We would like to give the following thanks:
To our parents, Mary and Ron, for their love, guidance, and support in all that we endeavor. To our brother, Christopher, for his wisdom and intuition. To our extended family, the Zastrows and the Elsens: all of our aunts, uncles, and cousins, each of whom we love and respect.
To Jodie Gatlin for your loving friendship, your immense contribution and work on this book, and your ability to make everything look good with style. We couldn’t have done this without you.
To Andrea Gentl and Marty Hyers for your friendship, inspiring imagery, and for making our pies look delectable. To Anna Shillinglaw-Hampton, Meredith Munn, Alpha Smoot, and Sara Glick for your wonderful work and support on the shoots.
To Jenni Ferrari Adler for being a fantastic, supportive agent, encouraging us every step of the way and always at the right moments. To Sally Wofford-Girand and the team at Union Literary for enthusiastically supporting our book.
To the great team of Grand Central Life & Style for your enthusiasm, insight, and guidance: Jamie Raab, our editor Karen Murgolo, Pippa White, Elizabeth Connor, Thomas Whatley, Kallie Shimek, Anne Twomey, and Sonya Safro.
To Laura Palese for your fantastic help with this book.
To Kendra McKnight, Justine Delaney, Sara Franklin, and Kate Hays for your on-point help and insight with recipe testing, your friendship and continued support.
To Inez Valk-Kempthorne and Justus Kempthorne for your true friendship, creative vision, and immense contribution in helping Four & Twenty Blackbirds move out of a home kitchen into a real business, and for your continued support.
To Stephanie Dedes-Reimers and Inez Valk-Kempthorne for designing and painting the beautiful hand-painted rug in the pie shop.
A giant heartfelt thank-you to the entire staff of Four & Twenty Blackbirds, past and present; we would be nothing without your hard work and dedication to the shop; you are family to us: Rica Borich, Colleen Riley, Dustin Walker, Thomasin Alter, Toby Bannister, Sara Franklin, Ali Rudel, Casey Angelo, Megan Fehrenkamp, Marcin Cybula, Kyoko Masutani, Meghan Haas, Christa Corle, Danielle Dillon, Lisa Kolarsick, Jessica Denzer, Stephanie Valada-Viars, Stephen Reader, Nathaniel Taylor-Leach, Alice Pencavel, Juan Pablo Baene, Sam White, Nicole Evangelista, Ryan Taylor, Liam Martin, Janel Sellers, Nick Carbone, Jon Leland, Janessa Goodman, Alice Maggio, Zoe Kanan, Rick Visser, Marisa Wu, Justine Delaney, Eli Winograd, Kristine Valmonte, Irene Davidson, Elizabeth Mueller, Kamel Fedoul, Kate Blemler, Kathleen Crosby, Lisa Ludwinski, Evan Dorfman, Anna-Shillinglaw Hampton, Sean Twigg, Brian Feeney, Olivia Lerner, Danielle Swift, Julia Ehrman, Merisa Skinner, Hillary Fann, Alyssa Barone, Bobby Blackman, Liz Parlin, Vicki Copeland, Jena Derman, Jill Peters, Amber Kempthorne, Jonathan Lear, Merida Gorman, Katelyn Smith, Julian Rich, Tippi Clark, Chris Robinson, Megan Stockton, Kylie Gilchrist, Grant Tucker, Zak McLongstreet. And to those we may have missed, thank you for your contribution.
We are grateful to our friends, neighbors, and colleagues for your enduring support and help over the years: Audrey Harris, April Frick, Rachel Ostrow, Kayla Stearns, Benjamin Cohen, chef Chris Bradley, Mike Rodriguez, Frieda and Kevin and Blaize, Oona, Flynt, Francelle, and Michael, Geraldine Levine (for being a thoughtful, encouraging voice and far more than just our landlord) and Felix, Jill Mercedes, Trisha Mulligan, Terence Taylor, Keion Charles, Angela Conant, Xylia Buros, Robin Raisfeld and Rob Patronite, Scott Bridi, Rachel Wharton, Marc Sklar, Gabriel Rivera and his fig trees, Eve Sussman, Simon Lee, Lee Boronson, Evan Strusinski, Sam Richman, Amy Thielen, the 8th Street Block Association, Julius Lang and Joe O’Dea, Todd Selby, Michael Pantone, the Svensens: Betty, Bill, and Matt, Hubert Burzynski, Alan Young, the family of Wilklow Orchards especially Albert, Fred, and Becky, Nate Smith and Sophie Kamin, Steve Hindy and Ellen Foote, Danny Meyer, Richard Corraine, Marisa Wu and Salty Road, Frank Falcinelli and Frank Castronovo, Alexandra Penfold, Rob and Lisa Howard, Julian Richards, Miranda Lloyd, Eugene Jho, Atom Cianfarani, Maya Suess, Jeanette and Mike Abbink, Adam Reimers, Abe Kempthorne, Stephan von Muehlen, Chris Cole, Lauren Lintvent, Julian Brizzi and Rucola, Michael Hu and Hana Kitchens, Irving Farm Coffee Roasters, Table on Ten, Lark Café. Our Gowanus neighbors: The Gowanus Studio Space, Brooklyn Homebrew, Tin House, Joel Bukiewicz and Cut Brooklyn, Carver and Sonya Farrell and The Pines, The Pilates Garage, Michael & Ping’s, Fletcher’s Brooklyn Barbecue, Crop to Cup Coffee Roasters, Ben Toht and The Saline Project, Ruth Lingen and the staff of Pace Prints.
Thank you to all of our customers and community for your support and appetite for pie. It is our pleasure to bake for you; we love you!
We apologize to anyone we may have left out, but thank you.
With love,
Em and Mel