jilly would like to thank:
First and foremost, I’d like to thank my parents, without whom I wouldn’t be here today!
To my father, Emeril: Daddio—thank you for instilling in me the true joy and passion of cooking and how special it is to share good food with the ones you love. I’ve learned so much from simply watching you. I hope we made you proud. All my love.
To my mother, Luz: Momma—simply said, for everything I thank you. You have told me since I was a little girl to believe in my dreams, no matter how often those dreams have changed in my life.
I’d like to thank all my wonderful friends and family for their constant support and endless taste testing. In particular, the following:
To my incredible stepmother, Alden, for your undying support, advice, and love. You’ve taught me so very much. All my love and thanks always.
To my brother, E.J., and sister Meril. You are the light and laughter of my life and you inspire me daily.
To my sister Jessie for sharing this dream, for all your hard work and sacrifice to make this book happen. It’s been a wild ride, but we did it!
To my wonderful brother-in-law, Steven. My frying partner in crime, I thank you for all your help and support during this process. We couldn’t have done it without you.
To my gorgeous nephews Jude and J.P. I can’t imagine you not being here and a part of it all.
To DS, thank you for your constant love and support. You make all the hard work worth it!
To my great-grandmother Cabral, thank you for all the beautiful memories and the joy you shared from feeding us all! These memories I will treasure forever.
To Grandma and Grandpa Kief and Grandma and Grandpa Lagasse. Thank you all for inspiring me to follow my heart and stomach!
To all my incredible aunts, uncles, and cousins, thank you for all the great times, wonderful memories, and the many traditions we have shared.
To everyone at 822: J, Drea, Nicole, Lizzie, and Melissa, you have inspired and supported me to follow this gluten-free dream for years! All my love and thanks to y’all.
To the Whittingtons: Jackie, Big Joe, Nathan, and Melly. This book wouldn’t have happened without you. All my love and thanks.
To Tal Kohen, your support and humor have gotten me through.
To Ashley Denny, for letting me take over your kitchen and life for three months of testing and retesting recipes, I’m forever thankful.
To Shelly Montez, your incredible photography and styling made our dream that much closer to being actualized. Beyond grateful and thankful to you always.
To the Nemeth family: Tierney, Eric, and my darling Violet. Thank you for years of always being there and always being supportive no matter what my latest dream is!
To the Fontaines: Sareta, Danny, Diddy, and Zak. Finally, I did it! Thank you for years of laughter and friendship. Love you all so much.
To Nate and Kim, all my love and thanks.
jessie would like to thank:
My husband, Steven, for his unwavering support and unfaltering appetite through all these years.
My two wonderful sons, Jude and J.P., for reminding me every day how perfect life is!
My mom for giving my sons and me the greatest gift ever. Thanks for moving down the street!
My dad for his love, support, and valuable life lessons over all these years.
CiCi and Papa Derby, my other parents, for always being there for us.
Shelita Johnson, Gee Gee and Grandpa Kief, and Maw-Maw Patsy for their unending help with my kids, my house, and anything and everything else I can imagine. I could never have done this without you all and I am so very grateful!
My sister, Jill, for persevering and working so hard to get this done.
Marcus Azzarello for his tireless taste-testing and honest feedback.
Very special thanks go out from both of us to the following individuals who made this book possible:
To Nicole Hunn, who, thanks to a chance meeting, truly made this book happen and come to life.
To everyone at Foundry Media, especially Brandi Bowles. Brandi, thank you for taking our dream and turning it into our reality. You have quickly become a trusted sounding board and friend. For all your hard work, patience, and constant positivity, we will forever be thankful.
To everyone at Grand Central Publishing, especially Diana Baroni and Amanda Englander. Diana, thank you for seeing the bigger picture and taking a chance on us gals. We will always be grateful for this opportunity.
To our incredible photographer, Chris Granger. What an honor it was to have you on board this crazy gluten-free train. Your vision, talent, and humor were so appreciated every day. From day one, you just got it. Thank you.
To our talented food-styling team, Sara Essex Bradley and Rachel Witwer, thank you for all your hard work, vision, and not being afraid to get your hands dirty. Literally!
To everyone at Emeril’s Homebase. In particular, special thanks go out to Tony Cruz, Charlotte Martory, Lolita Brooks, Paige Green, and chef David Slater, aka The Fig Man. Y’all rock!
A very special thank you to Maggie McCabe. All of this wouldn’t have been possible without your calm and never-ending support. Love you, Maggarellos!
To Mark Stein, thank you for all your hard work and advice on this and every project.