Can you remember a time when balsamic vinegar was so exotic that only one person in America had ever tasted it? Probably not. That’s why the recipes are here; as I was writing this book based on taste memory, I wanted each chapter to have its own unique flavor. I wanted you to be able to savor the words and taste the time, so I pored through my recipes, looking for the basic essence of each chapter. Remembering the delight and shock of encountering balsamic vinegar, I wanted you to be there with me as that peculiarly attractive sweet tanginess hit my mouth for the first time.
Similarly, when I was trying to describe the agony of ending my first marriage, it occurred to me that I could do it most simply in recipes: One year, five recipes—and everything changes.
Looking back, though, I recognize that tasting and seeing are very different experiences and that even as you’ve tasted the past with me, my family, and my friends, what we all looked like, what clothes we wore, and where we lived are equally important. Fortunately, I’m a person who never throws anything away, and when I went through my files I discovered some wonderful snapshots. They are a record of a time when the food world was very small and we were discovering new flavors every day. The joy and the energy we felt just radiate from these images and I’m so happy to share them with you here.