Acknowledgments

To my parents for their incredible generosity. To Michael and Tali for their patience; to Grandma and Grandpa for being funny. (“It’s just one dinner, ” Grandma says now when I stress over a meal.) To Lauren for being there at the start; to Lisa for sticking to her guns; to Stella, Patty, Diana, Kirk, James, and everyone else who was game for this book. To the pros who helped me: Amanda Hesser, Ruth Reichl, Eric “Bubba ” Gabrynowycz, the knife master at Korin. To Liz Diggs for e-mailing Ruth; to Molly Smith Metzler for talking to Bubba; to Derrick Schneider for the wine pairings; to Jonathan Rubinstein and the people at Joe for letting me write a book in their coffee shop; to Emily Jenkins for introducing me to my agent, and, most definitely, to my agent, Elizabeth Kaplan, for discovering me, nurturing me, and championing me to the world. A big thanks to Josh and Katy for urging me to start a blog—it’s really paid off! To John Warchol for changing my life with one line. And, last but not least, to my editor, Philip Rappaport, for his enthusiasm and intelligence and for getting me through my first book. I’ve loved every second.