2013 in Review

I debated posting something like this, since I only updated six months of the year. That's not really a full year. But I feel like I've done some of my strongest writing in those six months and there's a couple things I'd like to highlight.

More husband's doing nice things for me!

My most popular recipe in 2013 was hands down, the Holiday Baked Brie Appetizer. It's been viewed over a thousand times, which makes it the second most popular piece I've written here. Why did this one take off? One word: Pinterest. I started a Pinterest board for Northside Food a few months ago and I've been pinning my recipes there to see how they do. My Baked Brie seems to hit that magic Pinterest button of looking extremely fancy, but also being easy to reproduce. And I got it up during that magical pre-holiday window when everyone is party planning (or at least wishing they were).

My other most popular topic last year was Roswell's food truck park. Food trucks are hot, hot, hot right now and everyone was looking for more information about Roswell's first, stumbling steps towards jumping on this trend. Hopefully there will be more action on this front in 2014 and I'll have the time to write about it. Food trucks are pretty fun, even if the food is just as hit or miss as any new restaurant venture.

My most popular restaurant review wasn't even a restaurant. It was Wolf Mountain Winery in Dahlongah, Georgia. I spent a day there with my husband and enjoyed the scenery, a wine tasting and the cafe. My second most popular review was a write up of Little Alley's brunch service, which many people aren't aware of. Both of these were things my husband did as surprises for me. So the big lesson here is that he needs to do this more often.

More pizzas!

My biggest "I can't believe I didn't write this up yet" was the meal I had at Osteria Mattone back in freakin' November. Getting sick twice in December, plus holiday and end of semester lunacy kept me from updating here. I did upload the pictures here and still plan to write it up as soon as I get a chance.

Some other things I did, but didn't post about: meeting Deb Perelman and getting words of encouragement to come back to blogging, multiple attempts to make a chocolate chili poundcake that all ended badly, starting and not finishing a write up of the small taquerias that litter Alpharetta highway and this fantastic, tiny winery we found when we went apple picking in Elijay back in October.

I don't do New Year's Resolutions, but looking over my posts from the last six months, I'm noticing some trends I want to correct. I want to post fewer desserts and snacks and more vegetables and meals. I want to talk more about the cooking and lifestyle changes we've made to accommodate my husband's diabetes. I also want to go back and revisit some of the recipes I wrote in the early days of the blog. Most of them I've changed significantly since I first posted them and I want you to have the best version. I've already revisited my Kale and Sausage soup, but there's plenty more that need an update. And I'd like to continue with the regular posts here.

Overall, I think I'm in a good place with Northside Food. It reflects who I am and how I eat. I'd like to continue doing that.