If you're one of the many Houstonians who have already downloaded the Houston Press mobile app, you know just how handy it is to have the Press with you wherever you have your smartphone.

Today we're happy to announce that we're taking things up a notch with the new and improved version of our mobile app, available now for iPhone and Android users.

We know that when you open an app, you want to get straight to the information, and that's exactly what this new version of the app does. We've cut to the chase and ditched the home screen to get you to the information you're looking for faster than ever.

With the new app, you'll have access to our fully searchable event, concert and restaurant listings; slideshows of local events and nightlife; and all our daily blog content. You'll also have access to Voice Daily Deals if you're looking to save some cash next time you go out.

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Evernote Food 2.0 has more features for you to explore recipes and restaurants.

Evernote released Evernote Food last year as an application for you to remember the food you recently ate. Rather than just snapping a quick picture of your gorgeous meal you either created at home or enjoyed at a restaurant, and vowing you would blog about it but really ended up never looking at it again, this edition of Evernote Food allowed you to store those photos in one location, making it easier for you to find your photos and do what you wanted with them.

Basically, the original application was a digital food journal. While you made your meals, you could take photos and notes of the steps, or just take a picture of your meal and write a little note about it so you would remember what it was, where it was and how it tasted.

The upgraded version of this food application allows you to do so much more than just take pictures of your food. Whether you're on your iPhone or iPad, you can organize all of your culinary explorations.

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Even Snooki doesn't need a pickle slicer...

Every week this holiday season, we'll be posting our favorite food-centric gift ideas. Earlier this week, we featured Useful Kitchen Tools Under $30. To further help everyone avoid that awkward "Hey, didn't I get you that last year?" re-gifting moment, now we're sharing 5 Holiday Gifts That Nobody Actually Wants.

Make sure to avoid these useless gifts:

See also:
Top 5 Seasonal Booze Gifts
Top 5 Gifts for Wine Lovers
Top 5 Gifts for the Baker
5 Gifts for the Coffee Snob
Keeping It Kosher: Top 5 Hanukkah Gifts

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If all else fails, just get the puppy.

Every week this holiday season, we'll be posting our favorite food-centric gift ideas. This week, we're featuring Useful Kitchen Tools Under $30. Be sure to check back for guides on Gifts for Kids Who Cook, Last Minute Homemade Gifts and even Useless Gifts Nobody Really Wants.

Here are 5 Useful Items That Every Kitchen Needs (and I know this because I don't have/really need half of them):

See also:
- Top 5 Seasonal Booze Gifts
- Top 5 Gifts for Wine Lovers
- Top 5 Gifts for the Baker
- 5 Gifts for the Coffee Snob
- Keeping It Kosher: Top 5 Hanukkah Gifts

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The Food Network

You're in Las Vegas, and it's dinner time. Sure, there are hundreds of hotel restaurants you could try -- some of them even worth it -- but you are remembering a restaurant you saw on the Food Network. It was on The Best Thing I Ever Ate, and it was about a Chinese place with a very spicy dish that Ming Tsai liked. Do you give up and hit the buffet? No, pull out your trusty phone app MapMuse or The Food Network On the Road.

There it is - Lotus of Siam on East Sahara Ave., and you are ordering the nam prik ong. Dinner saved. These apps are chock full of your favorite Food Network and Cooking Channel TV shows, and MapMuse even has shows from other networks, like No Reservations. Of course, there are good and bad things about each one, so I have both on my phone.

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Photos by Molly Dunn

This food scale guarantees accurate nutritional information to help you follow a healthy diet.

Last Christmas, my mom purchased the Eat Smart Nutrition Pro Scale for me to use while I cook. I have type 1 diabetes and need to know how many carbohydrates and grams of fiber are in each item of food I eat. So, when I'm cooking, especially with foods that don't have a nutrition label on the back of the package (mainly produce and protein), this handy-dandy nutrition scale solves all of my problems.

Now, not everyone has type 1 diabetes and needs to take insulin to cover each gram of carb they take in, but if you want to watch your calories while you're on a diet plan, you most certainly can do that, too. Or, if you just want to weigh your ingredients while you're baking, you can do that as well.

The nutrition food scale tells you the ounces or grams in one ingredient -- the calories, carbohydrates, protein, fiber, sodium, potassium, magnesium, total fats, saturated fats, cholesterol, calcium and vitamin K.

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Father's Day is right around the corner. If you enjoy procrastination as much as I do, then you haven't gotten a gift yet, either. But don't fret! Whether your dad's a master griller, an aspiring molecular gastronomist or a total wino, we have plenty of gift ideas for him.

Gourmet Spices & Sauces

Places like Brookstone and Williams-Sonoma sell fantastic gourmet products. If your dad is a steak man, pick him up this six-piece Peter Luger steak sauce gift set ($45). For a grill master, this Ultimate Grilling Rub Collection ($27.95) makes the perfect gift. Or pump up his barbecue with this Gourmet Condiment Set ($49.95), featuring toppings like Celery Relish, Hot Tomato Ketchup and Chili Sauce.

Grill Gadgets

Want something unique? These personalized meat branders are adorable. Try this Stainless Steel Chick Can Cooking Rack ($5.99) to make a delicious Beer Can Chicken. And this set of Cordierite Pizza Stones ($49.95) are perfect for the grill.

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Phaedra Cook

This plate of cookies and truffles has zero calories, according to Meal Snap. Dig in!

Last week, our editor asked if anyone was interested in evaluating an iPhone application called "Meal Snap." Since I both work in IT and write about food, this sounded like a perfect assignment for me. I love playing with new technology.

Meal Snap claims that you can take a photo of your plate and it will figure out what you are eating and approximately how many calories are in it. It seemed like a dubious idea, and I wondered if the application was any good. After all, I could stand to lose a few pounds. Being a food writer is hard on the waistline, and if Meal Snap worked, it could be a fantastic diet tool. I guess I could rely on self-discipline, too, but that hasn't worked yet.

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Note-taking smart phone app Evernote is widely considered one of the best productivity apps on the market, particularly if you do a lot of note taking. I ranked it as my number one app of the year and find it indispensable for keeping track of everyday tasks.

The company that produced Evernote just released a version geared for food lovers not terribly creatively called Evernote Food. The free smart phone app allows its users to keep track of meals as they happen and archive them for posterity complete with photos, locations and notes on the meal, but it's not quite ready for prime time.

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Roasted Banana-Rum Gel Setting

Back in December, I wrote about Gelatin Clarified Stock. It's a wonderful technique, and one I still use. It is, however, slow. Due to the melting point of gelatin and the structure of the gel it sets, it requires both freezing and cold-thawing to work properly. Both of these steps take time. Fortunately, gelatin is not the only hydrocolloid on the block.

Agar, a derivative of red algae, is one such hydrocolloid. Lately, I've been exploiting a few of its particular properties in the kitchen, with some wonderful results. One of agar's benefits is the fact of its provenance. Since it doesn't come from animals, agar can be used to quickly and easily clarify vegetarian stocks and juices. I'm not vegetarian, so this fact is actually of minimal importance to me. What makes agar gel particularly appealing to me, especially in this application, is the fact that it is not as easily thermoreversible as gelatin.

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