The Chef Basket is a new piece of cookware sold on TV that is all the rage right now. You can use it as a strainer or a colander or a deep fry basket. It works really well to boil noodles directly in the basket by submerging a basket of noodles into a pot of boiling water. The product folds up flat for easy storage right along side your cookie sheets or other large flat cookware.
Using this item couldn't be any easier. If you want to deep fry, just fill the basket with your food and slide it into a pot of hot oil, if boiling just use hot water or maybe even some broth. After the food is cooked you can remove it from the pot using the built in stay cool handles and transport it to the sink for easy drainage.
Forget about messing around with trying to dump a huge pot of boiling water into a colander! That can be a very dangerous procedure especially if you are dodging a kitchen full of kids, or dinner guests, or a clumsy husband like me.
These things are available online for around $15 and it is money well spent. If you cook at home as much as I do then you will be using yours at least several times a week. It is an indispensible item in my kitchen now. The product is well made and durable enough to last many years if well cared for and cleaned properly. Just a quick brush with some hot soapy water will keep yours clean and ready for action at a moments notice.
Included with this product is a little recipe guide but it's really not necessary. Any recipe that calls for boiling, steaming or deep frying and you can reach for this to take care of the job. I get most of my recipes online these days and have gotten rid of all my cookbooks.
My Mother uses this wether she is frying up some of her favorite chicken or shrimp or making her secret family spaghetti recipe. She is from Texas where deep frying everything is pretty common. But it can be used to create healthy meals with all sorts of pasta as well. No matter what the reciepe, you can use this to make it easier on yourself.