tips for hosting

There’s no one right way to throw a swap, but it does pay to think through how you want the whole thing to go down and to lay out some guidelines for your party.

Want everyone to taste all of the soups at the party?

Yes. Then everyone should bring enough to share that night and a pot to heat it in. Plus they will also need to bring some soup (ideally separately, and already packaged) to send home with each guest. This approach can be tricky if you have lots of people and just one stove to heat all the soups. So it’s better for smaller groups, say 6 or fewer.

No. Then everyone just brings their soup already packaged and labeled to send home with each guest. If this is the case, we suggest that the host serves their own soup on the night of the party, plus some salad, bread and cheese to go with it.

Do you have enough bowls and spoons for everyone?

Mugs or ramekins make good stand-ins, especially if you’re just having a small taste of each batch. They don’t need to match. Wash spoons as you taste, if needed. And, if you’re serving a bunch of different soups to taste the night of the party, have each person bring their own ladle with their name on it.

How much to make?

We like to send everyone home with about one quart (4 cups) of each soup. So the totals depend on how many people are coming to the swap—a little math may be in order. Most of the recipes in this chapter make 12 to 16 cups—enough for 3 or 4 people.

Who makes what?

If you want to make sure there’s a nice balance of soups, let everyone sign up in a Google doc or use plain old email. Don’t forget dietary restrictions; you’ll need to plan for those.

Make tags.

Between sips of soup and wine, arm your friends with paper, markers and ribbons so they can craft labels.