Acknowledgments

I am indebted most of all to the good cooks who have influenced me through the years, some of whom I know only through their writings and recipes. My parents and my grandmothers always shared kitchen wisdom with me. My mother was a great cook; I inherited hundreds of cookbooks from her. What I learned from Thom Tillman and Jane Grigson continues to inspire me. I refer to the books of Elizabeth David, Paula Wolfert, and Bill Neal almost daily.