A big thanks to the folks who came out to help us celebrate our 10th anniversary Saturday night at the Art on 5th gallery. I continue to be amazed by the amount of support and love that I get from my clients–I’m one lucky designer!

If you’re following us on Facebook, you know that I had a little bit of a freak dance while making all of the food for this shindig. Specifically, I was stressed out over how the food would be presented, and feeling the pressure of creating a magazine-worthy buffet table. I finally let go of that and it all worked out beautifully. Why do we put ourselves through all of this anxiety when the whole reason for entertaining is to have fun??

Many guests requested the recipes for some of the dishes I made, so this week I’m taking a bit of a departure from home decor to chat about food…starting with:

WATERMELON SOUP

I know you’re looking at me like, wha? But seriously, this is good stuff. I don’t know that I would recommend making a vat for a party like I did, because seeding a watermelon (even a “seedless” one) is a slow and laborious process. That is the task that put me in the tense tank, to be honest. It literally affected my vision after a while. But one batch won’t kill you, and it’s so darn good. Depending on the heat of the poblano chilies you select, there’s a bit of a kick. As with all hot peppers, if you like more heat, look for poblanos with pointy ends. This soup is vegan and dairy-free, although it’s also fantastic with cubed grilled chicken mixed in too, as the original recipe calls for. It’s very impressive and easy on the budget. Too bad I didn’t take a single photo at the party (nuts!), because it’s pretty, too.

INGREDIENTS

2 poblano chilies
2 teaspoons ground coriander seeds
10 cups seeded, cubed watermelon (about 10 lbs whole)
1/2 cup mineral or filtered water
1/4 cup orange juice
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint
1/2 cup chopped scallions

PREPARATION:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

2. Place the poblano chilies on a baking sheet and roast for 20 minutes, untill charred on all sides, turning halfway through the cooking time. Remove them from the oven, place in plastic bags, and let steam for 5 minutes. Remove them from the bag, peel away the skin, half, seed, and cut into 1/2-inch cubes; set aside.

3. Dry roast the ground coriander by cooking it in a small skillet over low heat for 4 minutes.

4. In a blender or food processor, puree half of the watermelon with the water, ground coriander, orange juice, lime juice, sugar and  salt. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and add remaining watermelon cubes, poblano chilies, cilantro and mint. Mix well.

5. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Making it a day or two ahead will give you wilty mint and cilantro, but will give your flavors a chance to really shine.

6. To serve, ladle into cups and garnish with chopped scallions.

Makes 10 cups.

This recipe was adapted from The Daily Soup Cookbook, which is chock-full of amazingness. I’ll continue to feature other recipes from the party this week.