Introducing: Don’t Leave Yet by What's Gaby Cooking

Come for dinner, stay for the conversation (and the chaos)

Ummmm hi. We need to talk.

Ok, you might remember this little corner of the internet as Little Mouths, Big Palates and honestly, that was fun. Finn was brand new, I was deep in puree season, and I had a lot of thoughts about sweet potatoes, hummus, zucchini and carrots.

But here’s the thing… when your kid starts stealing tacos off your plate before they’re one, the baby food era has a pretty natural expiration date.

SO WE ARE MAKING A PIVOT. (Hello Ross from Friends - that scene will forever make my laugh so hard that I cry)

This is still going to be about food because obviously, that’s who I am. But it’s also going to be everything that happens around food and What’s Gaby Cooking. I want to make this feel like a weekly girls night if you will. Happy hour. An unhinged phone call to your best friend. And ZERO paywall.

It’ll include all the things. A status update on whatever strikes my fancy or what’s going on at the moment. The restaurants I can’t stop thinking about. The recipes I’m making over and over again. The shows I’m binging. The random internet rabbit holes. Elaborations on whatever is happening in my DMs. The group chat conversations that somehow turn into life advice. The diabolical things that happen in my industry that will leave you with a real giggle.

Basically, this is dinner at my house. Door is always open and I don’t want anyone to ever feel like they have to leave! Nothing is off limits. No topic too random. No amount of oversharing too much.

And because we’re cleaning out the pantry while we’re here, the entire Little Mouths, Big Palates archive is now open. Every recipe, every post, every update about Finn and Poppy. No paywall. No subscription required. Just grab what you need.

Welcome to Don’t Leave Yet! Pull up a chair, stay awhile….

Recipes on Repeat Currently:

• Cacio e Pepe Romaine - I can’t stop making this. So easy and so good on the side of just about everything

• Salted Key Lime Pie - it’s Thomas’ birthday and this was his request!

• Roasted Pepper and Corn Salad - another incredible side dish that is making an appearance on all our menus for entertaining

• Smash Burger of our DREAMS. The cheese in the meat makes the caramelization from the smash truly next level.

Where We Ate

• Betsy - it’s in my top 5 restaurants of all time. Wood fired everything. The melon salad this time of year is insane but my highlights that always seem to be on the menu are the steak, snap peas, the bread with butter, gnocchi, and for the love of all things holy please get yourself the cobbler.

• 1986 x Borekas Collab - I love a Borekas DEEPLY. And their bean and cheese collab with their neighbor was elite. It’s over now but do yourself a favor and go get a traditiaonl Borekas!

• Anajak - another one of my top 5 restaurants of all time. Best to go with people who love to eat and pick 3-4 items per person and then just split everything. The laab tots are otherworldly. People love the fried chicken but I think the X Y Z are really top notch!

What I’m Watching / Just Finished

• Off Campus - incredible. 10 out of 10, no notes.

• Dutton Ranch - just finished Season 1 and loved every single episode. Beth and Rip no longer have any sort of calm Montana life.

• The Madison - was a slow start but I actually loved how intentional it felt. WAY slower than a lot of shows in that realm but beautiful.

Influenced

• I’m deeply obsessed with Mahjong. It’s all I think about, talk about and do in my free time. If you’re not already part of this cult, consider this your invitation. Highly recommend a lesson or two and then to find your quad and play as much as possible. If you need a teacher in LA, DM me and I’ll send you Beth! She is an icon.

• Dermaplaning your face. Have you done this? I had it done once in a facial and I was appalled at how expensive it was so I bought the tools to do it myself. Holy moly I am obsessed. I just got some cheapy ones on amazon so if you have a brand that you love, hit me with the links!

• Ultra Violette Sunscreen - obviously I care deeply about sun protection given how much time I’ve spent lasering my sun damage away lol. So this combo is what I’m going with this summer. I order the sunscreen from Australia as their formulation is different and better. I also layer on the Color Science on top for a really lovely tinted layer.

• This pair of jeans from Pistola and this pair from AYR are my summer staples. The AYR ones are baggier than I’m used to but I am SO into them. I fear for when skinny jeans come back into style. I won’t know how to wear them.

• I just bought myself a new Chord hat because hello, I love hats now. These are the best baseball hats ever made for women. I will die on this hill. They are pricey but consider them an investment in your skin and a very cute part of any outfit.

• My favorite hat is finally back in stock. Talk about massive sun protection. Now every single one of my friends owns this and we look like we are in a cult when we are all together.

• I posted a purge of my bedroom the other day and my DMs were flooded with questions so rounding up all the FAQ’s here

  • Cooling / Heating Mattress Pad - honestly I think this is the best thing I have ever bought. I’ll be honest, I was like absolutely NOT when Thomas originally brought it to my attention because it’s pricey, but it rocked my world postpartum for Poppy and Finn. And if you’re in perimenopause or menopause, I have heard from MANY of my friends that is life altering. You can control each side of the bed depending on what you are looking for. Thomas sleeps at -8 and I rock a more manageable -2. In the winter I will program it to +2 for when I go to bed and then it slowly cools.

  • Mattress - just got this one and we are OBSESSED. It’s a hybrid, its firm without being hard AND has a pillow-top. Thomas wants a firm mattress, I want medium and this makes us both happy.

  • Bedding - nothing fancy! Got it a few years ago and I love it! It’s cooling and so soft.

I’ve got 2 more sections that are coming soon but this is a LOT for day 1 so I’ll leave you with this…

Ask me anything! You know my DMs are always open but if there’s a subject you’re dying to talk about, lay it on me.

That’s it.

A little food. A little life. A lot of opinions.

The same dinner table we’ve always had, just a bigger and longer conversation.

xx Gaby