Almighty said:

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Have one, never use it. Now it's taking up space in the basement. It works well enough, but I have an extra large, and still can't cook for a family of three without doing multiple batches.

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I have a 7qt and I like it. Use it 3-4x/month. But I would echo what Bruce said above, you do have to cook in batches. If I were you, I could look for the biggest one I could find that had a second shelf to double the area.

GAC06 said:

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Also second the immersion blender, sous vide, or a enameled cast iron pan or Dutch oven

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The immersion blender, and enameled cast iron Dutch oven would be my choice. I use our Dutch oven a lot for Beans, chili, stew......

I love mine. Use it multiple times a week. It's really good for making bacon. We also use it to reheat leftovers like chicken fried steak, French fries, fried pickles, etc.. and they come out just as good as they were the first time.

strohag said:

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We have a Ninja air fryer. We really like it. Yes it takes up some space but it will fit in a cabinet below the counter. Buy one with large basket.

Some surprising perks -
Reheating leftover pizza
Throwing fries and nuggets in for kids is quick and easy
No long wait times to preheat like you would on an oven

Endless recipes once you get on Google and YouTube.

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The Ninja Foodi does both pressure cooking and air frying. It's on sale most places for about $170. We're getting one to replace our separate air fryer and instant pot.

We use our instant pot way more than I thought we would.

We have a basic air fryer, and it gets used a couple of times a week. Our daughters use it the most for something quick like chicken nuggets or fries. We use it for small batches of Brussel sprouts or other veggies when we don't need an oven full. If she is cooking for a family they are usually too small and you do have to eat in batches.

If she is single or has kids old enough to use it then it is not too bad, but they are not for feeding a family at once.

I bought a Breville Smart Oven Air earlier this year which is a toaster oven with an air fry feature. I love this thing, probably my favorite kitchen appliance and use it almost every day. As others have mentioned the air fryer is great for bacon, frozen dumplings french fries or tots, and especially for reheating leftovers. It brings previously fried foods back to life the way a non convection option can't. Also, frozen

With that said, I bought this oven gently used on eBay because they are quite pricey as most Breville products are.

https://www.breville.com/us/en/products/ovens/bov900.html

Word to the wise...HEB by my house (Cedar Park) has the 8 quart instant pot duo crisp + air fryer (direct competitor to the Ninja Foodi) for $129.99 after coupon. Apparently there are other retailers also selling it at that price point currently. That's a helluva deal when you consider the Foodi is selling for over $100 more than that at other retailers.

We have an air fryer and use it fairly often, here's who I'd recommend one for:

- If you have an older oven that doesn't have convection
- You eat leftovers or frozen food a lot.
- You love potatoes (to me the best way to cook a potato is in the air fryer, and it's also great for small batches of frozen fries, hash browns, etc.)
- You cook either for yourself or maybe one other person most of the time
- You have counter space to use it, and somewhere out of the way to store it. I wouldn't want it on my counter all the time.

We use our Sous Vide a lot more though, if she doesn't have one of those I'd recommend it.

We have one that looks like a large toaster oven.
It works fine.

The thing I hate about it is that I can not completely turn off the convection fan. I have to use my full sized oven if I want to cook without convection.

Find one that you can turn the fan completely off.

Agasaurus Tex said:

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A 6 qt. Instant Pot would take up the same amount of counter space and she would get much more use out of it. and every part of it that gets dirty can go in the dishwasher.

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Did you know you can get an Air Fryer top to an Insta Pot?

Works great

Instant Pot Air Fryer Lid 6 in 1, No Pressure Cooking Functionality, 6 Qt, 1500 W https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07VF7J5VQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_fabc_IVqYFb244P516?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

seems like a cool idea but I feel like you would miss the ability to "shake the basket" which helps get everything browned.

Do you have any issues with that?

Not yet. I guess I'm not a basket shaker.

ha! once you start shaking you'll never go back.

Must be a carry over from my day's working the fry station of Koppe Bridge

Question: do they soak their burger patties in butter overnight? I have heard that rumor for years? Inquiring minds want to know.

not overnight, but we did "pre-cook" burgers on busy nights. Basically cook them about halfway, then soak them in a butter/fry oil?/water combo until they were ready to go.

I would have to think most places do something similar because not many griddles can handle having 50+ raw patties thrown on them all at once without dropping temp significantly. Maybe technology has improved.