By Labor Day. The last cookout of summer. Thirty people at the altar. The menu: the full spread, the greatest hits, the Rivera canon in its complete expression. Brisket (fourteen hours, the offset smoker humming through the night). Roberto's carne asada (the portable, the driveway, the tradition). Ribs (the ancho-cocoa rub, the pecan smoke, the 99-point ribs that the judges called the best they had tasted). Burnt ends. Mac and cheese. Birria tacos. Sofia's corn. Diego's hot dogs (his station is the gas grill now — he flips hot dogs with tongs that are bigger than his arms and a focus that belies his five years). Elena's guacamole. The cowboy beans. The watermelon with tajin.
A moment: Roberto and Elena sat at the mesquite table and ate surrounded by their family — me, Jessica, Sofia, Diego, Miguel, Miguel's family, neighbors, firehouse friends — and I watched them from the smoker and saw two people in their mid-sixties who have survived diabetes, a pandemic, the slow erosion of bodies that once did everything without thinking, and who are sitting at a table their son built, eating food their son cooked, watching their grandchildren cook alongside them. The look on Elena's face was not happiness. It was something deeper. It was the face of a woman who raised a son who raises children who will raise children, and the chain is unbroken, and the food is the evidence.
The location walkthrough is in two weeks. I am thinking about it constantly — at the altar, at the office, in the Silverado. What will the space look like? What will it feel like to stand in a room that might become Rivera's? What will it smell like before it smells like smoke? These questions are theoretical. In two weeks they will be physical. The dream will have an address. The address will have walls. The walls will have a future.
The fall competition circuit starts next month. I am entering the Arizona State BBQ Championship — the biggest event I have ever entered, the one where I placed third in 2024... wait, that has not happened yet. This is 2022. This is the first time I am entering the State Championship. The field will be the deepest I have faced. The stakes are higher. The smoker is ready. The fire is ready. I am not sure I am ready. But Roberto says readiness is not a feeling. Readiness is a decision. You decide you are ready, and then you prove it.
The brisket gets the glory and the ribs get the ribbons, but feeding thirty people at the Labor Day altar means every dish on that table has to pull its weight — and nothing pulls quieter or harder than a great pasta salad. While I was watching smoke roll off the offset at two in the morning, Jessica had this chilling in the cooler, waiting to anchor the side table between Sofia’s corn and the cowboy beans. Elena ate two plates. That’s the only review that matters.
Best Potluck Pasta Salad
Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 12 minutes | Total Time: 32 minutes (plus 1 hour chilling) | Servings: 12
Ingredients
- 1 lb rotini or tri-color rotini pasta
- 1 cup salami, quartered or chopped
- 1 cup pepperoni, halved
- 1 cup black olives, sliced
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 cup green bell pepper, diced
- 1/2 cup red onion, finely diced
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella or cubed provolone
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 bottle (16 oz) Italian dressing (zesty style preferred)
- 1 packet (0.7 oz) dry Italian seasoning mix
- Salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cook the pasta. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook rotini according to package directions until al dente, about 10–12 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold water to stop cooking. Let cool completely.
- Prep the mix-ins. While pasta cools, chop salami, pepperoni, bell pepper, red onion, and halve the cherry tomatoes and olives. Cube or shred the cheese if not pre-shredded.
- Combine. In a very large bowl, toss together the cooled pasta, salami, pepperoni, olives, tomatoes, bell pepper, red onion, mozzarella, and Parmesan.
- Dress it. Pour the Italian dressing over the salad and sprinkle in the dry Italian seasoning packet. Toss thoroughly to coat everything evenly. Season with salt and black pepper to taste.
- Chill. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving, or overnight. Toss again before serving and add a splash more dressing if the pasta has absorbed too much.
- Serve. Transfer to a serving bowl or keep in the large bowl for potluck-style serving. Best served cold straight from the cooler.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 420 | Protein: 16g | Fat: 22g | Carbs: 38g | Fiber: 2g | Sodium: 980mg