If it takes a village to raise a child, it takes an idiot to write a cookbook. In this case, however, this idiot did not work alone. There are about a jillion people in my universe who deserve recognition and appreciation, and I’m likely going to forget many of them. But, if memory serves me correctly.…
My first laurel goes to Samantha Tackeff, my intern extraordinaire. She helped birth these recipes when they were just babies, and then did far more than her fair share of clean-up in their wake. And then there was all that testing, tasting, suggestions, and so on. Each and every one of you reading this should hire her at an extremely high salary to do something really, really excellent.
What you may not realize is that the only reason my food looks good is because of the world’s best food stylist and recipe tester, Karen Shinto. And thank god a professional like Betsy Stromberg was in charge of the book’s design/layout. You gals make food look good.
Clancy Drake is an editorial force to be reckoned with, and a genius in her field. I also thank my agent, Danielle Svetcov of Levine Greenberg, who is worth her weight in sugar and salt. Additionally, I thank Lisa Westmoreland, Ten Speed Press, and Random House for giving me another go.
Other folks to thank in no particular order: Anika Luskin Streitfeld for being the hub of the universe, Adam C. Boardman for the creative soundboarding and the additions to my vintage Tupperware stash, Celia Sack of Omnivore Books in San Francisco for research assistance, and all of my friends who were kind enough to eat all the “mistake food” that was part of the learning curve. Thanks to my fellow food obsessives in the blogosphere for your endless electron stream of kindness.
A huge shout-out to Josh Adler, formerly of food/art space 18Reasons, for the idea to do the Jam It Salon, my beloved quarterly gathering in San Francisco that forces us food crafters out of the kitchen and into a social setting, tastes in tow. And thanks to Rachel Cole and Rosie Branson Gill who continue to support the gathering. True heartfelt appreciation to everyone who has shown up at this event and shared your pickles, homebrew, preserves, baked goods, and wisdom. You are an inspiration to me every single time. In this same vein, I thank everyone who came to every bookstore appearance and shared their grandmother’s recipes, their kitchen lore, and their love of food crafting and kitchen preservation of all stripes.
Food doesn’t happen without music, right? Therefore I would be remiss if I did not shed some gracias on Lady Gaga, Arcade Fire, Missy Elliot, every incarnation of Stephin Merritt, the power of MOG, and whoever else made my kitchen sing.
Thank you to Joyce Slaton Lollar for the world’s best punk rock Hello Kitty skull apron; I will always treasure it and wear it to every event. Thank you to my family for your continued support—and for putting up with all that take-out food even though, by all appearances, I had been in the kitchen all day (note: this is every food writer’s secret shame). Thank you, food eaters everywhere, for your support.