Wit is the salt of conversation, not the food. – William Hazlitt (1778-1830)

Yes, I have signed a contract with Gibbs-Smith Publisher to write my first cookbook.

Yes, Ilva Beretta, my friend, my Plated Stories partner, has signed on to shoot the photos.

Yes, I deserve a treat.

And so do you.

Sweet: pleasing to the ear; making a delicate, pleasant, or agreeable sound; pleasing or fresh to the smell, fragrant, perfumed; pleasing or agreeable delightful.

Salty: piquant, sharp, witty; racy or coarse, salty humor; of the sea, sailing, or life at sea.

Sweet and salty: antithetical, conflicting, discordant, diametrically opposed. Tears over a love letter. Yet opposites attract. Salted Butter Caramel, a child’s delight, an adult’s weakness.

The prospect of writing a cookbook is thrilling, exciting, a pleasure for a food writer. Yet daunting, somewhat intimidating. Together, salty and sweet, absolutely toothsome.