I've been having some issues with thermometers lately. I've been watching a lot of cooking shows, and Alton is always bringing out his trusty thermometer, but all they do for me is stubbornly refuse to tell me that my roast is done.
So it was with some trepidation that I allowed a wireless digital thermometer to fall into my cart at Costco. It stayed in its giant clamshell for two days, patiently awaiting my attention. Finally, I threw one of those frozen lasagnes in the oven (the kind that pretends to be all bubbly and hot on the outside while remaining frozen on the inside) and decided this would be the perfect test for my new toy.
The directions were not promising. It wasn't at all clear, (except to my common sense) whether I was supposed to leave the probe in the meat the whole time, and should the transmitter go in the oven with the meat too? Or was I supposed to let the little metal wire leading from probe to transmitter break the seal of my oven? Being that the transmitter is largely made of plastic, I deduced it probably didn't want to go in the oven.
Long story short, I am utterly charmed by my new toy. I left the probe in the lasagne, strung the wire gently out the oven door, and placed the transmitter on the counter, then walked away, hand unit tucked under my arm. Then from the comfort of my couch, I could monitor the progress of my lasagne. It made a cheerful chirp when it was 5 degrees away from done, and a more determined one a few minutes later. End result? Perfectly done lasagne,and no leaping up from the couch every five minutes to monitor its progress. Total control, and I didn't have to lift a finger.