I, like many of you out there, have a smartphone. Mine happens to be an iPhone but regardless there are a lot of useful apps out there for those of us who are culinary-inclined;) I thought I would share some of the ones I have and post some of the more intriguing recipes I’ve found on them. Almost all of the ones I use I got for free although some may have started charging since I got them. If you are an app person you probably already know that Lifehacker often features free for a day apps and the like. That’s how I’ve gotten a lot of the ones that usually cost money.
Ok, so let’s take a look at what apps I have.
Ratio is the companion app to Michael Ruhlman’s book Ratio. I don’t use it that often but it does come in handy when you need a reminder of basic ratios. For example, I wanted to make a quiche and looked up the ratio for the custard base using this app.
If you’ve spent much time on the internet looking up recipes you are probably familiar with Epicurious. The app is useful for searching for recipes and while I don’t use it, there is a list function that will add ingredients from the recipes to your shopping list.
Allrecipes is another good website you may be familiar with. The app has some neat features that allow you to type in ingredients and use the “dinner spinner” to find recipes.
Foodily is another one that I just like to browse.
Ok, Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything does cost money. But I lucked out and snagged it for free during a promotion. I use it to check things like how many minutes per pound you need to roast a turkey, or for my favorite tuna salad recipe:
Tuna Salad with Lemon and Olive Oil
2 6 oz cans tuna, preferably packed in olive, drained
1 grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
1 small shallot or 3 scallions, minced
1-2 tblsp capers, rinsed, drained, and chopped
½ cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
3 tblsp extra virgin olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 leaves romaine lettuce, washed and dried
8 slices any bread
Mix the tuna with the lemon zest and juice, shallots, capers, parsley, and olive oil and sprinkle with some salt and pepper. Make sandwiches with the tuna mixture and lettuce. Serve immediately.
Ok, Paprika is an app that my sweetie got but I haven’t really used it much yet.
Paprika is an app that helps you organize your recipes, make meal plans, and create grocery lists. Using Paprika's built-in browser, you can save recipes from anywhere on the web.
Want to access your recipes on your phone or tablet? Our free cloud sync service allows you to seamlessly sync your data across all of your devices.
Alright, KptnCook is one of the apps I snatched up for free due to the recommendation of Lifehacker. It’s kind of fun, every day there are 3 new recipes that can be made in 30 minutes or less and it even tells you the approximate amount it costs. The downside is that if you miss your daily recipes and don’t save them to your “favorites” they are gone. So it’s kind of hit or miss. They do tend to focus on vegetarian/vegan dishes a lot though so I’ve seen some interesting ideas.
Ah, the Cooking with the New York Times app. Lots of fun browsing and reading.
Need to make a cocktail? Never fear, no matter where you are you can pull up the trusty Mr. Boston Official Bartender’s Guide to make that Manhattan, or Gimlet, or Mojito. I can’t seem to find a link for downloading the app so I’ll update if I do find it. Obviously I downloaded it at some point.
Ok, and there is one more cooking app that’s not pictured above. It’s the Weber Grills App (Android version here) and every week I get a new grilling recipe. There’s also lots of great tips.
This week’s recipe sounds tasty and easy:
BLT Salad
(requires a perforated grill pan)
½ lb thick-sliced bacon, cut into bite sized pieces
extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp minced shallot
1 ½ tbsp sherry vinegar
1 tsp finely chopped fresh thyme
¼ tsp kosher salt
1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 ½ pints cherry tomatoes, stemmed
1 large crusty sandwich roll, split
1-2 medium heads butter lettuce
23 scallions (white and light green parts only), thinly sliced
Prepare the grill for direct cooking over medium heat (350° to 450°) and preheat the grill pan.
In a large skillet over medium heat cook the bacon until crisp. Transfer to paper towels reserving the bacon fat. Add enough oil to the bacon fat to make 6 tablespoons.
In a small bowl mix the shallots, vinegar, thyme, salt, and pepper. Whisk the bacon fat/oil mixture in a steady stream to make a dressing.
Lightly coat the tomatoes with some of the dressing. Grill the tomatoes in the grill pan over direct medium heat, with the lid closed, until their skins begin to char and crack. 5-6 minutes, shaking the grill pan with tongs to turn them. Carefully remove the grill pan from the grill and pour the tomatoes into a bowl.
Brush the cut side of the roll with some of the dressing grill over direct medium heat, with the lid open, until toasted, about 1 minute. Remove from the grill and cut into large croutons.
Arrange the lettuce leaves in a serving bowl. Scatter the tomatoes with their juices and the croutons among the lettuce. Whisk the dressing one more time and spoon some of it over the salad (you may not need all of the dressing.) Top with the bacon and finish with the scallions. Serve right away.
There are other apps that I use to save recipes from around the web, or to muse about ideas for dishes.
Evernote has both a basic free version and a premium with extra bells and whistles. I use the basic free version and have the web clipper extension so I can easily clip recipes from websites and add them to my notebooks. This is great if you find yourself wanting quick access to something you saw on your PC and are now down in the kitchen and want to pull it up on your phone.
Pocket is another handy app for saving stuff for later.
I’m addicted to Pinterest so of course I have the app on my phone so I can pull up that recipe I pinned the other day when I’m not on my computer.
So what apps have you found useful for cooking?
Here’s our upcoming schedule:
date |
# |
diarist |
8/06 |
11.02 |
blueoregon |
8/13 |
11.03 |
esquimaux |
8/20 |
11.04 |
open |
8/27 |
11.05 |
open |
9/03 |
11.06 |
blueoregon |
9/10 |
11.07 |
esquimaux |
If you would like to contribute for an open date please send me a kos mail or reply to the tip jar. Thank you!