Texas Caviar, Queso, and a Little Vintage Silver: Hosting in Round Top with Lulu Powers
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Time to read 6 min
From $10 finds to two Texas-inspired dips, celebrity entertainologist Lulu Powers shares her secrets to hosting a memorable gathering, even when you’re away from home.
There’s a particular kind of evening in Round Top that doesn’t require a reservation. You’ve spent the day weaving through antique booths, the car is full of finds, someone’s kicked off their boots already, and before you know it, everyone has gathered around the kitchen island at the ranch house or the spot you rented on the outskirts of town.
The only thing missing? Something good to eat.
Enter Lulu Powers, the self-proclaimed “entertainologist” whose client list has included Martha Stewart, Madonna, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Tom Cruise. Her approach to hosting is equal parts playful, thoughtful, and refreshingly unfussy. She’s also the kind of person who can make a bowl of popcorn feel like an occasion.
For our Round Top Finds collaboration, Powers created a colorful spread of what she calls “sneeky snacks,” complete with Texas caviar, her signature cheese dip, focaccia made from pizza dough, and a collection of serving pieces with stories of their own.
Her mission? Show us how to elevate a table when we’re not at home, without packing half the kitchen or spending the entire evening preparing food.
A $10 Find, 20 Years Later
Among the pieces Powers brings to the table is a bowl she found at a flea market for $10. She’s had it for roughly 20 years.
It’s the kind of find that makes us love Round Top. Not everything worth collecting comes with an impressive price tag, and sometimes the pieces you reach for most are the ones you least expected to love.
Powers mixes those longtime treasures with her own serving pieces, vintage silver, colorful glassware, and a few things that weren’t necessarily designed for entertaining in the first place.
The result is a table that feels collected rather than coordinated.
The Art of the Sneeky Snack
If there’s one thing Powers understands, it’s that good entertaining doesn’t require everything to be homemade.
Her spread includes popcorn with elote sauce, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, Hershey’s Kisses, and focaccia made from store-bought pizza dough.
For the focaccia, she serves ricotta alongside grapes, olives, and dill, leaning into the combination of sweet and salty flavors.
It’s an especially useful philosophy for Round Top, where the last thing anyone wants after a full day of shopping is to spend hours cooking or hosting.
Make a few things, buy a few things, and let the presentation do some of the work.
Lulu’s Hosting Tricks Worth Stealing
1. Create Height, Even If You Have to Use Books
One of Powers’ simplest tricks is varying the height of the food on a table.
Rather than placing every bowl and platter on the same level, she uses serving stands and trays to create dimension. Don’t have those at your house? Books can work as risers beneath stable serving pieces.
It’s a small adjustment that makes a table feel more interesting, even when the food itself is simple.
2. Make the Ice Part of the Occasion
Powers prepares decorative ice cubes for her drinks, adding a little visual interest without requiring an elaborate cocktail.
She also recommends keeping nonalcoholic options available, including De Soi which is a drink that tastes similar to an Aperol Spritz.
Her serving suggestion is simple: pour over ice, add club soda, and finish with an orange wheel or a beautiful ice cube.
She also makes room for nonalcoholic beer, soft drinks, and plenty of water.
3. Always Put Water Out
It sounds obvious, but it’s one of the details Powers emphasizes. She keeps water arranged on a tray where guests can easily help themselves.
Especially after a warm day walking the fields, this might be the most appreciated thing on the table.
4. Let Your Cocktail Napkins Have a Personality
Powers loves a cocktail napkin with a clever saying. They’re inexpensive, easy to pack, and can make an otherwise simple setup feel more personal.
5. Give Something Unexpected a Second Life
Among Powers’ finds is a cowboy hat she rescued from an estate garden. It’s an example of her willingness to see potential in objects that might otherwise be overlooked.
In Round Top, where old pieces are constantly being reimagined, it’s a philosophy we can certainly get behind.
Two Recipes for Your Round Top House
A great dip might be the most useful thing you can make when hosting a group. No formal seating arrangement, no complicated menu, just something delicious within reach while everyone recounts their favorite finds of the day.
Powers shared two recipes that feel particularly appropriate for Texas.
Texas "Caviar" with Corn Chips, Fritos…
This spicy, chunky vegetarian “dip” is what I call "Texas caviar." It's good ol' food, as they would say in Texas.
C’mon Ya’ll try it!
The Dressing
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup fresh lime juice (about 2 juicy limes)
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 or 2 cloves minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon honey or maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt or Lawry's salt
- 1 teaspoon tabasco or any hot sauce
- ½ teaspoon black pepper (I prefer freshly ground)
The Caviar
- 1 can (15 oz) black beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 can (15 oz) black-eyed peas, rinsed and drained
- 1 can (15 oz) pinto beans, rinsed and drained
- 1½ cups sweet corn (canned/drained, thawed frozen, or fresh)
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes, (red, yellow or green) quartered
- 1 large bell pepper (orange, red, or green), or even varied colors of mini peppers, finely diced
- ½ cup red onion, finely diced
- 1/2 cup grapes cut in quarters
- 1 large jalapeño, seeded and minced
- 1 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
Mix all the ingredients in the dressing together in a large bowl to fit all the beans. Next add the caviar to the dressing. Let it sit for a couple hours or best overnight.
Put in a great bowl and get your chips ready.
Lulu's Simply Divine Cheese Dip
This is my version of the classic Velveeta cheese dip and it's the perfect excuse to break out your fondue pot. Serve this dip with corn chips, Fritos, or Cheez Doodles.
Makes 2 Cups
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 cup finely chopped onion
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 teaspoon Lawry's Seasoned Salt
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups grated 4-cheese blend, preferably Mexican
- One 10-ounce can diced tomatoes with green chiles (I like RoTel brand)
- ¾ cup sour cream
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 5 scallions, both white and green parts, thinly sliced
- Fresh ground pepper
- 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
Optional: Hot sauce or a chopped jalapeño
Melt the butter in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the onion, sugar, garlic, seasoned salt, and salt and cook until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes.
Turn the heat to low and add the cheese, tomatoes, sour cream, chili powder, cumin, scallions and cilantro.
Stir until melted. Serve warm.
Shop Lulu Powers
Website: lulupowers.com
Her book: Lulu Powers Food to Flowers
Hosting supplies: Trays, risers, bowls and boards
Shakers: Brass cocktail shakers and bar pieces
Instagram: @lulupowers
What We’d Hunt for in Round Top
Inspired to create your own sneeky-snack spread? Here are a few things we’d keep an eye out for while shopping the fields.
Vintage Silver Platters and Bowls
Excess II, Bar W, and Northgate Field are one of our favorite places to wander for silver, serving pieces, and unexpected tabletop finds. We also have found very affordable pieces at Viva la Rouge in The Arbors. Indian Creek Antiques at The Compound is another stop worth exploring for vintage silver.
Antique Toast Racks
Originally designed to hold toast upright, these can be repurposed for cocktail napkins. A small detail that adds personality to a bar or snack table.
Mismatched Vintage Plates
Look for interesting patterns, scalloped edges, and unusual colors. A collection assembled over time can be more interesting than a matching set.
Champagne Coupes
Perfect for cocktails, mocktails, and individual desserts. They’re one of those vintage finds that can work well beyond a formal occasion.
Brass Trays and Candlesticks
Mixed metals add warmth and character. We’re especially drawn to vintage bamboo-style brass trays.
Unexpected Objects
A small silver bowl, an antique stand, or an object that wasn’t originally intended for entertaining might become the most memorable piece on the table.
The Best Gatherings Aren’t the Most Complicated
Round Top has a way of bringing people together. Friends arrive from different cities, spend the day shopping in different directions, and eventually find themselves back under the same roof, comparing finds and telling stories about the pieces they almost bought.
It’s the perfect setting for Powers’ approach to entertaining.
Prepare a few things ahead of time. Mix homemade favorites with easy store-bought snacks. Bring out the serving pieces you’ve collected, even if they weren’t originally intended for food.
The goal isn’t to create a tablescape so perfect that nobody wants to touch it.
It’s to create the kind of evening where someone reaches for another chip, pours another drink, and stays just a little longer than they planned.
Because in Round Top, the best finds aren’t always the things you bring home. Sometimes they’re the memories made around the table.
