First off, there are a few people without whom this book would never exist. I have to thank Susan Fleming, who gave me the confidence to think book-size big when I first conceived of this concept as a series of blog posts (and for supporting me throughout the process). Thanks to Raquel Dadomo and Haven Bourque, for reading the proposal with critical, but constructive, eyes and helping me get it off my computer and over to Chronicle Books. Thanks also to my Aunt Mil and all my other cooking relatives, for giving me the curiosity to investigate how things work in the kitchen, and for sharing the family recipes! Thanks to Jeff Fleming and Alice Grubb, for sharing the plum harvest.
I’m grateful to Bill LeBlond and all the folks at Chronicle Books for seeing the potential of this book and letting me run wild with the idea, while helping me shape it into what you see here. Especially Sarah Billingsley, for being always on the ball, and super to work with; Peter Perez, for his marketing genius and great ideas; designer Suzanne LaGasa, for her excitement about the project, her talent, and willingness to listen to my vision; and copy editor Ann Rolke, for smoothing out the rough edges, while leaving the essence of the book intact.
Thanks to Michael Straus and Haven Bourque at Straus Communications, and Sara Ost, my editor at EcoSalon.com, for their flexibility and generosity in giving me the time and space to work on this project. Thanks to the Cribari family, Eduardo Morell, and Rachel Cole, for sharing their specialized talents, knowledge, and recipes. Thanks to Emunah Hauser, for sleuthing out the sources.
Sara Remington, not only are your photos the most gorgeous ever, but you know how to make grueling work fun and put together a crack team of superpeople! I can’t think of anyone I’d rather work with. Thanks to Kami Bremyer, prop stylist extraordinaire, for channeling my style perfectly based on a phone call and a few snapshots; to Nani Steele, for making the food look irresistible; to Stacy Ventura, for keeping us all fueled and for making it all run. Thanks to all of you for making five days of intense cooking and shooting a total blast.
Thanks to the friends who came to the shoot and helped. Thanks to the parents and kids who modeled: Suzie Wong and Mia Shao; Day Darmet, Florence Raynaud, and Chance; Nishanga Bliss and Milo; Sonya and Benjamin Philip and Beatrice; the neighbor kids, Rajvi and Anvi; and to Cameron and Henry and Susan Fleming for the kid wrangling.
There’s a lot of cooking and eating that goes into a cookbook, which sometimes means eating the same thing over and over again, or being invited to dinner only to have to do dishes, not fed until 10 p.m., and served a bunch of dishes that don’t go together by an exhausted, cranky host. Thanks to all the friends and family who continued to accept invitations to evenings that sometimes amounted to “no-host dinners”: Bailey, Marcia, Christina, Oliver, Nishanga, Mike, Celia, Paula, and my sisters, Valerie Long and Vicki Rogers. And thanks to Susan, for all the dishwashing.
Recipe testers are really the key to a cookbook that is a pleasure to use. I can’t thank you all enough for your efforts and great feedback: Parag Mody, Molly Watson, Juliet Glass, Bailey Foster, Vicki Rogers, Renee Perry, Megan Launer, and Susan Weber.
I am lucky to have the support and friendship of so many people. I hope I haven’t left anyone out.