How to display 3 posts horizontally in a widget

I would like to have the 3 most recents posts at the bottom of the home page. I have created a custom widget area above the footer. How can I get the posts to show up like in the mockup I have attached?

I realize I could probably do it using Juggledad's template, but I need to have the background be full width, hence using the custom widget in the footer.