By Fourth of July. Rivera's served 303 people — the first time crossing 300 on a regular service day (the expansion opening hit 312, but that was an event, not a regular day). Three hundred and three people ate at Rivera's on the Fourth of July, and the restaurant — both smokers running, the full kitchen at capacity, the expanded dining room full — handled it. The machine works. The fire burns. Three hundred is the new normal.
Sofia grilled sixty-one ears of corn. Her personal record, broken for the third consecutive Fourth of July. She is twelve and she has a personal-record tracking system for corn grilling that would be at home in a professional athletics setting. The girl treats corn the way an Olympian treats split times. The corn station is not a station. The corn station is a sport.
At the altar that evening: forty-four people. Every grill. Every burner. Diego filming with the drone (the aerial footage of the altar is genuinely impressive — the bird's-eye view of four grills, two smokers, and forty-four people arranged around a mesquite table in a desert backyard is the most beautiful image of the Rivera family that exists, and it exists because a nine-year-old launched a drone and pressed record). Sparklers at sunset — Diego at three sparklers this year. The negotiation is over. The boy is nine. The boy gets three. The surrender was graceful.
Roberto was not at the Fourth of July. He stayed at Maryvale. Elena called and said he was "not feeling up to the drive." Not feeling up to the drive is not the same as sick. Not feeling up to the drive is the body saying: the energy required to get to Scottsdale and sit in a lawn chair for four hours is more energy than the body has today. The body is rationing now. The body is choosing which events deserve its diminishing fuel. The Fourth of July did not make the cut. The body chose rest. The man did not choose rest — the man would have been at the altar if the body allowed it. But the body is the machine and the machine is running low and the mechanic cannot add more fuel.
I called Roberto at 9 PM. The fireworks were starting. I held the phone up so he could hear them — the pops and cracks and booms of the Scottsdale fireworks, transmitted through a cell phone from a backyard to a recliner in Maryvale. Roberto listened. He said, "The fireworks sound the same every year." I said, "They are the same every year." He said, "Good. The things that stay the same are the things that matter." The things that stay the same. The carne asada. The grill. The fire. The fireworks. The family. The things that stay the same are the things that matter. Roberto, from his recliner, seventy miles and forty-five years from the first fire, giving the lesson that every lesson has been building toward. The things that stay the same. The fire stays the same. That is the whole thing.
Sofia grilled sixty-one ears of corn on the Fourth of July, and none of them went to waste — some went straight to the altar table, but the ones that came off the grill in that last golden hour before the fireworks, charred and sweet and smelling like the desert in July, those became this salad. The Santa Fe Salad with Cilantro-Lime-Peanut Vinaigrette is what happens when you take everything the Southwest does best — fire, lime, cilantro, corn — and let it sit together long enough to become something. Roberto couldn’t make it to the altar this year, but this is the salad I’ll bring to Maryvale next time, because it tastes exactly like the Fourth of July sounds through a cell phone: the same as it always has, and that’s the whole point.
Santa Fe Salad with Cilantro-Lime-Peanut Vinaigrette
Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 10 minutes | Total Time: 30 minutes | Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 3 ears of corn, husked (or 1 1/2 cups grilled/roasted corn kernels)
- 1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 1/2 red onion, finely diced
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 avocado, diced
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves, roughly chopped
- 4 cups romaine lettuce, chopped
- 1/4 cup roasted pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
- 1/4 cup cotija cheese, crumbled (optional)
- Cilantro-Lime-Peanut Vinaigrette:
- 3 tablespoons natural peanut butter
- 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice (about 2 limes)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 small garlic clove, minced
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, packed
- 1/4 teaspoon cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
- 2–3 tablespoons water, to thin
- Salt and black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Grill the corn. Heat a grill or grill pan over medium-high heat. Grill corn ears, turning occasionally, until charred in spots and cooked through, about 8–10 minutes. Let cool slightly, then cut kernels off the cob and set aside.
- Make the vinaigrette. Combine peanut butter, lime juice, olive oil, honey, soy sauce, garlic, cilantro, cumin, and chili powder in a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth, adding water one tablespoon at a time until the dressing reaches a pourable consistency. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Prep the vegetables. Dice the red bell pepper and red onion, halve the cherry tomatoes, and chop the romaine. Dice the avocado just before assembling to prevent browning.
- Assemble the salad. In a large bowl, layer the romaine as the base. Top with grilled corn kernels, black beans, red bell pepper, red onion, cherry tomatoes, and avocado. Scatter cilantro leaves and pepitas over the top.
- Dress and finish. Drizzle the cilantro-lime-peanut vinaigrette over the salad. Toss gently to combine, or serve dressing on the side. Top with crumbled cotija cheese if using. Serve immediately.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 310 | Protein: 10g | Fat: 16g | Carbs: 34g | Fiber: 8g | Sodium: 320mg