I’m not gadget happy by any means, but once in a while I’ll find a piece of cooking equipment that I really, really want. Sometimes it’s something completely unnecessary and esoteric, like the Oval Doufeu I came across on eBay—and am still kicking myself for not buying. (If you own one of these, please write and tell me how amazing it is, how I can’t live without it and how it’s worth the $300 price tag.) Sometimes it’s something as simple and indispensable as a $20 soft-sided cooler.

My latest lust has been for a thermometer. An $85 Super-Fast Thermapen to be exact. It can read a temperature in less than 4 seconds and makes me dream of perfectly cooked pork roasts and T-bone steaks.