My mother, Patricia Walker Ford, taught me to cook. More accurately, she forced me to cook and to take home economics (thanks, Mom). She is a gifted artist and writer who encouraged constant creativity in the kitchen. Cooking was just another piece of art that she created for our taste buds to appreciate. She has always been courageous in trying new things, growing new things, and expanding our horizons. She has spent most of her life as an elementary school teacher; as a mother to my sister, Faith, and me; and as a devoted wife. In her heart she has always seen the art in everything and, in so doing, she has taught me to do the same. She was with me from page one to the final period of this book. Thank you, Mom, for always making me think the biggest dreams were achievable. It is because of you that Faith and I believe that anything is possible.
My thanks also to my best friend, Kim McLean, who helped me by testing, typing, and transcribing recipes throughout this entire process; my late grandmothers, Cora Roberts Walker and Bernice Eubanks Ford, who always made food their gift of love to us; my sister, Faith Ford, the gourmet of the family and the most loving hostess I have ever known; Brenda Allen and the ladies of my beautiful Little White Church on the Hill in Kingston Springs, Tennessee; Mrs. Girlinghouse and Mrs. Watkins, my home economics teachers in Pineville, Louisiana; and my family of great cooks who have created a legacy of home-cooked meals throughout my life, Joe Johnston, Brenda Walker Johnston, Sue Cooper Walker, Ruth Passons, Marilyn Allen, Pam Holland, Pepper Saucier, and all those people whose handwritten recipes were found in family Bibles and old cookbooks.