Lagasse - Prime Time Emeril

Heres to all the special people at Homebase, our restaurants, the Food Network, and Good Morning America, who had the dream and belief to make it what it is, but to be committed to where its going.

To my wife, Alden, for her constant complete support.

And to the people, viewers, fans, supporters, who believe that a life surrounded by good food and wine is to be enjoyed by everyone.

Food of love!

FIRST AND FOREMOST, I OFFER THANKS TO MY FAMILYMY DARLING WIFE, ALDEN; MR. JOHN AND HILDA, MY PARENTS; JESSICA AND JILLIAN, MY DAUGHTERS, WHOM I ABSOLUTELY ADORE; AND MARK, MY BROTHER, AND DELORES, MY SISTER, WHO MEAN A GREAT DEAL TO ME .

Thanks very much to:

Marcelle Bienvenu

Rock-O-Daddy

Trevor Wisdom

David McCelvey

Charlotte Armstrong

Alain Joseph

Marti Dalton

Mara Warner

Quentin Bacon, for his incredible talents and extraordinary photographs

Tina Rupp

And to all the folks at William Morrow/HarperCollins:

Jane Friedman, my publisher

Harriet Bell, my patient editor and dear friend

Karen Ferries, editorial assistant

Jill Armus, book designer

Leah Carlson-Stanisic, design director

William Ruoto, interior designer

Roberto de Vicq de Cumptich, for the great jacket design

Ann Cahn, special projects production editor

Karen Lumley, production manager

Carrie Weinberg, super friend and super publicist

And to my right hands and my consiglieri in all matters, Eric Linquest, Tony Cruz, and Mauricio Andrade

The managers and staffs at Emerils, NOLA, Emerils Delmonico Restaurant and Bar in New Orleans, Emerils New Orleans Fish House and Delmonicos Steak House in Las Vegas, and Emerils in Orlando

All of you who make it happen every day, chefs de cuisine Chris Wilson, Joel Morgan, Bernard Carmouche, Sean Roe, Neal Swidler, and Christian Czerwonka, and pastry chefs Lou Lynch and Joe Trull

All of our great sommeliers, and to all the folks whom I love at Homebase

Judy Girard, president of the Food Network; my family at Scripps-Howard; the incredible teams of Emeril Live and the new Essence of Emeril you guys are great!

Karen Katz, my executive producer extraordinaire, and her brilliant husband, Dan, for all his support

Susan Stockton, a dear friend and a great chef to boot

Rochelle Brown

Our little dynamo in a small package, Jill Novatt

The awesome Food Network kitchen staff, Leslie Orlandini, Emily Rieger, Robert Bleifer, Sal Passalacqua, and Derek Flynn, who always make it happen

Michael Schear, director extraordinaire

Janet Arena, for always making me look good

Patricia LaMorte, for keeping it all together

And give it up for Doc Gibbs and Cliff, everybody!

Margo Baumgart, my producer at Good Morning America and everyone else at Good Morning America

THE FOOD OF LOVE

THIS LAST DECADE HAS BEEN AMAZING. FROM OPENING EMERILS, MY FIRST RESTAURANT, IN NEW ORLEANS BACK IN 1990 TO THE FILMING OF MY 1,000TH SHOW ON THE FOOD NET WORK, ITS BEEN AN UNBELIEVABLE EVOLUTION .

Avenues for touching peoples lives have opened wide for me, and I truly feel like a food ambassador. Nothing makes me happier than getting people involved with food, excited about food, and cooking food.

Evolution is really the key word for everybody I work with. Its what weve truly done these past ten years, and something were all grateful for. Were grateful to our clientele, our fans, our families, and our friends. And, more than anything else, the members of the team are grateful to each other and committed to taking everything to higher levels and to keep kicking up things another notch.

A good illustration of this evolution is where my Food Network shows are now. For me, theres nothing like Emeril Live. Working with a live audience, a live band, and special musical and cooking guests, all while doing some serious cooking, is quite a challenge. We aim for a wide range of subjects, covering as much ground as possible within the time allotted. On the early episodes, our emphasis was on educating people, teaching folks how to prepare stocks, cook a roux, season dishes, and so on. But now, with 1,000 shows behind us, our audience has evolved and grown, and viewers are ready to explore new techniques and ingredients with us.

Even though we like to wow everybody on Emeril Live, the show is really all about the versatility of food, and the joy of making that food and sharing it with others. With a little imagination, everybody can kick up their food to notches unknown. Food is fun, and food is meant for sharing. Its okay to play with your foodbe innovative, kick it up with spices, with sauces, with fillings, with toppings. Be imaginative. Go beyond the basics. Have fun.

Then theres the new Essence of Emeril show. It has evolved (theres that word again!) into something completely different from what it was originally planned to be. The show is shorter than Emeril Live , moves at a quicker pace, and offers an in-depth exploration of a single subject, such as cooking en papillote (in parchment paper), or making pte choux , or choux pastry, the puffy pastry used in savory and sweet profiteroles, gougres, and clairs. I want you to be at ease with making homemade pts or consomms, pickling, and home smoking. I want you to be familiar with culinary terminology, with terms such as gastrique , or equal parts sugar and vinegar reduced to a syrup consistency, and unfamiliar ingredients such as foie gras and duck confit. I want to inspire people to cook with unusual, perhaps expensive ingredients that might be intimidating, such as calves sweetbreads, saffron, and caviar.

I want you to look beyond the usual fare you prepare day in, day out and challenge yourself to discover new ways to cook. Most of all, I want you to enjoy the process as much as the end result. As I was saying, evolution is a beautiful thing.

But if theres one message I hope you take from both shows, as well as my Good Morning America appearances each Friday and my cookbooks, it is that food is meant to be shared. I strongly believe that the more time families and friends spend together cooking and eating, the stronger those family ties and friendships will become. From day one, my goal has been to be a positive influence on the family table. With everybody in the family as busy as they are today, what with balancing schedules, work, car pools, soccer games, and all the other activities, theres nothing like sitting down together to a meal of interesting, satisfying food to catch up on the days news. And sitting down to a meal that the whole gang has cooked together is even more gratifying.

I receive tons (literally) of mail from people who tune in to my television shows. I hear from people who became interested in cooking as a result of my showsfrom firemen and police officers to grandmothers and kids, from all cultures and all walks of life. Theyve helped me realize that food is a universal connection. Just as Ive inspired them, they have inspired me to discover and develop new dishes that they enjoy preparing and sharing at home. Whether it is a simple soup, a creative salad with a special dressing, or a perfect roast chicken, I want to keep you excited about food and all of its limitless possibilities.

The five-to-six-minute pieces on Good Morning America s Friday segments are a prime example of spreading this excitement. The Pie of Emerils Eye recipe contest featured on the show resulted in an overwhelming 500,000 letters and entries. Wow! And that was just for pies! We received entries from men, women, and children from every corner of the United States. Some recipes had been family favorites for generations; others were created just for the contest. This excitement is what really keeps me going and evolving, and keeps me excited about where were going with food.