5 killer iPhone apps for foodies

Believe it or not, my stomach is looking forward to the arrival of my iPad (hurry up, UPS!) just as much as my brain. That's because I can envision the tablet on my kitchen counter (sitting upright in a dirt-cheap stand, of course), serving up page after page of delicious recipes, each with tantalizing photos and large, easy-to-read text.

In the meantime, I'm making due with my iPhone (or my wife's iPod Touch--whatever's closer). The print may be a little small, but the cooking/recipe apps are first-rate. Here's a list of my five favorites:

AllRecipes.com Dinner Spinner An oldie but goodie, Dinner Spinner taps thousands of recipes from the popular site (home of some of my favorite chocolate-chip cookie recipes, FYI). You can search the library for specific recipes or use the "spinner" to browse by dish type, ingredients, or prep time. The app is free, though you may want to spring for the $2.99 ad-free Pro version.

Epicurious Recipes & Shopping List Stocked with a whopping 28,000 recipes from leading magazines, cookbooks, and chefs, this app almost crosses over into overkill. Search for something generic like "cookies," for instance, and you'll likely end up overwhelmed by the one-recipe-per-page results. Still, I love being able to browse, search, save, and e-mail (a new feature in the just-released 2.0 version) all the recipes. And, hey, it's a freebie, so what do you have to lose?

Become a master of the coals with the 99-cent Grill-It! app.

How to Cook Everything Based on the eponymous book by renowned chef Mark Bittman, this app is more than just a recipe book--though it has a couple thousand of those. It's also a how-to guide, covering everything from kitchen equipment to cooking techniques to meal planning. The interface gets a little quirky in spots, but ultimately this is one of my favorite cooking apps--and it's a steal at $1.99. (The hardcover costs $35.)

Grill-It! I'll cop to being pretty clueless when it comes to manning the grill. This app from online magazine GrillingCompanion.com teaches you everything you need to know about flame-broiling burgers, dogs, chicken, veggies, and just about everything else. The info is solid (and helpful), but the interface has the annoying habit of cutting off recipe titles. "Tips on How to Cook Perfect...", for example. Perfect what?! Price: 99 cents.

Martha's Everyday Food My wife and I subscribe to (and enjoy) the print edition of "Martha's Everyday Food," so we jumped at the chance to get the recipe library in app form. Just one problem: although you can search Martha's database, you can't browse it! That's a rather stunning oversight in an otherwise worthwhile app, which includes a convenient grocery-list builder and a dinner recipe of the day. Price: 99 cents.

OK, your turn. What apps keep you company in the kitchen? Hit the comments and list your favorites. Anything dealing with cooking, baking, drinking, or foodery in general is OK by me.