DiSpirito Rocco - Roccos Five Minute Flavor: Fabulous Meals with 5 Ingredients in 5 Minutes 

With your help and my recipes, you will become an entertaining Good Life guru and, most important, entertain yourselves along the way. M y sincerest thanks and appreciation, and a free dinner anytime and anywhere you want from me to you: Special thanks to my partner, Linda Lisco, for putting up with me and putting out for me. Her skills, intelligence, persistence, and life force have filled the sails of this ship for a long time, and with her help it will be a long journey. WOW! Ruba Abu-Nimah. WOW! RUBA-for loving me and what I do and of course for her immeasurable talent. She designs my books and brand with passion and care, and it shows. Henry Leutwyler, for his extraordinary photographs that surpass my expectations every time. His work reaches deep within and gives us pause.

He never knew he knew how to shoot food and now he can easily teach everyone else. For his sincere friendship and love. And, of course, for insisting I work with Ruba. Matthias Gaggl, for his Teutonic, hair-product-loving, illest lighting, Eurodisco singing, best assistant ever bad self. To the indescribable Kris Kurek, for her unbelievable skill and impeccable recipe testing, her thoughtful and much-appreciated collaboration, her ability to bust butt when needed, and for putting up with me. The great people of Scribner, like Beth Wareham, for being a great editor, leader, and bookmaker; Jill Vogel, for painstakingly editing my manuscript; Kate Bittman, for being a publicist extraordinaire; and, of course, Susan Moldow and Roz Lippel, for buying in.

My friends at the William Morris agency, especially The Great Mark Itkin, for watching over me; Suzy Unger, for her creativity and tenacity; Brooke Slavic, for getting me good work; Jen Walsh, for her superstar sales skills and believing in my writing career; and Evan, Scott, and Kristin, for spreading the word. All my friends at QVC for believing in me and giving my burgeoning lifestyle brand a great start, especially Ken OBrien, Donna Donnelly, Jonas Marusa, Eric Theiss, The Genius Bob Rae, and The Big Boss Darlenecan I offer Mamas Meatballs forever as step one? My peeps at WOR, especially Rick Buckley, for taking a chance on a guy with absolutely no radio experience at all and being the perfect boss. To Mike Figliola, for being a friend and an inspiration and a great producer; Mike Waller, for working late nights on beats, bits, and giving us his original tracks. To Lisa, for being there at the beginning; Joan, for being a legend; Heather, for giving me a clue; Jen, for sharing my opinions with me; Kerry, for stopping at nothing to get us going in the mornings; Maurice Tunick, for his support; Bob Bruno, for teaching me to respect the mic and for his fashion sense. Laurelle Eichelberger, for her friendship and assistance with the photography of 5MF. Anthony and Martina Gordon, for sharing their beautiful family home with me.

To David and Pernilla Avital, for being supportive, generous, and lovely. Especially Pernilla. To Jason and his friend Photoshop, for fooling the world. Food Emporium, for letting us ravage their store for our photo shoot. My radio audience-YOU HAVE CHANGED MY LIFE-and continue to breathe life into me every day at 11 a.m. Colin Cowie and Stuart Brownstein, for generously sharing their beautiful home with me. NYC, for reminding me that life is full of surprise and wonder. NYC, for reminding me that life is full of surprise and wonder.

Last but not at all least, my family: My mama, Nicolina, for her support and love. My dad, Rafaelle, for his enthusiasm and constructive criticism. My brother, Mike, for embracing his brother. My sister, Maria, for loving me infinitely. My brother-in-law, Jack, for all his generosity since forever. My sister-in-law, Patty, for putting up with my brother.

My nieces and nephews, Mike, Andrew, Brooke, and Mikey Jr., for laughing at me. ROCCOS
5
MINUTE FLAVOR