ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Through this long, challenging, wonderful process one person has given me the strength and support to bring this book to life, my husband, Cesar. Thank you for all the invaluable roles you’ve played during the writing phase as recipe taster, dishwasher, shopper, photography assistant, and proofreader. Most of all, thank you for taking this path with me and holding my hand along the way. I also must thank my family, especially my mom and dad, Elizabeth and Jesus, and all my aunts who have given me lifelong culinary inspiration from their own kitchens. Of course, none of this would be possible without the guidance and support of my publisher. Thank you to all at Tuttle Publishing for creating a book that exceeded my expectations. I’d especially like to thank Ed Walters for recognizing the potential in this little known, yet amazing, cuisine; Courtney Nolan, my first editor, for walking me through the early stages of the process; and senior editor Holly Jennings, for your patience and expertise, and for really understanding the spirit of the book. Thank you for getting knee-deep into the material and for asking great questions.

I owe thanks to others who have lent their expertise and passion to this book. A special thanks goes to my dearest friend and sister-in-spirit, Annie Ozer, whose time and toil creating a stunning design for the preliminary book nearly equaled mine in writing it. Joaquin Soler, thanks for your help and organization in the early stages of recipe testing. Michael Lande, thank you for your amazing eye and for capturing the smell, taste, and feel of the food in your photographs. Brian Briggs Photography, thank you for putting a beautiful face to the recipes and ingredients. Dan Scesnewicz, thank you for being my sommelier and pairing the recipes with worthy libations. Thank you to Shelly Young, Sarah Stegner-Nambiar, and Paul Kahan for lending your kind words of support and endorsement to the book.

I’d also like to acknowledge the work of other writers who have focused on the Philippines, and whose books were fundamental to my research by providing me with different and exciting perspectives: Doreen Fernandez and Edilberto Alegre’s Kinilaw: A Philippine Cuisine of Freshness, Antonio de Morga and J. S. Cummins’ Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas, and David Joel Steinbert’s The Philippines: A Singular and a Plural Place.

Finally, I’d like to thank my family and friends for their support and blessings. My siblings, Elissa and Ken, were always there to lend a hand or an ear. And finally, I’d like to thank my muse/daughter, Lena Aranas Casillas, for being my daily inspiration.