Cheese Straws & Resolutions

Midway through the holiday madness I was contacted by a fellow North Carolinian who was wondering if I would be interested in reviewing some cheese straws.  Not just any cheese straws, but his family’s 100 year old recipe that his mother and uncle just started selling in small, artisan batches.  Now, I’m picky about product reviews because I hate the idea of disappointing someone or, worse, making you all feel disillusioned by what goes on here at B&S.  But cheese straws? From a sweet brother and sister combo in Concord, NC? How could I resist?!?

These bad boys arrived on our doorstep just before we headed on our whirlwind Christmas vacation.  I snagged a few for the road and then spent the next week thinking about them.  They are perfect, everything a cheese straw should be.  Spicy, soft but not too soft, cheesy, salty, amazing.  As we were setting up for Dan’s party last weekend Charlotte (a Tennessean and lover of all things cheese straw) and I spent a fair amount of time savoring these, trying to taste for different spices, carefully considering how we felt about them.  Our conclusion? Delicious.  Everything a cheese straw should be.  We strongly suggest that you visit Ritchie Hill’s site and see for yourself.

In other news, it’s a new year, which means it’s time for goals and planning and thinking into the future.  I know the past few weeks around here have been heavy on the reflections and musings side of things (and light on the recipes and eating side of things), but forgive me as I take one more stab at it (I’ll be back tomorrow with more of the edibles).  My B&S related goals for this year are as follows:

– Continue expanding our recipe collection

– To actually make some instructional movies like I keep promising

– To take more process shots now that I have a fancy new flash

– To add to our set and prop collection

– To create images that inspire and to push myself to stay creative

– To write a post dedicated solely to the photography on this site

– To eat more pie

That’s not such a huge list, and hopefully it’ll be something that is constantly morphing throughout the year.  I’m hoping that 2012 is a year of big growth for me, in the kitchen, in the garden, as a photographer… I have high hopes.  That being said, I’m interested in hearing the sorts of things you would like to see around here.  More pie? Less musing? All the cheese? Let me know.  Let’s make 2012  a great year, together.  Okay, that’s enough cheese.

*Ritchie Hill didn’t pay me to say nice things about them.  In fact, all they did was send me a box of cheese straws (complimentary).  And I ate them.  And they were delicious.