The Big Air Fryer Cookbook for Two

Chapter 1: Get the Most from Your Air Fryer

The first time I used an air fryer, I stood over the counter staring through the little window like it was a campfire, fully expecting the basket to burst into flames. It didn't, of course. It just made the best chicken wings I'd ever produced on a weekday night, with about a tablespoon of oil and zero splatter on the stovetop. That's the promise of this book: not a gadget that sits in your cabinet collecting dust, but a small, fierce convection oven that becomes your answer to "what's for dinner" on the regular.

Before we get into the recipes, let's talk about the machine itself and how to get it working for you, not against you. You don't need a PhD in appliance science to cook well in an air fryer, but you do need to understand a few fundamentals: how to pick the right size, what accessories actually earn their drawer space, and how to adjust for the fact that not all air fryers are created equal. That last one is important because most recipe failures aren't the recipe's fault. It's usually a mismatch between what the recipe assumes and what your specific machine does.

Choosing the Right Size for Two

If you're cooking for two, you have two main choices: a compact model around 3 to 4 quarts, or a larger one in the 5 to 6 quart range. I'll be honest with you, I've cooked in both,