For the price (previously $70), you have to either be a really serious cook, or seriously tired of rubbery chicken and overcooked steak to buy one of these industrial-strength, instant-read digital thermometers. But once you've got one, you'll wonder how you ever cooked without it. The Thermapen takes all the guesswork out of the proper time to cook things.

I first saw this used on my favorite cooking show, "America's Test Kitchen." It looks very odd compared to the digital cooking thermometers you find in retail stores. But this is THE best kitchen tool I have, (well, maybe second best after my $3.00 spring-loaded tongs).

-- Barbara Young

Thermapen
$89
ThermoWorks