Thanksgiving: A Bon Appétit Manual review

Are you the Thanksgiving chef , or do you assist one? Are you looking for a new spin on old favorites? Were you assigned a dish for the office potluck and have no idea where to begin? The Thanksgiving: A Bon Appétit Manual iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad app is filled with menus, dishes, tips, step-by-step instructions, videos, and an iCal sync to help you purchase, prepare, and perfectly time your Thanksgiving meal. The free iTunes App Store download is enhanced by its smart navigation, excellent interface, and gorgeous visual impact.

The fantastic navigation is successfully aided by the top menu bar. There are four icons in the upper left corner that change the content of the main screen. The knife and fork icon opens the recipes screen. The lightbulb icon leads to a matrix grid of tips like brining with a cooler, fixing gravy, and how to make whipped cream. The video icon has spectacularly-produced how-to videos. Finally, the calendar icon opens the sync authorization for your Thanksgiving duties to show up on iCal.

The recipe home screen contains a matrix grid with a striking and elegant photo of the food and the title of the recipe. The default screen is all recipes, but a one-touch sort feature in the middle at the top of the screen allows you to search between recipes and thoughtfully-curated menus like Classic, Modern, Southern, and New Traditions. You can also touch the categories icon to sort between 11 options.

When you touch a recipe, there is a magazine-style spread with a photo, list of ingredients, and a narrative description of the directions. A video tip icon sits just to the right of the directions, and a touch leads to a pop-up with relevant video tutorials for the recipe. You can add the recipe to your calendar with a touch on the plus icon. On the photo, there is an orange icon to switch the recipe to cooking mode.

The two cooking mode views of the recipe are awesome – with one being my absolute favorite. The recipe slides up from the bottom of the screen without a photo, but it contains the list of ingredients and narrative description of the directions. At the bottom of the screen, you drag up the step-by-step directions. It looks like a recipe card, but each step is written in large font. The next direction is available by swiping to the next virtual recipe card. You can actually see these directions from across the room. I love this feature. As a serious home cook, I frequently write out the recipes I find online, as digital interfaces are not always complementary to the dynamic process of cooking a detailed recipe.

Thanksgiving: A Bon Appétit Manual iPad app incorporates a cool iCal sync and customizable calendar to add to-do items. You simply set the time you plan to serve your Thanksgiving meal and authorize it to sync with iCal. Your shopping, preparation, and cooking schedule is automatically created. The calendar view is a well-organized matrix that starts with ordering your turkey five weeks before Thanksgiving. The times you need to complete a task run in a vertical column on the left side of the screen, and each time slot’s tasks are listed horizontally. You can add tasks manually by touching the plus icon to customize it.

The Thanksgiving: A Bon Appétit Manual iPad app keeps you inspired and organized. But, most importantly, it helps you get a great Thanksgiving meal on the table, so you can enjoy time with friends and family.