A 91-year-old woman asked me to reach a half-gallon of milk for her at the grocery store.

Me: Sure! Here you go.

Her: Thank you so much. And you are so beautiful!

Me: That’s so nice! Do you want to be my adopted grandmother?

Her: Can I give you a word of advice?

Me: Umm, ok.

Her: Stay away from men.

Me: Haha! It’s a little late for that. I’ve been married for 14 years.

Her: [face falls] Oh, no.

Me: I’m afraid so.

Her: That’s too bad.

Me: No, really. It’s all good.

Her: I was married for 47 years. He gone now. Passed away.

Me: Oh, I’m so sorry.

Her: [shrugs dismissively] Yeah, well, what are you going to do? Anyway, thanks for the milk.

The main draw of the French Open begins Sunday. Allez, Roger!

50 Life Hacks to Simplify Your World. Worth reading for the Ninja Fold alone.

I love beachy summer whites, no matter how impractical they are when you have a child and a dog. And a husband. Also, would anyone in the greater Stuart area mind if I build one of these on St. Lucia beach?

I just put Brief Encounter and season 7 of Entourage in my Netflix queue, which makes perfect sense to me, but probably confused the hell out of their computer generated recommendations.

ME: I’ll send you a picture of the one I killed.

HER: That’s really not possible.

ME: Want to bet??

But thanks to Pinterest, and the plethora of beautiful plant pictures found there, I decided to persevere, and bring some green into my house. This time, I thought I’d try out a succulent. They’re supposed to be hardy and idiot-proof, plus they’re cool looking.

This is how it started:

And, this is how it looked after living with me for six weeks:

Oh well.

This spaghetti carbonara recipe is featured in the second January chapter in TABLE FOR SEVEN. Pasta is my ultimate comfort food. This dish is starchy, and cheesy, and bacony, and exactly what I crave on terrible, horrible, no good, very bad days.

What can go wrong with pasta, cheese, wine and pancetta? Nothing, that’s what.

For a 2-person serving, here’s what you’ll need:

12 oz spaghetti
1/3 lb. pancetta, diced
2 shallots, diced
1/3 cup white wine
1/3 cup grated pecorino romano
3/4 cup grated parmesan
2 eggs, beaten

Cook the spaghetti, as per the box instructions, until it’s al dente. Drain.

Meanwhile . . .

Mmmmm, bacon.

Saute the pancetta over medium heat until the fat begins to render. Add the shallots, and cook until golden. Then add the wine, and let the whole thing simmer until the liquid is reduced by half.

This will smell delicious. If you have a pug, she will appear and stare at you.

Please, please, please drop some of that fancy bacon on the floor.

Ignoring the dog, add the pasta and, using tongs, toss the spaghetti with the pancetta/shallot mixture.

Then add in the cheese, and toss some more.

Here’s where it gets tricky. Most carbonara recipes say that at this point, you should remove the pan from the heat, add the eggs, and let the heat of the pasta cook the eggs. Then they add all sorts of dire warnings about how the eggs won’t be fully cooked, and there’s a possibility you will contract salmonella, the plague, etc, so if you do, don’t contact their legal department.

I usually leave the pan on the burner, and toss the eggs with the pasta over a low heat. Gordon might not approve, but hey, I’ve also never gotten sick, so I’m okay with that.

Dish out into two shallow bowls, and pepper to taste. You can also add salt to taste, but I find that the pancetta and pecorino romano add enough salt to the dish, so it doesn’t really need more.

Serve and enjoy. With the remaining white wine, of course.

You can purchase it in bookstores, or order it online from Amazon and Barnes & Noble. It’s also available to purchase for your Kindle or other e-reader.

The success of most books hinges on word-of-mouth, so if you enjoy TABLE FOR SEVEN, please take a minute to leave feedback on Amazon, Barnes & Noble or Goodreads.

Want to learn how to slice ‘em and dice ‘em? Here’s how.

Grilled Corned Beef and Fontina Sandwiches. Perfectly delicious even when it’s not St. Patty’s Day.

A primer on how not to kill your houseplants. Advice I won’t be able to follow, but hey, maybe it will work for you.

Texas forever, ya’ll.

Of course Nate Berkus’s Manhattan apartment is stunning.

Today’s the last day to enter for your chance to win a Le Creuset 3½ quart French Oven!

Here are some of the great reviews TABLE FOR SEVEN has received:

“Gaskell’s engaging novel is a high-wire artist’s performance as she spins a highly entertaining tale of a monthly dinner party.” — Booklist

“Gaskell has mastered the art of putting the fun in dysfunctional.” — Kirkus Reviews

“Gaskell’s novel is a fun and delectable journey of love, friendship and delicious food.” — Romantic Times (four stars)

The book will be available in book stores on Tuesday, April 23rd. You can also pre-order it online from Amazon and Barnes & Noble, or download it to your Kindle or e-reader.

And don’t forget to enter for your chance to win a Le Creuset 3 1/2 quart Dutch oven!

It went down like this:

Monday:
Breakfast – oatmeal, 2 hard boiled eggs, half grapefruit
Lunch – canned salmon, green salad, slice cantaloupe
Dinner – salmon, asparagus, berries

Tuesday:
Breakfast – oatmeal, 2 hard boiled eggs, half grapefruit
Lunch – canned salmon, green salad, slice cantaloupe
Dinner – salmon, spinach, berries

Wednesday:
Breakfast – oatmeal, 2 hard boiled eggs, half grapefruit
Lunch – canned salmon, green salad, slice cantaloupe
Dinner – Pizza, Chardonnay, Peppermint Patties

I’m starting to think that maybe I’m not cut out for this low-carb crap.

Also, not one single person has told me I look ten years younger than I did three days ago. Huh.