iPad Apps

About a year ago I purchased an iPad. At first I thought I may have made a bad decision as I mostly played games on it..... but after searching on iTunes I started finding all kinds of apps that helped save time with some of the things I do for the newspaper as well as other things. One of the apps that I use every week is called JotNot. I use it to “scan” articles and photos for the paper.
Another app that I use all the time is called “Recipe Gallery.” With this app you can take a photo of a recipe from a magazine (no more tearing out pages at the doctor’s office!) or cookbook, put it in a category and then take a photo of the photo that goes with the recipe. You can also “capture” recipes from the Internet with this app.
The other day, when I was at the dentist office, I found this recipe in one of their magazines and it sounded like one that I would like to make for breakfast at my B&B so I used the app to copy it.

Maple Nut Coffee Cake

This flower-shaped coffee cake is actually quite easy to make. The impressive presentation makes it great to serve guests.
1 (16 oz.) package hot roll mix
3 T. sugar
3/4 c. warm water (120-130 degrees)
1 egg
1 t. maple flavoring
1/2 c. butter, melted, divided
Filling:
1/2 c. sugar
1 t. ground cinnamon
1/2 t. maple flavoring
1/3 c. chopped walnuts
Glaze:
1 1/2 c. confectioners’ sugar
1/4 t. maple flavoring
1-2 T. milk
In a large bowl, combine contents of hot roll mix and sugar. Stir in the water, egg, maple flavoring and 6 tablespoons butter; mix well.
Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 2-3 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 45-60 minutes.
Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide into thirds. Roll one portion into a 12-inch circle; transfer to a greased 12-inch pizza pan. Brush with some of the remaining butter. Combine sugar, cinnamon and maple flavoring; add nuts. Sprinkle a third of the filling over butter. Roll out second portion of dough into a 12-inch circle; place over filling. Brush with butter; sprinkle with a third of the remaining filling. Repeat with remaining dough, butter and filling.
Pinch dough around outer edge to seal. Place a small glass in center. But from outside edge just to the glass, forming 16 wedges. Remove the glass. Twist each wedge five to six times. Tuck edge under. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30-45 minutes.
Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pan to a wire rack to cool. Combine glaze ingredients; drizzle over warm coffee cake.

“Cake Pan Converter” takes the guess-work out of using a recipe that calls for a pan-size that you don’t have. You start by putting in the size pan the recipe calls for and then the size pan that you have that you think would be close; at the bottom it then tells you how to adjust the recipe or if you can use it as-is.
I am a very “visual” person so the app called “CookingPlanit” is really fun as it shows you pictures of the ingredients as well as the equipment you will need to make the recipe. It has meal plans that walk you through the whole meal - you can even talk to it, so if you are across the room you can say, “move on” and it goes to the next page; it has automatic timers that notify you when a recipe needs your attention. This app is really worth checking out if you have an iPad.
One recipe that I use from this app is called:

Parmesan Panko Chicken

4 (5 oz.) chicken cutlets
1/4 c. Parmesan cheese, grated
Black pepper
Kosher salt
3 T. Panko bread crumbs
1/3 c. mayonnaise
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees
Prepare a sheet pan with a layer of parchment paper. (I use my Silpat) Season both sides with salt and pepper, then divide the mayo mixture evenly among the cutlets. Smooth it over the tops in an even layer. Place the chicken in the preheated oven and bake until golden brown on top, about 12-15 minutes. Rotate the pan after 7 minutes to ensure even cooking.
Prepare a large plate or tray with layers of paper towels. Once chicken is removed from oven, transfer to the paper towels and let rest for a few minutes.
Transfer the Parmesan panko chicken cutlets to dinner plates or a serving platter.

Another app that I use all the time is the “Produce Converter.” It comes in handy when you are canning as you can figure out how many pounds of a vegetables/fruit that you want to have on hand in order to can a certain number of pints/quarts: .75 pounds of green beans = 1 pint. So if I wanted to can 12 pints of beans I would buy/pick 9 pounds. Obviously you can also use it for recipes where it calls for so many cups of apples, chopped: 1 pound of apples = about 3-4 medium; 1 medium apple = 3/4 c. chopped apples - and so forth.
The one app that I do use every day is called “Grocery Gadget.” I have mine programed so when I go shopping at Van’s IGA it has the items in my list sorted by the isle so all I have to do is start at one end of the grocery store and when I get to the other end - I’m done! You can also put in the prices so you know how much you will have to pay at check-out. You can sort by categories like: groceries, hardware store, pharmacy, bakery, etc. then add you items. You can also add different grocery store names under the “grocery” category so if you can’t find it at Van’s (and they can’t order it for you) you can enter in which grocery store does carry it. I have this app on both my iPhone and my iPad and they update each other. I usually have my iPhone on me so when I come across an item that I am low on I can quickly add it - but when I go shopping I like to use my iPad as it is bigger and easier to see and use. Print this post