I love to cook, but I'm messy and temperamental and hate to clean up. I throw things around like a little Asian, non-professional Gordon Ramsay. I tell people in my family that in exchange for cooking intricate meals, all they have to do is clean up, but in truth, I'm not sure they get the better deal. The thing that bothers me the most about my kitchen rampages is that when they're over, I've almost inevitably killed any cookbook I've been using. My regularly used cookbooks are crunchy with olive oil, batter, and butter, and would probably taste pretty good by now if I baked them. Some pages have become hard to read and I've been searching for a solution to protect my precious cookbook collection.

Enter the "chef's center" which supports your cookbook at a good reading angle, swivels all the way around, and most importantly has a crystal-clear, splatterguard which keeps your book open at the right page and safe from flying ingredients. The spring-loaded screen guard fits everything from the single xeroxed page to the thickest of cookbooks. There's a pull-out measurement guide to help you adjust recipe servings while you cook. Then when you're done, the chef's center folds down flat for easy storage.

The chef's center is $29.95 from Prepara.