The 2011 Academy Awards will be held today Sunday, February 27th and movie fans are gearing up for the big day. While the world is discussing which movies will be receiving awards for being the best of the best, many of you will be frantically planning a last-minute get together. To help you with that process, we have compiled five must-have apps to help you with the party preparation.
Punchbowl (iPhone / iPod touch only )
Punch Bowl is an event planning app that lets you host an event, invite guests, and create and manage a list of food items for a potluck. A message board feature lets you share information with your guests, especially helpful for large groups. You can also use the app to find local vendors for those hard-to-find party items. Punch Bowl is available for free in the App Store.
How to Cook Everything (iPhone and iPod touch; iPad)
Want to cook but not sure how to prepare those scallops? Then check out “How to Cook Everything”, an app that does exactly what its name describes. The app has a database of 2,000 recipes and 400 how-to illustrations that will help you refine your cooking technique.
Extra benefits include support for the iPhone retina display, multi-tasking in iOS 4 devices, metric and standard measurements, built-in timer and the ability to add recipes to the iOS calendar. Last but not least, How to Cook Everything includes social network support so you can easily share your cooking adventures with friends and family. The app is available both for the iPhone or the iPad and will set you back a mere $4.99.
Allrecipes – Your Kitchen Inspiration (iPad only)
Allrecipes is an excellent resource for cooks, regardless of their cooking level. The website has a variety of recipes along with user reviews and community-submitted changes. The iPad version of the application brings the power of the website to your tablet device. You can search recipes by course, cooking method, or prep time. Once you have you a list of recipes, you can narrow your results using a filter which sorts recipes by popularity and/or member rating. The app is available for free, but if you are an Allrecipes member, you will want to upgrade to the Pro version. The $4.99 Pro version lets you tap into your online recipe box and removes any ads that are present in the free version.
Dip Diva (iPhone / iPod touch only)
Love dips, but lack the creative flair to come up with your own? Then you should check out Dip Diva, an iPhone app with a variety of dip-related recipes. The app is geared for the vegan and features 20 creative recipes with detailed step-by-step instructions. Images and commentary supplement these well-crafted recipes so you won’t mess up when you are down to the wire with your guests arriving in minutes. For those that like to look beyond the five-layer nacho dip, you should definitely check out Dip Diva. It’s only $0.99, what do you have to lose?
Shaken, Not Stirred (iPhone and iPod touch; iPad)
Shaken, Not Stirred is a cocktail recipe application with over 50 unique drink recipes that feature striking photographs of full-glass presentations of each drink. Fun and informative, Shaken, Not Stirred lets you search by spirit, flavor, color or theme. Not sure of what drink you want? You can shake your phone to get a random recipe as well as swipe through the recipes until you find one you like. The color photos set this app apart and make it worth its $1.99 price tag. Even the screenshots below make me thirsty.
GetGlue (iPhone and iPod touch; iPad )
GetGlue, the social network for entertainment, has partnered with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to bring several new, speciality stickers for checking into the 83rd Annual Academy Awards when it airs on Sunday, February 27th. The stickers are sponsored by Mercedes-Benz and you must peel off the Mercedes branding to reveal your Oscar sticker. E! The Entertainment network and Jimmy Kimmel Live! are also working with GetGlue to let users of the social network sign-in during and after the Oscars to earn even more stickers. The GetGlue application is available for free in the App Store for the iPad, iPhone and iPod touch.