This is not a nice to have, but I consider this a must in the kitchen. I have many different types of thermometers but if you are just starting out cooking look into something like the Polder THM-160. This thermometer has a built-in presets and alerts you as the food is being cooked has reached the USDA safety temperatures for the meat you are cooking.  The green light on the bottom of the device illuminates when safe cooking tempature has been reached. With that being said, I never cook my steaks well-done (unless someone tells me too, which hasn’t happened yet) so if you are not sure on temperature for the desired doneness, it even has the USDA food temperature chart on the cover for the probe:

Depending on where you get it, the price could range from $10.99 – $12.99. With the stock market the way it is, this is a better investment than buying a car company stock because if you use this tool correctly you are ensuring your dinner guest won’t get sick from improperly cooked food tempature.

Jen has a tennis match tonight and I am not going to slave in the kitchen for just me, so we will go out to dinner late tonight and support one of the local chefs. Tomorrow’s dinner will be Mexican, which has been requested by several of the blog readers, and I am happy to oblige. 

Happy Cooking!