Let's be honest, family and friends are swell, but food is really the star of the show whenever the November holiday rolls around, right? That means that whether you're you're celebrating at home or heading out to a potluck, the heat is on to make something oh so delicious for the festivities.

To help you in your endeavor, we've got a list of our favorite cooking apps for the Android platform. They'll not only help you find the best Thanksgiving recipes to get you started, but they'll also provide you with some extra tools to get the cooking done more efficiently.

Editors' note: For iOS cooking apps, check out Jason Parker's roundup.

In the Kitchen ($1.99) If you're a Food Network fanatic like I am, then In the Kitchen is the app for you. It gives you an extensive database of recipes straight from the kitchens of your favorite Food Network chefs, and all of it is easily navigable, thanks to some simple search and browsing tools.

With In the Kitchen, you can run a search based on ingredient or dish, or you can simply tap the image of your favorite chef to run through his or her famous recipes. Some chefs have thousands of recipes listed in the app's databa... [Read more]

There are tons of apps at the App Store for booking flights, but with Thanksgiving only two days away, I decided to make a different kind of travel collection.

The first app will help you get packed and ready for your trip, the second will help people picking up family at the airport, and the third helps you keep your holiday memories with a convenient blogging tool.

Packing Pro lays out pre-trip preparations and your packing list to make it easy to check things off.

Packing Pro ($2.99) gets you ready for your big trip before you leave by making sure you have everything you need while away from home.

If you like to make lists, this app is a dream come true for planning a vacation. You start by creating your trip, then add everything from pre-trip preparations to every item of clothing you're going to need -- all by choosing each item from an exhaustive pre-made list. If your particular item is not already included (I couldn't find Q-tips, for example), you can add items to the database that will be ready for every trip list thereafter.

What makes this app especially useful is the way it automatically organizes different items. The pre-trip planning section, for example, reminds you that you might need to update your passport, buy travelers insura... [Read more]

Mozilla's Social API debuts with Facebook integration in Firefox. (Shown here in Firefox Beta.)

Facebook has accepted a friend request from Firefox and Mozilla's new Social API today, as the browser updates with several security and feature updates after yesterday's Firefox for Android update.

The biggest feature debut in Firefox 17 (download for Windows | Mac | Linux) is the Social API, launching with Facebook Messenger, which allows participating social-networking sites to create persistent sidebar access to their site. Although most new browser technologies depend on entirely on how many developers integrate it, the Social API likely will be different.

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Nokia's Here Maps.

Nokia is going all in on mapping services for iOS.

The company yesterday launched Here Maps, a free application that provides a host of features for travelers. The mapping application is powered by Navteq data, the same information used in the majority of in-car navigation systems. Users are able to view maps and get real-time traffic data on a particular area. Here Maps also includes a satellite view and the ability to save map areas for later.

To add a social flavor, Here Maps lets users create and save maps that can be accessed by others. Users can also share points of interest.

Nokia showed off Here at a special event last week. The cloud-based platform was touted by Nokia CEO Stephen Elop, who said that the platform is capable of "transforming mapping." He noted that the application's goal is "creating more personal maps that change how we navigate our lives."

But that's not all. Elop also mentioned that "openness is what sets Here apart," adding that it will be coming to most mobile operating systems in the coming months. A software development kit for Android, in fact, is rolling out in the first quarter of 2013.

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Malware scan results on Norton Mobile Security for Android.

Norton Mobile Security has taken the unusual step today of merging its mobile licensing so that you pay once and can use the mobile security suite on either Android or iOS. It's an effort to make Norton's security more accessible, and parent company Symantec wants to turn Norton accessibility into a security service.

The change isn't drastic, said Con Mallon, senior director of Norton mobile product management, but natural. "The new Norton Mobile Security is both a Web service and a mobile service," he said in a phone interview with CNET. "We're going to start moving away from a hard one or two devices, and we're saying that people can use multiple devices."

Mallon clarified that this wasn't the typical, limited number of devices, either. "We have a anti-abuse policy set loosely at 10 devices, but for the $30 [Norton Mobile Security costs] you can put it on a lot of devices." Given that Norton Mobile Security works on both Android and iOS, albeit with more features on the Android version, that's not a bad deal for people who are not wedded to one operating system.

Norton Mobile Security on iOS lets you backup and restore your contacts to Androids as well as other iOS devices.

(Credit: Syma... [Read more]

OK, so you you can't remotely drive a BMW with a phone like James Bond does in "Tomorrow Never Dies," but there are plenty of real apps that will let you take control of your car and its tech with little more than your smartphone and a data connection. From beaming destinations to your Toyota's navigation system with Entune to remotely unlocking your doors with GM's OnStar RemoteLink, we've rounded up a few of the best car-controlling apps.

(Credit: General Motors/Onstar)

OnStar RemoteLink (Android, iOS, BlackBerry) When many people think about General Motors' OnStar telematics service, they think about the little blue button on the rearview mirror, but that's only one part of the picture. The other half is the sweet OnStar Remote Link. With this app, you can remotely lock and unlock your doors, start or stop your vehicle's engine, and honk the horn and flash the lights to help you locate your ride in a crowded parking lot. A vehicle finder shows you where your car is on a map. You can also search for destinations and send them to your car's OnStar system for turn-by-turn navigation. [Read more]