Down Home Cookin' with Designer Lela Rose

Click through the slideshow to view the style maven's white chili recipe

Even in the comfort of her own home (read: exquisite Tribeca loft), Lela Rose comes across as a professional aesthete. Her outfit strikes the perfect balance: a comfy gray t-shirt and vibrantly color-blocked shorts of her own design (available here). Her daughter, Rosey, ran around in a pleated powder blue party dress, and every design choice throughout the party pad screamed "textile enthusiast" (including the felt-upholstered walls!). And though Rose, with roots in bridal and recent success in ready-to-wear, is undoubtedly a darling of the fashion world, I wasn't there to ask about her clothes.

Somewhat miraculously, the Texas-born fashionista finds the time to exercise the side passions she's made of contemporary art, international travel, and—as was immediately evident from the smell of caramelizing onions, ground turkey, and chili verde upon entering her home—cooking. Her southern hospitality certainly shone through as she laid out some homemade raisin bread with creamed honey, and offered several rounds of coffee. Upon finding out that she had baked the bread herself, I couldn't hide my shock. She laughed her hearty Texan laugh and said, "people just don't realize how easy it is to cook." So of course, we let her show us how it's done. —Lucie Alig   

For the Chili:

6 chicken breasts (ground)
5 red onions (diced)
10 poblano peppers (roasted, peeled, chopped)
2 pounds tomatillos, made into salsa (or 1 jar of green salsa)
5 cups of good quality chicken stock 
5 tablespoons cumin seeds
5 tablespoons ground cumin

Suggested Fixin's:

Queso blanco (crumbled)
Grape tomatoes (diced)
Avocado (diced)
Chips