This post comes courtesy of Bianca Richardson and Mia Croft, members of Williams-Sonoma’s Creative Services team.
Those of us who work in Williams-Sonoma’s Creative Services Department are surrounded by beautiful images of mouthwatering food every day. This inspiration helps fuel our love of eating. And we look for any excuse to cook, bake, be creative and share food.
Last October, we were getting the itch to bake something — anything sweet and delicious. We ended up having a Halloween Cupcake-Off, with all kinds of treats that delighted our hungry crowd. It was such a success that since October, we’ve organized a food-themed celebration almost every month.
So we all know the more traditional holidays that give us an opportunity to celebrate with food: Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter and the Fourth of July. But what about the not-so-obvious ones?
After a quick Google search of holidays in August, we narrowed it down to National Watermelon Day, August 3. What better way to host our August food theme than by celebrating a summer food staple? Watermelon is in peak season in California during the month of August (that’s why it must have been Watermelon Day!), and it’s very refreshing to enjoy, even in the San Francisco fog. Plus, we found some really good recipes on our williams-sonoma.com site that we just had to try.
Watermelon Salad with Purple Basil and Feta — We subbed in Italian basil for the purple basil.
Watermelon, Manchego and Serrano Ham Skewers — We used prosciutto instead of serrano ham, plus omitted the olive oil and pepper. And for the vegetarians in our office, we made a few without the prosciutto.
During our lunch hour, we gathered in our office kitchen to eat our watermelon dishes. Believe it or not, there were some people who were not huge fans of watermelon, so they decided to bring along something that pairs perfectly with watermelon: fried chicken.
The watermelon recipes were a hit — no leftovers! That says a lot for our group of cooking enthusiasts. The best part of the afternoon: talking about food without it feeling like work.
About the authors: Bianca and Mia are part of the Williams-Sonoma Creative Services team. They love to design, bake, cook, plan parties and help save the world in their spare time.
3 comments
Not sure how I missed this one! All in our family L-O-V-E watermelon except my husband. But he grows it in our garden for the rest of us. The girls and I can eat half of a melon in one sitting! The salad looks yummy. Not so sure about the one with meat….
Not sure how I missed this one! All in our family L-O-V-E watermelon except my husband. But he grows it in our garden for the rest of us. The girls and I can eat half of a melon in one sitting! The salad looks yummy. Not so sure about the one with meat….
Looks absolutely delicious and refreshing!