Like most boys his age, my Todd never showed any interest in cooking. No matter how vividly I tried to explain the miracle of roux, no matter how I tried to dazzle him with tales from the colorful history of the lentil, he didn’t care. ”’S cool,” he’d mumble, and skulk off back to his room with his video game. I guess most 14-year-olds would rather kill space Chewbaccas than spend time with Mom in the kitchen.

But I knew that would change when I brought home this Sharper Image Digital Cooking Thermometer. Bankruptcy’s loss is my family’s gain. With that big flip-up digital readout and color-changing LED bar, using it would be just like playing a video game. And jabbing the meat with that metal probe thing would be like fighting one of those hobbit monsters in the movies Todd enjoys so much.

Sure enough, when I asked Todd to check the roast in the oven, he didn’t just mumble and skulk off. He spent at least forty-five seconds examining the Sharper Image Digital Cooking Thermometer: flipping the display open, playing with the metal thing, the works. I thought I saw a twinkle in his eye as he stabbed the browning meat – that’s my boy. Then he mumbled “That thing’s kinda cool,” before skulking off to his room with his video game.

Those are the moments I treasure. It’s so wonderful to see Todd open up to me like that. And I owe it all to the Sharper Image Digital Cooking Thermometer.

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