Love of home and family, joy in all things “homemade,” and pride in workmanship—for all of these precious gifts I have my parents, Anthony and Maria Pierri, to thank.
I am so grateful to my in-laws, Joseph and Malake Wakile, for sharing with me their traditions and customs that have enriched our lives and will, God willing, be passed along for generations to come.
To my sweethearts, Rich, Victoria, and Joseph, thank you for your love and support—and your patience! I promise I will get back to cooking proper dinners now.
To my sister and first best friend, Rosie—I love you. Thank you for always being there!
And to the rest of my wonderful family—all of you pictured in these two photos—thank you! I love you with all of my heart.
To all of my dear friends who have called and waited patiently for me to be available to chat or to go to lunch or just to take a walk together, thank you! I love you all for understanding how important this project has been to me and I so appreciate you!
Thanks to everyone at St, Martin’s Press, especially: John Murphy, for believing in me and wanting to see my recipes in print; Michael Flamini, my editor and friend, whom I will never tire of talking to about our shared love of food; and Vicki Lame, for being so helpful throughout the editorial and production process.
Thanks to my agent, Frank Weimann, for making it all happen; to Bravo TV and NBC Universal; to Sirens Media; and to all of the viewers and “Housewives” fans who encouraged me to write this book.
Miriam Harris, my cowriter, captured my voice better than I ever thought possible, and taught me the importance of writing everything down. Through this process I gained a dear friend (who now knows my thoughts before I even speak them). Thank you!
Robin Wunsh Barron, my publicist, my organizer, and so much more—thank you for keeping me on schedule.
To my “GlamBoyz” for making me look, well, glam: George Miguel (makeup) and Julius Michael (hair). Julius, my dear friend, thank you for taking care of more than just my hair!
For photography and styling, thanks to Andrei Jackamets and Gigi Alterio, and also to Villeroy Boch, for loaning beautiful dishware, and to Abbey and Thomas Kober, for graciously opening up their home, Abbey Farm, for my cover shoot.
To the many talented cooks and chefs who have influenced me along my path, thank you for your passion and inspiration.
I thank God—through Him everything has been possible—for my incredible journey thus far and for bringing into my life the people who have guided me to this path.
Kathy Wakile is the one and only dessert expert on Bravo TV’s The Real Housewives of New Jersey and has used her reality TV platform to help raise awareness for both the National Brain Tumor Society and the Children’s Brain Tumor Foundation. Her dessert line, called Dolci della Dea, is soon to be in retail venues nationwide. Kathy regularly serves as an Honorary Professor at the L’Ecole Culinaire, an ACCSC-accredited culinary school that offers degree and diploma programs, sharing her passion and knowledge of culinary trends, and her unique experience bringing personally developed food products to market. She lives in Wayne, New Jersey, with her husband, Rich, and their children, Victoria and Joseph.
