I am not sure who the mother of all invention is but the Aga certainly makes me try some strange things. While making my Boiled Chicken for a batch of soup this hit me.

"What would happen if I saved the skin from the boiled chicken, salted it and put it on a sheetpan and into the top of the Simmer Oven?"

Now I know. After 3 hours or so you will end up with beautifully crisp, salty chicken skin. Way good! Just maybe not an everyday snack.

Baby greens, apples & chicken skin crisps with honey viniagrette

Update 7 November

I tried his again but with raw skin. Three hours on the top rung of the Simmer Oven produced a lighter golden brown and crispy throughout. A fantastic addtion to a salad course or maybe a CS,L & T sandwich. Here's a look before they hit the oven. You really should try this.

Love 'em. I have two. They make the top of the insulator covers level so you can rest plates, pans & dishes on top. Much better than a cloth cover and it will double as table trivet. I found mine at the Vermont Country Storein Weston, Vermont. That place is full of all types of odds and ends from the past. Checkout there website, it's a hoot but not nearly as fun as going there in person. If you strike out there check out Cheftools.com. I know they have them.

Bonus Tip: Check out the honey jar in back corner. Why would I store my honey there?

One of the things that takes some getting used with an Aga is no open flame. Hard to light a candle off of the Boil Plate. It's also hard to peel a tomato. I know dip it in boiling water, chill, it peel it. Not when I need only one or two. You just score the flower end as usual and hold it over an open flame until the skin is blistered and your done. I was using a blowtorch but that was a relationship destined to fail. And it did. Again Aga, no open flame, bummer. Here's the solution. Score the tomato as usual and just roll on the Boil Plate. The skin will blister and it will peel off. Use tongs if you have to and don't feel like you need to get every inch. Ripe tomatoes peel easier, unripe tomatoes taste differently and maybe you need to rethink your recipe.

Another Aga miracle.

I received an email from an Aga owner asking about drying herbs in the Slow Oven of his 4 Oven Aga. Not sure, my wife only let me get the 3 Oven so how do I know what that magical 4th Oven can do? I'm also a fan of freezing herbs over drying them. I like the bright color they retain. While I was out raiding my friend's garden I took six big flowers from  dill plants that had gone to seed. I will dry the seeds with the power of Aga. I took one and tied it up and hung it over my Hot Plate with a sheet pan to catch the goods. It took a few days and dried nicely. I also put three heads in a bag (hope Homeland Security doesn't pick up that last phrase) and hung them upside down. It worked well, took a day longer but easy to retrieve to the dill seeds as they fall off. Next up tarragon.

How many times have people asked you if your Aga is too hot in the summer? More than a couple I'm sure. Today I was doing a cooking demo for a non Aga kitchen store. They had a wall oven. A nice convection oven and a fancy microwave. In between demos my wife came over and stood by the oven. She commented that the convection oven (it vented indoors) was much warmer than the Aga. I checked it out and sure enough you would break a sweat just getting near that puppy.

Congratulate yourself, you choose wisely.

Slow roasted tomatoes are a perfect summer staple. Sweet and tart are intensified in an Aga. They go great on a salad and are better on a burger than ketchup or sliced tomatoes. They also make a great salad dressing or salsa. Sing along with me "Anything a tomato can do I can do better". Sounds good doesn't it.

These are easy but there is a trick. You need to cut the white pith out of the center.

• Gather your sheet pan, roasting rack and bake-o-glide
• Wash and quarter 6 plum tomatoes
• With a sharp knife cut the white pith out that starts near the middle and runs towards the stem end
• Place tomatoes on the rack and sprinkle with olive oil, sea salt and fresh ground pepper
• In the slow oven for 3 1/2 hours turning the pan around for more even cooking once or twice
• Remove, cool and place in a container with a little olive oil, lasts a week in fridge

Look at those ugly bitter white pith pieces. Pith pieces sounds funny

• With the rack on the floor of your Roasting Oven put in the pan you will be using, empty
• Cut the veggies as specified
• Take the pan out of the oven and on the Simmer Plate
• Add a few teaspoons of fat ( butter, oil lard etc)l and an equal amount of water and then add the veggies and a pinch of salt
• Stir the veggies around and then with a heat resistant rubber spatula scrap down the sides of the pan and pull any onion away from the edge

• 
before and after, 30 minutes later they are soft and translucent

• As long as nothing is on the edge or sides of the pan nothing will dry out and burn. They will slowly cook in their own juices. As the liquid evaporates the vegetables will get sweeter.
• You can do this in the Baking or Roasting Oven. It will need more attention in the hotter oven but still not as  much as the stove top.

I digress. Not throwing away food is always fashionable. If you check out some of the blogs that deal with wasted food you will be floored to find out how much we throw away. Some say we throw out 14% of our food at home.

Here are a few recipes that your Aga shines brightly on.

Bread Crumbs  

Take your old bread ends and save them in your freezer, once you get enough to fill your roasting pan break them up and have the pan straddle the top of your stove. Give them 24 hours so the bread is very dry. If the bread is not completely dry your crumbs can mold so better too much time than too little. Time will vary on the size and type of bread. Once they are dry grind them up in your food processor. This will take about a minute of grinding time.

Croutons

This requires a steady hand and good knife skills. I use a very long serrated knife. You should to.

Slice the bread as thin as you can.

Liberally spread olive oil all over an Aga sheet pan

Put the crouton down on oil and then flip over some both sides have some olive oil on them

In the Baking Oven for 5 to 7 minutes until crispy. The crisper you get it the longer it will keep. They should last two weeks in an airtight container.

What? That's right let the gentle heat of your Aga dry out an accidental drowning of your delicate electronics. My cell phone made it thru a full cycle in the washing machine and half a run thru the dryer before we wised up to the funny noise coming from the laundry room. The screen had water condensation all over it and it was non responsive to any commands. I removed the battery and put the cell phone in a coffe cup on the back corner of the Simmer Plate for 36 hours. I flipped it over, opened the phone and generally tried to expose as much of the phone as possible to the slow gentle heat.

It's been working for a few days now and seems no worse for wear. This also worked for my electronic timer after it hit the pot sink one day. It dried out my wallet after a run the wash cycle as well. Another Aga miracle that I hope you never need to use. Nice to know it's there isn't it?

When cooking for one the Simmer Plate can do some cool things. You can put down a piece of Bake O Glide or other silicone baking sheet on the burner if you want. You could just wipe off the burner with a drop of oil on a rag. Put your Quesadilla of the burner and close the lid, same with grilled cheese or even a couple of fried eggs. The Bake O Glide keeps anything from sticking and clean up is snap. I have roast all kind of veggies under the lid as well. No limits to what you can do with an Aga