I took a brief spin with the iCookbook app ($4.99 in the ITunes app store) last weekend, installing it on both my iPhone 4 and iPad 2 -- its one of those apps you buy once and can put on multiple devices linked to the same Apple iTunes account.

I really liked the app, which sets itself apart by offering voice commands. The idea is the cook, while preparing a dish, can speak instructions such as "next," to move to the next step in the process, and "back," to move to the previous one. While this is a neat trick, it's not enough reason alone to recommend the app. I do recommend it, however, because it's very user-friendly and offers a ton of recipes, along with easy ways to store them for access later. I also liked that you can write and save notes within a recipe.

Check out a couple of screenshots from the Mama's Beer Chili recipe -- I used Great Lakes Christmas Ale as the beer, giving me an excuse to have a few sips of the brilliant concoction before noon -- along with a couple of photos of the finished product. After that you'll see my video review. Please not that I refer to the app as "iCooking" in the video, which is incorrect.

-- Mark Meszoros | Entertainment@News-Herald.com | @nhfeatures