Holiday season means entertaining, which in turn means cooking for others. Whether you're a Food Network star in the making or a microwave reheat-and-serve sort of chef, a cooking app can help in so many ways: step-by-step instructions, colorful inspiring images, timers, grocery lists, and meal planners. Here are some of our favorite apps we've got loaded up while oven is baking and stove simmering...

iOS

How to Cook Everything
This visually stimulating app also comes in vegetarian flavor, but we'll focus on the main version: the app's library consists of 2,000 recipes complete with concise instructions and beautiful pictures as you go along. Outside of the kitchen you can use it to get inspired for meals throughout the week with the option to add recipes to your calendar and as a shopping list. When the going gets tough in the kitchen the multiple timers functionality comes in handy for maintaining full control. $5

The Video Cookbook
For the cooking channel fanatic there's the Video Cookbook, a multimedia cooking guide. Full video for each of their 134 recipes detail from beginning to end numerous appetizers, main dishes, sauces, side dishes and desserts. Videos are downloaded to your handset rather than streamed and individual ones can be deleted to save disk space. There's even a grocery list feature that's simple to add items to, just select the recipe in question and it's done with the tap of a button. $6 - Also available for Android

Android

250,000+ Recipes BigOven
BigOven is home to a grand arsenal of user generated recipes and upholds it all with stunning visuals and a clean, clear interface. In the Holidays cooking for more people is a whole new ball game and that's where the scale recipes feature becomes a lifesaver. When there's heaping amounts of leftovers BigOven offers ideas for different meals to use them with, saving from good food going to waste. Free - Also available for iOS/Windows Phone

AllRecipes.com Dinner Spinner
Do you want to try something new? Unsure of what to make? Dinner Spinner from AllRecipes exposes the possibilities of any given ingredient. Using your smartphone camera to scan the ingredients barcode, you can find recipes or add them to the shopping list. If you have a guest with certain dietary needs you can also search for recipes based on vegetarian, gluten free and more. Free - Also available for iOS/Windows Phone

Windows Phone

Epicurious
Another cross platform app that's easy on the eyes (and wallet) is Epicurious. With 30,000+ recipes and the option to add your own, it's a sure thing to find something for everyone. Creating a grocery list is easy and seamless and it's inspiring browsing through the selection. Create a favorites list and even share with friends and family to whet their appetite before the big dinner. Free - Also available for iOS/Android

10,000+ Recipes
With a name like 10,000+ Recipes, this app doesn't mess around. A wide selection of breakfast, brunch, lunch, appetizers, soups, salads, dinner and dessert recipes are cleanly laid out in an easy to find interface with clear and concise instructions. Finding recipes based on diabetic or vegetarian diets is a handy function when preparing sweets for those with a stricter sugar diet. $4 - Also available for Android

(Images: 1. Jason Rodway, all others: as credited above.)