This collection of recipes brings us full circle, for we started our careers working with slow cookers. Now, years later, we cherish the path that has brought us to this point and are grateful for the many people who have supported us on this journey.
Our families mean everything to us.
Roxanne’s family: To my husband, Bob Bateman, thank you for living the sweet dream with me for more than twenty-two years! Your support, encouragement, and love have been my inspiration. To my daughter, Grace, thank you for your pure love and sweetness. You have tasted, tested, and taken food field trips your entire life and enjoyed the adventure. Thank you for filling our world with joy. I am grateful to my mom and dad for the depth of their love and for teaching me the love and joy of a family. To my mom, Colleen Wyss, thank you for your love of baking and for showing me the joy of spending time in the kitchen. You have been our biggest cheerleader for slow cooker cakes and cheesecakes—thank you! And last, but certainly not least, basketfuls of thanks to Kathy. You have added so much sugar and spice to my life for more than thirty years. Your attention to the details of running a business has allowed me the freedom to dream bigger dreams for us. Here’s to many more years of baking and enjoying the sweet life!
Kathy’s family: To my husband, David, and daughters, Laura and Amanda, who fill my life with love and joy. Throughout it all—from countless groceries and dirty dishes to late nights at the computer—your love and support make each day sweeter. Your smiles are the center of my world and I love and cherish each one of you. Each cookbook is packed with love and gratitude to my parents, who taught me to love and to follow my dreams. Thank you, Roxanne, for dreaming big dreams and for always sprinkling our work with so much laughter.
We are grateful for our absolutely fantastic agents. Lisa Ekus, Sally Ekus, and the entire staff at the Lisa Ekus Group, LLC, are wonderful, and we so appreciate their advice, wise counsel, and friendship.
We are grateful to BJ Berti and everyone at St. Martin’s Press for guiding us and creating such a magnificent book. Thank you for being a wonderful team and sharing the vision for this book with us.
We are indebted to Jennifer Davick for making the recipes in this book come alive so beautifully. Jennifer and the food stylist James Herrin created a mouthwatering book, and we so appreciate their extraordinary skill and dedication.
We met in a test kitchen cooking side by side, and now, some thirty years later, we appreciate the skills we sharpened and the friendship we created. Our background has led us to wonderful places, memorable moments, and incredible opportunities, and better yet, our friendship has blessed us and made the journey so much more fun and rewarding.
We are grateful for the many wonderful people who have supported us! We appreciate each of you and want to thank you.
