Sunday Roasts

photographs by susie cushner

For Mary Francis, Emily Bell, and Diana Tindall. With gratitude for sharing your creativity, your talents, and most especially your friendship.

This book came to life because of my editor, Bill Leblond, who believed in the idea and did not let it die. Many, many thanks for your faith in this project, your guidance, and your wise counsel.

Lisa Ekus, my agent, and all her group, especially Daniele Mathras, gave me support and advice every step of the way.

No cookbook can be written alone. Mary Francis, Emily Bell, and Diana Tindall, my incredible kitchen team, spent hours helping develop and test the recipes for this collection. There are not enough superlatives in the dictionary to describe their dedication and friendship.

Mary Francis also put her stellar computer skills to use, moving documents and material from one virtual place to another with lightning speed. She also took charge of getting the recipes to the testers and then compiling their reviews.

Thanks to Debra Baughman of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and to Mary Bartz for sharing their vast knowledge of beef cuts and roasting.

Sheri Lisak and June McCarthy, longtime colleagues, efficiently finetuned the recipes. They tried variations, kept careful notes on timing and temperatures, and made invaluable suggestions along the way.

A group of dedicated cooks spread across the country volunteered to test the recipes for this collection. Week after week, they carved time from busy schedules to cook roasts and side dishes and then offer super feedback (pun intended!). Thank you Wendy Kersker Ninke, Marilyn Cozad, Jackie Murrill, Ron Parent, Betty Orsega, Cindy Kurban, Marilyn Dougherty, Carroll Vuncannon, and Bob Corea.

Talented novelist Elinor Lipman helped me find the right titles for the chapters, while Ellen Ellis, a good friend and gifted writer, made my words sing.

Thanks to Sarah Billingsley, Doug Ogan, Sara Schneider, Tera Killip, Peter Perez, David Hawk, and the staff at Chronicle Books, who are warm, enthusiastic, and extraordinarily creative. What a joy it is to do this book, our fifth together. To Susie Cushner, Maggie Ruggiero, and Randi Brookman Harris, thanks for the beautiful photographs.

My son, Mike, and my daughter-in-law, Heidi, and my precious grandkids, Edie and Griffin, sampled roasts (many far from perfection) on holidays and visits to my house, rarely with complaint and often with helpful critiques.

My husband, Ron, deserves a huge hug. Night after night he ate roasts, often the same one several times within a week. He washed piles of dirty dishes, edited pages of text, offered psychological therapy when needed (often!), and best of all interrupted my worrying with one of his jokes!