Ode to My Redi-Check

It's the classic situation. I have a basic need. I have a few dollars. I see a killer application. I must have it. Budget? What budget?

That's about the story behind my acquisition of the bestest gadget I have in my kitchen. Yes, I love my KitchenAid mixer, and my Cuisinart is always at hand, but they are only shadows of themselves without my RediCheck remote kitchen thermometer.

It's true. I didn't have the money to spend on the RediCheck, since it was going for about $40 and I had, roughly...uh, nothing. But I was preparing to make something fabulous and yummy on the grill, and when I saw this beauty, I knew it had to be mine.

Now, it wasn't an impulse buy. Oh, no. I stood in the aisle of the Kitchen, Bath and Bedroom Superstore and really, truly considered whether or not I needed such an extravagance when I could have spent a measly couple of dollars on yet another cheap meat thermometer that would go through the dishwasher after I've said five million times that food thermometers and dishwashers are not friends. My husband, waiting for me in the car, would likely not understand how amazing this little device was, how often I would use it, or how I could justify spending $40 on it. But I knew it would be worth it. And I knew that, eventually, the love of my life would see the wisdom of my ways and thank me for it.

Because, see, I'm very terrible about knowing when meat is done, or when candy has reached the soft ball or the hard ball stage, or when the yogurt is precisesly 110 degrees farenheit. A tool like this could improve my cooking 150%. Who could put a price on that?

So I bought it. And then I started explaining. Fast. My spiel probably went a little something like this:

The RediCheck has so many great features, I almost don't know where to start. I guess I'll begin with the fact that you can stick the probe into your food and then walk away. Literally. There's a cool remote unit that you can clip to your belt and then you're off. Go do some laundry, make potato salad, take a nap, and the signal will beep when your food has reached the appropriate temperature, either using the mode for meat doneness, or the temperature you set manually.

The next great feature is that it's very accurate. I've been using it for everything from grilled thanksgiving turkey to homemade vanilla caramels and have had very good success with it.

Finally--and this might be my favorite feature--the temperature probe is attached to the main unit by a heatproof cord, allowing the probe to be placed into the cooking item--in the grill, or in the oven, or on the stovetop--and left there while the unit itself sits on the countertop or near the grill, safely and happily displaying the temperature of the roasting bird or bubbling candy.

Yes, it stretched my budget to buy this gadget, and yes, it does have its problems, like the fact that you have to turn on both the send unit and the remote unit at just the right time to allow them to synchronize, but, all in all, this is one gadget I don't think I could live without.

My husband does see the wisdom of my ways, and now even he uses the RediCheck to do his grilling.

RediCheck. The kitchen gadget even a husband could love.

Salted versus Unsalted Butter?

Jill asked if it mattered whether you use salted or unsalted butter in the Pate Brise recipe, and I told her that I don't think it matters all that much. I've used salted butter when unsalted butter was suggested in a recipe without any disasterous results.

I've never really known why unsalted butter is most called for in recipes, when most people keep the salted version in their fridge, so I decided to do some sleuthing to find out the answer.

Basically, it's this: salted butter can vary in its amount of salt, depending on the manufacturer, so if you really want to control the amount of salt in your recipe, it's best to use the unsalted variety.

Salt can also mask odors, so if you have butter in your fridge that smells fine, but has been exposed to tuna noodle casserole for two weeks, it might not taste too great in your lemon tart.

Salt extends the shelf-life of butter, so if you buy unsalted butter, it won't keep as long, so either use it up or make sure you wrap it well, place it in a plastic bag, and freeze it. Just be sure to get it out in time to use it so that it will be thawed properly.

Salt also inhibits yeast growth, so if you're making bread, that can be a factor.

Many professional cooks say that they can tell the difference between salted and unsalted butter in recipes, especially delicate ones like puff pastries, so several sites suggested that you test things for yourself. Make the same recipe twice and decide if you can tell the difference.

The important thing to remember is that if a recipe calls for butter, don't replace it with margarine. Why would you do that, anyway? ;-)

So there you have it. I hope that answers your questions!