This kitchen gadget made my steak taste like it was from a four-star restaurant

There's a big difference between a steak made at a restaurant versus at home. The latter usually never tastes as stellar as the former.

But The Paragon Induction Cooktop, released in 2015, promises to help you prepare high-quality steaks in your kitchen. First Build, a subsidiary of GE, developed the appliance, which is available online for $299.

It employs induction cooking, meaning it uses copper and an electric current to sauté, sear, or fry food. But it also lets you do sous vide (which cooks food in a a temperature-controlled water bat), thanks to a water temperature sensor that hooks to the pot's side.

To switch between sous vide and normal induction, you just need to change the setting on the device.

I'd never used a sous vide or induction cooktop before this week - I've always made steaks using my oven's broiler or stovetop. Sous vide takes much longer. To sous vide a steak with the Paragon, for example, the meat must sit in a water bath for at least two hours.

After a few friends raved about the magic of sous vide machines, I decided to try making a steak sous vide-style using the GE cooktop. Here's what happened.