This is too cute not to share...

I've mentioned a few times lately that I've been getting a lot of contacts from PR firms.  Most of the requests come from people who have obviously never given my blog even a basic perusal, but occasionally an interesting offer will come through.  Recently I was contacted by someone letting me know that Epicurean has recently added an Idaho variety to their line of state-shaped cutting boards.  Yes, you read that correctly.  I might have shrugged it off were it not for the fact that they offered to send one to me to write about or perhaps do a giveaway with.  I was pretty disappointed to the response for the last giveaway I offered, so suffice it to say I'm keeping this thing for myself.

 Turns out Epicurean is actually a pretty interesting company.  All their products are made right here in the good ol' USA like the man said, and they got their start by using excess materials left over from the manufacturing of skate park surfaces.  That struck me as odd for a second before I thought about it and remembered how durable that stuff is.  Most of their product at this point is comprised at least partially of recycled materials, but apparently not the natural/slate varieties (such as the state-shaped boards).  I'm not going to just regurgitate their bio or or promotional info, but there is a lot more information on their products and the materials that go into them here.

Now, back to the matter at hand.  As the sticker above shows, the claims on this cutting/serving board are that it's dishwasher safe, heat resistant (to 350 degrees), non-porous, and comes with a lifetime warranty.  What's the down side, right?  While, in terms of using this as a cutting board, the downside is that even though the board is 16" x 14", the unique shape of our state pretty much rules out using this, at least for me.  I like big cutting boards, because when I pull one out I usually have a lot of different things to chop the hell out of.  It's nice to be able to spread out rather than having to wipe down a smaller board multiple times.  Well, unless working with raw meat, obviously.  The top might be good for chopping chives or mincing garlic, but you're not going want to cut up meat, onions or potatoes on it.  So, the actual effective usable area is more like 8" x 14".  Besides, the thing is just too cute to be scratching up with knives.  As a serving board?  Now we're talking, especially now that it's meat and cheese tray season.  Hell, it would be cute to have just as a display item hanging in your kitchen or to give as a gift to a fellow Idaho foodie.  I probably should have posted this sooner than four days before Christmas.  By the way, has anyone come up with a better term than foodie yet?

If you're interested, you can head to http://www.epicureancs.com/state-shape-cutting-boards.php to pick up one of these things for $29.99.  There is one available for each of the other states that's not comprised of a number of small land masses as well, all either $24.99 or $29.99 depending on the size of the board and the intricacy of the design.  They also have a ton of other cutting board designs, pizza peels, utensils, knife racks, etc.  Personally, I'm thisclose to ordering this interesting all-in-one measuring spoon.

I'm sorry that I didn't post this in time for those who might have wanted to buy one in time for the holidays, but then again there are a number of local stores that carry Epicurean products, so there's always a chance one of them might carry it.  Or just buy it as a belated gift, and when they ask you why it's late, just tell them it's because Track sucks.