Whitney Gaskell's Blog, page 5
April 12, 2013
Conflicted
On one side: a diet that promises thinness, shiny hair and skin as soft and unlined as a baby’s ass. All I have to do is eat salmon and spinach twice a day, every day – gag – and give up pasta, freshly baked bread, coffee, dairy, martinis and chocolate.
On the other side: a fried chicken sandwich with jalapeno coleslaw and spicy mayo.
(By the way, yes, that is a large print book. I didn’t notice the sticker when I checked it out of the library. Then I started reading, and was trying to figure out why all of the words were SO BIG and why there were so few of them on each page.)
The Art of Procrastination, April12
Good stuff from around the web.
“Blaine? His name is Blaine? That’s not a name it’s a major appliance!”
I so totally want a vertical succulent garden. This may be my weekend project.
The best chocolate chip cookies ever. Especially because they’re huge.
A pink velvet chair! Balloon curtains! Floral wallpaper!
I wonder if Gwyneth ever says, Screw it. I’m having an enormous plate of pasta carbonara and damn the consequences. Probably not.
I’ve teamed up with Let’s Dish Recipes to giveaway a Le Creuset 3½ quart French Oven! Remember, you can’t win if you don’t play . . .
April 8, 2013
The Art of Procrastination, April 8
Good stuff from around the web.
After seeing this beautiful Alice in Wonderland inspired cake stand, I’m inspired to make my own.
The humble sandwich has become super trendy. Here’s a list of some of the best places to get one. Or you can just stay home, make a pb&j, and revel in your hipness.
Groovy pads that double as death traps.
How to throw a kick-ass brunch without having to get up a dawn.
Do you ever think to yourself, Gee, I really wish I could bake cookies shaped like a pregnant woman?
Of course Dr. Seuss had a wacky hat collection.
April 4, 2013
Le Creuset Giveaway
My new book, TABLE FOR SEVEN, drops in just a little over two weeks. It will be available in a bookstore near you — or online! — on April 23rd.
On New Year’s Eve, Fran and Will Parrish host a dinner party, serving their friends a gourmet feast. The night is such a success that the group decides to form a monthly dinner party club. But what starts as an excuse to enjoy the company of fellow foodies ends up having lasting repercussions on each member of the Table for Seven Dinner Party Club.
Booklist says, “Gaskell’s engaging novel is a high-wire artist’s performance as she spins a highly entertaining tale of a monthly dinner party.”
To celebrate the release of TABLE FOR SEVEN, I’ve teamed with Let’s Dish Recipes to give away a Le Creuset 3 1/2 quart Dutch oven.
Let’s Dish is your go-to source for oodles of amazing recipes. Try out their recipe for Chicken and Dumplings, or the Double Crunch Honey Garlic Chicken. And remember Samoas? Yeah, those amazingly addictive Girl Scout cookies. Well, lookey here. Samoas bars. Yum.
To enter, click here. The contest is open through April 23rd, and is open to US residents. Enter now!
April 2, 2013
Pig Soup, Take Two
Why? Because I’m stubborn, that’s why.
(By the way, I married a stubborn man. And together, we produced a child that is one thousand times more stubborn than either of us. It’s like our stubborn genes met, mutated, and created a super strain of stubborn.)
But back to the pig soup.
My first attempt was vomitous. (My bossy spell checker tells me that this is not a word, but it totally is. Not only that, it’s a particularly excellent word.)
For my second attempt, I decided to play it safe, and make split pea soup. Also, I used a left-over bone from a ham, and skipped the whole stock-making step. I think the stock would have been good — even excellent — with this vastly-less-disgusting variety of pig bone, but I’m still scarred from my last go-round.
Peas Porridge Hot
For some reason, split pea soup gets a bad rap, probably because of its vile color. But I love it, especially on a chilly night.
Here’s my recipe, which, like most of the things I cook, started as someone else’s recipe, before I tinkered around with it:
Split Pea Soup
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup onion, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 cup carrots, chopped
1 left-over ham bone
2 teaspoons dried leaf marjoram
10 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 lb. dried split green peas
Melt the butter in a Dutch oven. Add the vegetables, and cook at medium heat until they soften, stirring occasionally. Toss in the ham bone, and let it cook for another few minutes. Add the marjoram, broth and peas. Simmer the soup, partially covered, for an hour. (Or for as long as you want. I left it bubbling away for two-and-a-half hours. The whole point is to create ham-infused pea mush, after all.)
Remove the bone from the soup, and let it cool slightly. Remove the soup from the heat, and give it a few blasts with an immersion blender. Pick any remaining ham off the bone, dice it up and add it back to the soup. Stir and serve.
Voilà! It is done and it is delicious. Just try to ignore the color.
The Art of Procrastination, April 2
Good stuff from around the web.
How I do love swank 70′s design! And elephants are my favorite land animals.
Genius way to dice up all those leftover eggs.
I fantasize about living in an all-white, minimalist home, but only if it comes with my very own Rosie the Robot.
Maybe if I bought a chic watering can, I’d stop killing plants. No, probably not.
I hope they never, ever stop wearing those silly little hats. They make me smile.
Emma Watson dressed as Julia Roberts dressed as a prostitute.
March 26, 2013
Heard Around the House, Part 78 (and a pie)
Day four of Spring Break, and the natives are getting restless. And by natives, I mean a single nine-year-old boy obsessed with Minecraft.
ME: Want do you want to do today?
SAM: Play Minecraft.
ME: I meant something non-electronic. Hey, I know! Let’s go to the beach! We can bring your kite. It’s nice and windy out.
SAM: No. That’s boring.
ME: Well, what do you want to do?
SAM: I want to play Minecraft.
ME: The playground? The zoo? The turtle rescue center?
SAM: Minecraft. Minecraft. Minecraft.
In a fit of pique, I’ve declared a Minecraft-free day. This did not go over well.
ME: Do you want to bake a pie with me?
SAM: No.
ME: Why not? You love it when we bake together.
SAM: I’m annoyed at you. Because you won’t let me play Minecraft. Which is how I relax. And when I don’t get to relax, I get annoyed.
Sigh.
I had to bake alone. But my strawberry-rhubarb pie does look delicous.
March 20, 2013
Win a Williams-Sonoma Gift Card!
Only five weeks to go until the release of my new book, TABLE FOR SEVEN! It’s coming to a bookstore near you on April 23rd.
On New Year’s Eve, Fran and Will Parrish host a dinner party, serving their friends a gourmet feast. The night is such a success that the group decides to form a monthly dinner party club. But what starts as an excuse to enjoy the company of fellow foodies ends up having lasting repercussions on each member of the Table for Seven Dinner Party Club.
Booklist says, “Gaskell’s engaging novel is a high-wire artist’s performance as she spins a highly entertaining tale of a monthly dinner party.”
And Kirkus Reviews says, “Gaskell has mastered the art of putting the fun in dysfunctional.”
To celebrate, I’m going to be giving away all kinds of goodies over the next few weeks.
This week’s giveaway . . . *drum roll* . . . is one $50 gift certificate from Williams-Sonoma, which you can use for your next culinary adventure.
Enter now for your chance to win! Entries close at midnight on March 26th.
Good luck!
March 19, 2013
The Art of Procrastination
Good stuff from around the web.
The J.Crew Aficionada wonders: Is Gap > J.Crew? This ladybug dress sure is cute.
These DIY hair ties from the Average Girl’s Guide look so easy, maybe even non-crafty-I can pull them off. Also, if I weren’t so sick, I’d go buy these nude espadrilles from Target right now.
More DIY: Amazing leather handles from the Brick House.
I love mismatched chairs painted the same color.
The Pioneer Woman’s French onion soup is soooo much better than my pig soup.
