Tips On Grilling Steaks

Plan your Fourth of July barbecue on iOS

Independence Day is coming on July 4th, and that means people will be getting together to light fireworks or watch fireworks shows, and--perhaps most importantly--cook great food.

Though this might seem early with the 4th of July more than a week away, we wanted to make sure everybody had time to figure out their menus and get their supplies ready before the mad rush to the grocery stores. With these apps, you can start planning for the perfect Independence Day feast.

This week's app collection is all about cooking apps for iOS. The first lets you browse recipes from famous chefs on the Food Network; the second gives you a giant database of recipes and cooking guidance for any time of year; and the third is perfect for planning and cooking outdoors on the barbecue.

In The Kitchen ($1.99) gives you a database of delicious recipes from all your favorite Food Network chefs. The interface offers a number of ways to find a good recipe, either by using a search tool or by touching the image of a chef from the Food Network.

Browse through thousands of recipes from popular chefs including Bobby Flay, Alton Brown, Paula Deen, Giada De Laurentiis, and Rachael Ray, and get reviews for recipes from other users. Once you decide on a dish, you can have In The Kitchen create a shopping list for you so you can check off ingredients as you walk around the store. The shopping list is particularly helpful because you can add just the items you need or all the items from multiple dishes. Even if you don't want to make a particular recipe today, you can store favorites in a recipe box so you can get back to them later.

Along with tons of recipes from your favorite Food Network chefs, handy tools for shopping, and a recipe box for your favorites, In The Kitchen offers timers so you don't even need to set a separate one. With all these features and the addition of special seasonal recipe collections, anyone who wants to add to his or her cooking repertoire should definitely download this app.

How to Cook Everything ($4.99) is a cooking and recipe app based on New York Times columnist Mark Bittman's best-selling cookbook, and it offers several easy-to-use tools that will be extremely helpful for your holiday feast.

The interface is very intuitive, with an opening screen that acts as a launching point for whatever you might want to cook. You can browse recipes; learn how to perform specific kitchen duties with kitchen basics; or search for recipes by entering a keyword in the search field. You have additional options when you're not sure what you want to cook with buttons for Bittman's picks, most popular recipes, featured recipes, or a selection of easy-to-make quick dinners. There also are buttons across the bottom of the screen for your saved favorites, your shopping list, and more.

7 Steps to Grilling the Perfect Filet Mignon (with pictures ...

Mr. Banks taught us a few awesome tips for grilling a good steak, and with Father’s Day just around the corner, I thought I’d share some of my new-found grilling super powers. Brent and I thought we’d put his pro tips to work on a pair of filet mignon (filets mignon? help me out here).

These tips also work great on a t-bone, porterhouse, ribeye, or strip steak . I like a filet mignon because it is super lean and tender. It’s a non weight bearing cut so it is often so tender you can cut it with your fork. My kind of steak. My husband prefers something with a little more flavor and marble, so we may be grilling His and Hers steaks for Father’s Day this year.

Any of the cuts I mentioned are pretty great for turning out a great steak. Just make sure to buy the right breed and brand. Mr. Banks says Black Angus is his favorite.

(As a random side note, you may not have been around long enough to know we raised a couple black angus of our own . They are not my favorite to raise. They love to break out, usually while you are trying to feed your children breakfast. I was forever herding them home, usually dropping everything mid-breakfast, throwing on pasture boots and occasionally running dead sprint to cut them off, all this while I was 7-months pregnant. ya. good times.)