Caroline and Suzanne Somers.Photo:Alan Hamel
Alan Hamel
Many ofCaroline Somers' fondest memories with her late mother-in-law,Suzanne Somers, are in the kitchen.
Caroline, who has been married toSuzanne’s son Bruce Somers. Jr.since 1991, released a cookbook on Oct. 4 titledServed: From My Family Table to Yours— and gave PEOPLE an exclusive look. In between recipes for everything from roasted tomato soup to cauliflower mash, she wrote that Suzanne is “one of the best cooks I know.”
“I have a lifetime of delicious memories of her talents in the kitchen,” wrote Caroline.
The home chef, writer, and cookbook author runsSuzanneSomers.comas the president of the family business. She often stepped in for Suzanne in her social media videos when her mother-in-law was taking time off.
“Your contribution in my life is too vast for a paragraph in this book,” Caroline wrote in the opening acknowledgements ofServed.“You picked up the pieces of my shattered maternal history and put it all back together. You nurtured me, you taught me, you believed in me, and you provided a beautiful life for our family. I love our history of cooking together. It’s one of the greatest joys of my life.”
Over the years, Caroline and Suzanne had co-created about 600 recipes together for the Somersize cookbook series.
InServed, Caroline stresses how much she admired Suzanne as a home cook.
“I have a lifetime of delicious memories of her talents in the kitchen,” she wrote. “She understands flavor. She calls it ‘the balls’ and that’s what I love about her.”
The feeling was certainly mutual.
“Caroline is hands-down, one of the best cooks I know,” Suzanne said in a statement before her death. “I like to think I taught her a thing or two in the early days, but now she’s surpassed me in the kitchen! I am lucky to have eaten every recipe in this book and I’m telling you, the flavors will knock you out!”
Suzanne Somers with her family.Alan Hamel
Caroline and Suzanne “made too many Thanksgiving feasts and amazing family meals to count,” wrote Caroline. “We connect in the kitchen—rubbing elbows, tasting, and tweaking along the way.”
Suzanne’s “most notable” contribution to Caroline’s culinary prowess was soup. “Suzanne makes the best soup of anyone I know,” wrote Caroline. “The keys are her homemade stock, her ability to season with just the right amount of salt, and the garnishes she adds to give it that extra special something.”
“Suzanne Somers passed away peacefully at home in the early morning hours of October 15th. She survived an aggressive form of breast cancer for over 23 years,” Hay wrote in a statement to PEOPLE shared on behalf of the actress’ family.
To celebrate Somers’ life on Monday, what would have been her 77th birthday, the family gathered to offer a toast in her memory and eat cake because, asHamel told PEOPLE, “Suzanne was crazy for cake.”
Servedis available now oncarolinesomers.com.
source: people.com
