Even though I’m not cooking the turkey this year (hooray, hallelujah, amen!), I’m preparing a few side dishes and desserts. And because I’m not necessarily known for my kitchen skills, you can bet I’m going to be relying heavily on my smart phone and tablet to help me make something that’s edible. Or better, delicious.
Now whether you’re on turkey duty or you’re just bringing a few sides to the table, here are five cool apps to help make Thanksgiving dinner memorable. The good kind.
1. Smart Chef Substitutions app
Avoid last minute trips to the supermarket because you forgot the heavy cream. With this app (at top), you can check to see what you might have in your fridge or pantry that will work as a substitute. Too bad you can’t use it to substitute out your less favorite relatives. (Kidding!).
($1.99 for iPhone and iPad.)
2. Epicurious app
While this free app is great for spitting out recipes from ingredients you’ve already got in your fridge, it’s super helpful when it comes to cooking the perfect bird. No need to google “How long to cook a 15 lb turkey?”
(free for iPhone, iPad and Android)
3. Kitchen Calculator Pro app
If Chef Richard Blais uses this app then it’s good enough for us. It allows you to convert Grandmom’s special old world gravy recipe in metric (huh?) to standard without you having to do any math.
($3.99 for iPhone and iPad.)
4. How to Cook Everything
Even if you’re a seasoned Thanksgiving chef, recipe God Mark Bittman’s handy app will offer you extra important details that will help anyone’s meal go smoothly. We especially appreciate the timing charts, which will tell you when to start defrosting as well as when to start boiling the potatoes so your mashed potatoes don’t get cold.
($4.99 for iPhone, iPad; Android users can download the full ebook on sale for $19.24, or the shorter How to Cook Everything for Thanksgiving for $2.99)
5. Open Table restaurant reservation app
We don’t want to jinx you or anything, but hey, if for some reason you forget to defrost your turkey or you put the oven temperature on a little too high, it’s always nice to know that you’ve got options. In someone else’s kitchen. (Free for iPhone, iPad, Android, and other mobile devices.)
We’ve got a slew cool cooking apps in our archives as well! Don’t miss them!
