Recipes and photos become a finished, cherished cookbook only with the support and hard work of many people, and we are grateful for each of you!
We appreciate the love and support of our families. We have each been married for many years, so we see our days as “newlyweds” only in a rearview mirror. Marriage is not always easy, but we have been blessed by many years of love and support. We each have wonderful families who encourage us. Our hope is that each newlywed who reads and cooks from this book is able to share in a wonderful, loving relationship for many years to come.
Roxanne’s husband, Bob Bateman, and her daughter, Grace, are the loves of her life and the lights of her life. Thank you for each and every day, and for tasting, testing, and supporting her down to the last bite, crumb, and dirty dish. Also, a special thank-you to Roxanne’s parents, who have been married for sixty-four years and are her biggest heroes. They provide the template for what marriage is all about.
Kathy’s family, David, Laura, and Amanda, are the center of her world. She cherishes their constant love and support. Their smiles, laughter, and friendship make each day special.
We want to thank our agents, Lisa Ekus and Sally Ekus, and the entire staff at The Lisa Ekus Group, LLC, for expert insight and advice, coupled with patience and friendship! Thank you.
Thank you to BJ Berti, Courtney Littler, Michelle McMillian, and everyone at St. Martin’s Press for creating such a wonderful book and for their professionalism beyond compare. Thank you!
We appreciate the creative and dedicated talent of photographer David Shaughnessy. He became our teammate in this book, and we are grateful for his skill and hard work. Thanks to Andrea Krakow for lending a hand on the food styling.
We are blessed by many incredible people who support us and our work! Please know we appreciate each of you. Most of all, we are blessed to work together as friends. Our thirty-year career path has been side by side, in test kitchens, as consultants, and as authors. We cherish our friendship and that makes the journey so much more fun and rewarding.
With Appreciation to:
Louise Myers, Pryde’s Kitchen and Home, “The Hardware Store For Cooks,” Kansas City, MO. www.prydeskitchen.com. Thank you, Louise, for the beautiful dishes, appliances, and utensils that added so much to the photos and for allowing us access to this extraordinary shop for beautiful photos.
The Fresh Market, Overland Park, KS. Manager, Bolar Brown. www.thefreshmarket.com. Thank you for allowing us access to the store for location photos.
Thanks to Brian Heydon for graciously allowing photographs in his beautiful home.
Thank you to each of the following individuals who shared their time posing for photographs: Craig and Claudia Donnell, Erin and Kevin Whaley, Joshua and Nellie Sparkman, Kaitlin Byrne, Joe Privitera, Jessica Roland, Jeff Schloack, Chelsea and Nate Templeton, Brady Jansen, Carrington Reyes, Suzanne Kerr, and Ryan Motter. You were all wonderful.