The Defined Dish Guide to a Well-Stocked Round Top Weekend

What to stock, what to make ahead and how to feed a house full of friends without spending the weekend in the kitchen, according to Alex Snodgrass.

There’s a particular kind of magic to a Round Top weekend with friends. The early mornings, the long days spent hunting for treasures, the inevitable “look what I found” show-and-tell when everyone gets back to the house.

However, after hours of shopping, the last thing anyone wants is to spend the evening cooking while everyone else is catching up over cocktails.

Enter Alex Snodgrass, founder of The Defined Dish and four-time New York Times bestselling cookbook author behind The Defined Dish, The Comfortable Kitchen and Dinner Tonight. Her fourth and newest cookbook, Everyday Eats: 100 Simple and Healthy Recipes for Real Life, arrived in August with approachable recipes designed to make everyday cooking a little easier.

Her approach to feeding a house full of friends is refreshingly practical: a fridge stocked with everyone’s favorites, snacks ready the moment you walk through the door and a make-ahead breakfast that lets everyone get out shopping on time.

We asked Snodgrass to help us plan the ultimate Round Top weekend, from the first grocery run to the vintage pieces she’d love to bring home.

Her philosophy? Do the work before everyone arrives so you can actually enjoy having them there.

First Things First, Stock The Fridge

“I love stocking an empty fridge. It’s pure joy to have a blank space to work with.”

For Snodgrass, the first order of business is making sure everyone has something to drink.

“Drinks first: Waterloo sparkling waters, Poppi mini sodas, plenty of bottled water, and a few canned coffee drinks for easy morning sips. Then white wine chilling and a few mixers for cocktails (soda water, grapefruit juice).”

Next comes the food everyone can help themselves to throughout the weekend.

She prepares a meat and cheese board, fresh-cut fruit, chicken salad with vegetables and crackers, and a dip like cowboy caviar with good chips and salsa.

The goal isn’t an elaborate spread. It’s having something delicious ready whenever someone wanders into the kitchen.

Her five must-haves for a Round Top house?

“Coffee, water, martini essentials, salty snacks, and eye patches… you know, for the ladies!”

The Two-Minute Happy Hour

Anyone who’s spent a full day shopping Round Top knows the feeling. You get back to the house, unload your finds and suddenly realize you’re starving.

Snodgrass has a simple solution.

“The meat and cheese board I prepped ahead of time. It takes about two minutes to set out and it buys you an hour while everyone unloads their finds.”

It’s the kind of advice that makes hosting feel effortless. A little work before the weekend means no one has to disappear into the kitchen when the fun is just getting started.

Round Top mornings are for getting out the door, not standing over the stove.

Snodgrass is firmly on team make-ahead breakfast.

“Make-ahead, always. The Skillet Migas Frittata in my new book, Everyday Eats, has become a total go-to. It’s a showstopper, it’s genuinely easy, and it reheats beautifully.”

If she’s not preparing breakfast in advance, she keeps things equally simple.

“If I am not making ahead, I’ll bring ingredients for simple bacon, egg and cheese breakfast tacos!”

Either way, the goal is the same: feed everyone well and get on with the day.

After a long day in the fields, a good cocktail feels particularly well-earned.

“I am a martini or margarita girl through and through, so I’d pick one and make it the signature drink for the weekend.”

Her entertaining trick is to set up a self-serve martini station in a corner of the kitchen.

“I’d set up a little corner of the kitchen as the martini bar and stock it with olives, lemons, gin, vodka, and a small bottle of dry vermouth.”

She also keeps soda water, limes, lemons and grapefruit juice on hand for anyone who wants to mix something different.

A signature drink, a designated station and no one stuck playing bartender all night. We’re sold.

If Snodgrass were planning a dinner at the house, she’d keep it comforting and crowd-friendly.

“The ladies love pasta and salad.”

Her menu would feature the Skillet Baked Ziti with Sausage and Ricotta from Everyday Eats, alongside her Campisi’s-Inspired House Salad and some really good bread.

It’s the sort of meal that feels like an occasion without requiring an entire afternoon of preparation.

The beauty of this menu is its simplicity. A hearty pasta, a great salad and good bread are all you need to bring everyone back around the table after a full day of shopping.

For Snodgrass, good hosting comes down to preparation and a few thoughtful extras.

“A few hours of prepping ahead and a well-packed cooler goes a long way.”

She also recommends having something homemade waiting for guests, like her Salted Brown Butter Rice Crispy Treats or a batch of cookies.

“It’s such a small thing and it makes the whole house feel taken care of.”

As for unexpected dinner guests? She’s already planned for them.

“With how I overpack and over-prepare, I’m always making enough for one or two more. Someone always ends up tagging along for dinner at our house!”

Of course, we couldn’t let Snodgrass go without asking about the finds.

“A vintage cake stand or cookie jar is the best addition to any kitchen. I’m always keeping an eye out for gorgeous dishware and serving platters, and glassware too. And personally, I just love finding vintage western jewelry.”

She’s also a believer in actually using the beautiful things you’ve collected.

“Pretty dishware should be a staple, not a sometimes thing. If it’s in the cabinet, use it, for any dinner party, however big or small. Don’t let it collect dust!”

It’s a sentiment we can certainly get behind. After all, what good is a beautiful vintage platter if it never makes it out of the cabinet?

If there’s one thing Snodgrass believes every well-stocked Round Top house should have?

“Salty snacks!!!”

Consider the grocery list handled.

The best Round Top weekends leave plenty of room for the unexpected. One more field, one more find, one more hour around the table with friends.

Snodgrass’s approach makes that possible. Stock the fridge, prepare a few things ahead, put the good dishes to use and let everyone help themselves.

The best part of Round Top is the memories you make along the way. 

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