Review: DK Quick Cook App for iPad
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I use my iPad almost every day, whether it's for checking email, reading a book, playing a game, or spending way too much time on Facebook. My absolute favourite place to use my iPad: In the kitchen. Taking the place of a huge, heavy cookbook, it’s become my trusty, bright, stylish sous-chef. I recently had as many as 9 different recipe-based apps on my iPad, but as of this week, I'm down to just one: the DK Quick Cook App.
Based on the best-selling Cook Express book, the DK Quick Cook App does what many of my recently-deleted apps did, but oh-so much more. From choosing recipes and creating shopping lists to the cooking itself, this gorgeous app makes time spent in the kitchen easy, fun, and just about as stress-free as possible.
Here are just a few of the highlights:
507 Illustrated Recipes (and counting...)
Starters, mains, desserts, and just about any other category of meal you can think of, the app is chock-full of delicious recipes. A couple of my favourites are the Caramelized Carrots, the Beef and Parsnip Stew, and the Raspberry Crème Brûlée, which is my new it-looks-really-complicated-but-it's-actually-insanely-easy dessert for when I'm trying to impress.
507 Illustrated Recipes (and counting...)
Starters, mains, desserts, and just about any other category of meal you can think of, the app is chock-full of delicious recipes. A couple of my favourites are the Caramelized Carrots, the Beef and Parsnip Stew, and the Raspberry Crème Brûlée, which is my new it-looks-really-complicated-but-it's-actually-insanely-easy dessert for when I'm trying to impress.
Another one of my favourite features: Prep time doesn't exceed 45 minutes for any of the 500+ recipes, with many of the final meals ready in about 30 minutes total. You’ll be able to spend the extra time with your family, catching-up on TV, or doing just about anything that doesn’t involve making a mess in your kitchen.
Something for Everyone: Recipe Search & Filters
Search results via keywords alone is so 2010. With the DK Quick Cook App, you can narrow results into some pretty specific categories, including (but certainly not limited to): Vegetarian, Freezable (amazing for mums who like to plan ahead), Healthy, What's in my refrigerator?, Prep Time (from 10 minutes or less to 60 minutes or less), Course (Starters and Light Bites, Side Dishes and Sauces), and Key Ingredient (from Aduki Beans to Yellow Split Peas, and just about everything in-between). If you can’t find something you love, I take pity on your taste buds.
Search results via keywords alone is so 2010. With the DK Quick Cook App, you can narrow results into some pretty specific categories, including (but certainly not limited to): Vegetarian, Freezable (amazing for mums who like to plan ahead), Healthy, What's in my refrigerator?, Prep Time (from 10 minutes or less to 60 minutes or less), Course (Starters and Light Bites, Side Dishes and Sauces), and Key Ingredient (from Aduki Beans to Yellow Split Peas, and just about everything in-between). If you can’t find something you love, I take pity on your taste buds.
Check It Out: Creating a Shopping List
Once you’ve decided on a recipe or three, it’s off to the store to pick up the ingredients. The DK Quick Cook App makes shopping a breeze by allowing you to order your list by recipe or (magically) by supermarket aisle, saving you both time and sanity. Email the list to your smart phone directly from the app and you’re off in record time. Can it get any easier than that?
Once you’ve decided on a recipe or three, it’s off to the store to pick up the ingredients. The DK Quick Cook App makes shopping a breeze by allowing you to order your list by recipe or (magically) by supermarket aisle, saving you both time and sanity. Email the list to your smart phone directly from the app and you’re off in record time. Can it get any easier than that?
Today's Specials: Building Your Own Menus
If you’re looking for more than one recipe at a time (think birthday party, date night, etc.), you can save as many as you’d like as a menu. Once you’ve whittled your options down to your favs, you can then review, reorganise, add, or remove potential recipes from the final menu. You can also create and store the menus well in advance, so any time you see one that catches your eye, you can simply add it to a menu for future use. A fun bonus feature: The app also allows you to share your menus with friends, in case you want some feedback (or if you want to impress them with your mastery of the culinary arts).
If you’re looking for more than one recipe at a time (think birthday party, date night, etc.), you can save as many as you’d like as a menu. Once you’ve whittled your options down to your favs, you can then review, reorganise, add, or remove potential recipes from the final menu. You can also create and store the menus well in advance, so any time you see one that catches your eye, you can simply add it to a menu for future use. A fun bonus feature: The app also allows you to share your menus with friends, in case you want some feedback (or if you want to impress them with your mastery of the culinary arts).
No Bookshelf Required: Quick Cook Recipe Collections
The app goes for £3.99 (which works out to only £0.007 per recipe!), but if 507 recipes aren’t enough for you, you can always add-on to your collection with additional recipe packs at £0.69 each. You can choose from Easy Baking, Healthy Suppers, Super Speedy Suppers, and No-Fuss Entertaining.
The app goes for £3.99 (which works out to only £0.007 per recipe!), but if 507 recipes aren’t enough for you, you can always add-on to your collection with additional recipe packs at £0.69 each. You can choose from Easy Baking, Healthy Suppers, Super Speedy Suppers, and No-Fuss Entertaining.
With well over 600 delicious recipes in all, the DK Quick Cook App will help you put mouthwatering meals on your table for years to come.
The DK Quick Cook App is a prime example of what an app can do that a book can't: With bright, beautiful photos, emailable shopping lists, and additional expansion packs, the days of turning butter-stained pages in a clunky cookbook are long gone.
Is this the future of home cooking? I sure hope so.
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The DK Quick Cook App is available for £3.99 from the App Store on iPad or at www.itunes.com/appstore. Additional recipe packs are available for £0.69 each through In-App Purchase.
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Want to download the DK Quick Cook App on your very own iPad 2? Then enter now for your chance to win a black 16GB Wi-Fi Apple iPad 2!
Just check out the competition page for further details. Competition ends Friday 4 November, so enter now!
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