Skip to content

Top Navigation

Food & Wine Food & Wine
  • Recipes & Cooking
  • Drinks
  • Travel
  • Holidays & Events
  • News
  • F&W Classic
  • Video
  • Kitchen & Home
  • F&W Pro

Profile Menu

Your Profile

Your Profile

  • Join Now
  • Newsletters
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Give a Gift Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Wine Club
  • Podcast
  • Food & Wine Books this link opens in a new tab
  • Logout
Login
Subscribe Subscribe
Pin FB

Explore Food & Wine

Food & Wine Food & Wine
  • Explore

    Explore

    • F&W Cooks

      F&W Cooks

      Food and Wine presents a new network of food pros delivering the most cookable recipes and delicious ideas online. Read More
    • Our 22 Best Crock Pot and Slow-Cooker Recipes

      Our 22 Best Crock Pot and Slow-Cooker Recipes

      Looking to amp up your beef stew but unsure where to start? A slow cooker can can take your comfort food to the next level. Read More
    • 50 Affordable Wines You Can Always Trust

      50 Affordable Wines You Can Always Trust

      We’ve assembled a list of 50 of the world’s most reliable, inexpensive wines – bottles that offer amazing quality for their price year in and year out. Read More
  • Recipes & Cooking

    Recipes & Cooking

    See All Recipes & Cooking
    • Chicken Recipes
    • Comfort Food Recipes
    • Breakfast & Brunch Recipes
    • Salad Recipes
    • Dessert Recipes
    • Vegetable Recipes
    • Pasta & Noodle Recipes
    • Chefs
    • Meat & Poultry Recipes
    • Soup Recipes
    • Appetizer Recipes
    • Side Dishes
    • Fruit Recipes
    • Seafood Recipes
    • Special Diets
    • Cooking Techniques
    • Steal This Trick
  • Drinks

    Drinks

    See All Drinks
    • Wine
    • Cocktails & Spirits
    • Coffee Drinks & Recipes
    • Juices
    • Beer & Brews
    • Champagne & Sparkling Wine
    • Tea Recipes & Ideas
  • Travel

    Travel

    See All Travel
    • Wine Regions
    • Restaurants
  • Holidays & Events

    Holidays & Events

    See All Holidays & Events
    • Valentine's Day
    • Halloween
    • Passover
    • Hanukkah
    • Christmas
    • Gifts
    • Super Bowl
    • Easter
    • Thanksgiving
    • New Year's Eve
    • Holiday Entertaining
  • News
  • F&W Classic
  • Video
  • Kitchen & Home
  • F&W Pro

Profile Menu

Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
Your Profile

Your Profile

  • Join Now
  • Newsletters
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Give a Gift Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Wine Club
  • Podcast
  • Food & Wine Books this link opens in a new tab
  • Logout
Login
Sweepstakes

Follow Us

LIVE
  1. HomeChevron Right
  2. Kitchen & HomeChevron Right
  3. Anna Watson Carl’s Cookbook Road Trip

Anna Watson Carl’s Cookbook Road Trip

By Food & Wine
Updated May 09, 2019
Skip gallery slides
Save FB Tweet
Place Setting
Credit: Photo © Elizabeth Rudge
To promote her upcoming cookbook, The Yellow Table: Celebrating the Art of Everyday Gatherings, Anna Watson Carl drove from New York City to L.A., and threw a series of dinner parties along the way. Here, 10 things she learned on the trip.
Start Slideshow

1 of 10

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

There’s No Place Like Home

Yellow Table
Credit: Photo © Eric Ryan Anderson

I kicked off the #cookbookroadtrip (yes, there was a hashtag!) with a dinner party around my yellow table. It was nice throwing the first dinner in the comfort of my own apartment before heading out into the unknown.

  • New Kitchen Design Trends

1 of 10

Advertisement
Advertisement

2 of 10

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

Never Let a Little Rain Stop You

Garden Party
Credit: Photo © Mike Gilger

For the second dinner, my co-host Megan Gilger created a dreamy picnic-style setting at Beausol Gardens, outside Raleigh. It started raining right after she set the table, so we quickly grabbed some tarps and covered everything. We all stayed calm, the rain passed and the dinner went on!

  • Top 10 Picnic Recipes

2 of 10

3 of 10

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

It Takes a Village

Peter Nappi Dinner Party
Credit: Photo © Heidi Ross

The night before the third dinner, in Nashville, I ended up in the ER getting stitches in my leg (long story!) and wasn’t sure I’d be able to walk the next day. Fortunately, I had an incredible team of friends and family who stepped in and helped me pull off a multicourse Italian feast for 25 at the gorgeous Peter Nappi studio.

  • Italian-American Classics

3 of 10

Advertisement

4 of 10

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

There’s Nothing Like a Home-Cooked Meal...

Toasts
Credit: Photo © Hannah McSwain

...And a little bourbon to connect total strangers.

Dinner No. 4 was held at Joy the Baker’s beautiful French Quarter apartment in New Orleans. The dinner was cozy and casual, with just seven women total. No one really knew each other at the beginning of the night, but four hours later, after a lot of laughs (and a few bourbon cocktails) we all felt like best friends.

  • Bourbon Cocktails

4 of 10

5 of 10

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

Fabulous Dinner Parties Don’t Have to Cost a Fortune

Table Setting
Credit: Photo © Jack Matthews & Jeanine Donofrio

At our Austin dinner party—held at the home of Jeanine Donofrio of the blog Love & Lemons—we created a simple tablescape using mixed and matched vintage plates and glasses, patterned napkins and a runner that Jeanine already had. We tied the look together with simple zinnia bouquets in old milk bottles, inexpensive candles in Mason jars and strung Christmas lights. The table looked beautiful and hardly cost anything.

  • Easy Dinner Party Recipes

5 of 10

6 of 10

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

There is No Force as Powerful as Community

Dinner Table with Flowers
Credit: Photo © Samuel Melton

Dinner No. 6, held at Neighbor’s Table in Dallas, was the only party where I wasn’t allowed to cook. My friend and co-host, Sarah Harmeyer, enlisted an army of helpers to shop, cook (recipes from my book), clean and set everything up. One of her friends, the talented Kris Drayovitch, created gorgeous bouquets of flowers for the table and hand-wrote menus and place cards. I was blown away by the love shown to me that night.

  • All-American Appetizers

6 of 10

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

7 of 10

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

Detours are Often the Best Part of the Trip

Blue Swallow Motel
Credit: Photo © Anna Watson Carl

My intern, Elise Inman (who accompanied me on the trip), encouraged me to take time to explore a little along the way. She read about Tucumcari, New Mexico—a tiny town of perfectly preserved 1950s–style motels and diners on Historic Route 66—and we rerouted our trip to spend the night there. This cute little inn was one of my favorite places we stayed.

  • America's Best Road Trips

7 of 10

8 of 10

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

Never be Afraid to Ask

Anna in the Desert
Credit: Photo © Elise Inman

More than anything else, this trip taught me that you have to ask for what you need. Volkswagen lent me a car to drive; Whole Foods Market sponsored all of the food and wine for the dinners; bloggers across the country cohosted parties with me and blogged about my project—all because I asked. It was absolutely incredible to see the doors that opened once I got over my fear of asking!

  • Wine Pairings

8 of 10

9 of 10

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

When Cooking for a Dinner Party, Keep it Simple

Whole Fish with Lemons
Credit: Photo © Anna Watson Carl

I cooked a different menu for each dinner party—altering it depending on the climate, the setting and what ingredients were in season—but in every case, I kept the dishes simple. For the Los Angeles dinner, I made these whole roast fish, stuffed with lemons and herbs; they are so easy to make, but look impressive.

  • How to Roast a Whole Fish

9 of 10

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

10 of 10

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

Collaborating with Friends is the Best

Place Setting
Credit: Photo © Elizabeth Rudge

For my final dinner, in Seattle, I collaborated with my friends stylist Jenn Elliott Blake and calligrapher Sally Balt. The three of us have worked together before, and make a great team: I cooked, Jenn did the flowers and styled the table, and Sally wrote menus and place cards. If I could create a career out of working with these girls, I absolutely would!

  • Easy Dinner Party Recipes

10 of 10

Replay gallery

Share the Gallery

Pinterest Facebook

Up Next

By Food & Wine

    Share the Gallery

    Pinterest Facebook
    Trending Videos
    Advertisement
    Skip slide summaries

    Everything in This Slideshow

    Advertisement

    View All

    1 of 10 There’s No Place Like Home
    2 of 10 Never Let a Little Rain Stop You
    3 of 10 It Takes a Village
    4 of 10 There’s Nothing Like a Home-Cooked Meal...
    5 of 10 Fabulous Dinner Parties Don’t Have to Cost a Fortune
    6 of 10 There is No Force as Powerful as Community
    7 of 10 Detours are Often the Best Part of the Trip
    8 of 10 Never be Afraid to Ask
    9 of 10 When Cooking for a Dinner Party, Keep it Simple
    10 of 10 Collaborating with Friends is the Best

    Share options

    Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

    Login

    Food & Wine

    Magazines & More

    Learn More

    • Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
    • Books from Food & Wine
    • Contact Us
    • Media Kit
    • Content Licensing

    Connect

    Follow Us
    Subscribe to Our Newsletter
    Other Meredith Sites

    Other Meredith Sites

    • 4 Your Health this link opens in a new tab
    • Allrecipes this link opens in a new tab
    • All People Quilt this link opens in a new tab
    • Better Homes & Gardens this link opens in a new tab
    • Bizrate Insights this link opens in a new tab
    • Bizrate Surveys this link opens in a new tab
    • Cooking Light this link opens in a new tab
    • Daily Paws this link opens in a new tab
    • EatingWell this link opens in a new tab
    • Eat This, Not That this link opens in a new tab
    • Entertainment Weekly this link opens in a new tab
    • Health this link opens in a new tab
    • Hello Giggles this link opens in a new tab
    • Instyle this link opens in a new tab
    • Martha Stewart this link opens in a new tab
    • Midwest Living this link opens in a new tab
    • More this link opens in a new tab
    • MyRecipes this link opens in a new tab
    • MyWedding this link opens in a new tab
    • My Food and Family this link opens in a new tab
    • MyLife this link opens in a new tab
    • Parenting this link opens in a new tab
    • Parents this link opens in a new tab
    • People this link opens in a new tab
    • People en Español this link opens in a new tab
    • Rachael Ray Magazine this link opens in a new tab
    • Real Simple this link opens in a new tab
    • Ser Padres this link opens in a new tab
    • Shape this link opens in a new tab
    • Siempre Mujer this link opens in a new tab
    • Southern Living this link opens in a new tab
    • SwearBy this link opens in a new tab
    • Travel & Leisure this link opens in a new tab
    MeredithFood & Wine is part of the Meredith Corporation Allrecipes Food Group. © Copyright 2021 Meredith Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policythis link opens in a new tab Terms of Servicethis link opens in a new tab Ad Choicesthis link opens in a new tab California Do Not Sellthis link opens a modal window Web Accessibilitythis link opens in a new tab
    © Copyright . All rights reserved. Printed from https://www.foodandwine.com

    View image

    Anna Watson Carl’s Cookbook Road Trip
    this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines.