One of the perks of my job is sampling new products, and two particularly interesting new artisanal food items have shown up at the office recently. Culinary entrepreneurs Jennifer and David Blanco of 444 Gourmet Creations dropped off a package of the distinctive buñuelos they are currently testing in the Austin market in hopes of producing and selling the product here. Though buñuelos are often made from thinly rolled and fried flour tortillas, the Blancos' version of this popular Northern Mexico pastry is made by coating a decorative metal mold with a thin batter and deep-frying it in canola oil before being dusted with cinnamon sugar. During this holiday season, they'll sell pastries in the shape of turkeys, pumpkins, stars, and Christmas trees. I thought the buñuelos were delicious – delicate and crisp, lightly sweet and pleasantly spicy. They're a great snack with coffee or hot chocolate and would make a festive holiday dessert base for ice cream and cajeta or caramelized fruit and whipped cream. Starting in November, look for the Blancos' buñuelos at a kiosk in Barton Creek Square mall near Starbucks and the booth for photos with Santa.

I'm genuinely surprised when I receive a hot sauce sample that's not related to the annual Austin Chronicle Hot Sauce Festival competition, but Metroplex salsa maker David Evans had already achieved distribution in more than 900 grocery and drug stores in Texas and surrounding states before he sent samples of his new Burnt Orange Texas Salsa for our consideration. I shared the jars of Evans' salsa around the office and brought some home, as well. The low-sodium, low-calorie salsa has a fresh, robust flavor that I really found appealing, and it was well-received by my colleagues at the office. Look for mild, medium, and hot varieties of Burnt Orange Texas Salsa locally at H-E-B, Central Market, Randalls, and Walgreens. I'm curious to see how it stacks up against the local competition.

Another perk of my job is being in the position to make connections. Every so often, public relations people pitch me story ideas about the cookware, utensils, or gadgets they represent and offer to send product samples for me to try. Since I already own more kitchen equipment than one person could use in several lifetimes, if I accept the samples at all, I usually end up spreading them around to the other food writers. Things are a little different this fall, however: A high school friend lost his home and wood shop to the Bastrop wildfires, so he and his girlfriend are rebuilding their household from scratch. When I mentioned this to New York public relations rep Julia Stambules, she immediately contacted companies she represents, and a couple of weeks later, I was inundated with boxes of samples. My friend is now stocking his temporary RV kitchen with Circulon Contempo red gourmet nonstick cookware, Anolon bakeware, graters and gadgets from Microplane, bowls and utensils from Rachael Ray's big product line, and a block of Wusthof knives, plus dishes, glasses, and silverware provided from other sources. Though it was heartbreaking that my friend lost his home and the workshop where he created wooden drums and guitars (www.randyhagler.com), at least I know he and his girlfriend will be cooking in style during the rebuilding process and beyond! I couldn't have come up with a better recommendation for any of those products if I'd tried.