July is flying by which means we need to give our book of the month, Party Grub, a little more love. But before we get to that, have you guys ordered our new book Hungry as Hell ? We’re working on a bunch of killer gifts and content for all of you that preorder, so hold on to your receipts because they'll come in handy. We’ll announce them here first so stay tuned. Now back to our regular programming.
Party Grub, like I mentioned a couple weeks ago, was written on a bender. Everything blurs together when I try to remember the production schedule. But the one thing I can’t forget: the party.
We threw a party at our office, inviting friends, new work associates, and neighbors so that we could have photos of a party scenes for the book. It seemed like a straightforward idea but like all things, the devil was in the details. As the day inched closer, I started to panic. I had to cook 8 -10 dishes that day for Matt to photograph as part of the party spread but nobody could eat them until the evening, after they were done being staged, tweaked, and rearranged for book photography. That was enough work but I also had to figure out what the fuck to feed the people at the party so they didn’t get too drunk and/or annoying and spoil the shoot. I couldn’t cook and stage a bunch of picture-perfect food while also feeding a crowd of 30 people in a small kitchen with only my friend Nick Smith to help. I needed reinforcements.
A few weeks prior, I stopped by an event at the now defunct Moo Shoes on Sunset where a guy named Mick Weldon was posted up out front. We chatted as I bought some of the food he was cooking on a griddle attached to his bike. His pop-up, 100 Tacos, was now his full-time gig after he quit working at a bakery to bet on himself. This was 2015. The Recession was a not-so-distant specter and anyone who took bold steps like that felt like the bravest person in the world. Now that I needed someone to feed a crowd so I could focus on the book, Mick came back into my mind. I reached out, booking him and his vegan tacos to help me throw a great party. On the day of, he showed up with his girlfriend to help with the orders and I quickly became annoyed that I had work my ass off all day instead of hanging out with them. They seemed so cool and fun. His then-girlfriend, now-wife Roxy, instantly became one of my best friends in the whole world and none of that would have happened without Party Grub.
The opening and endpapers of the book are images of the backyard party illustrated by Nick Hensley. My friend VJ, an old neighbor from when I first moved to LA, is leaning and laughing against the “do not enter’ sign while Mick’s bicycle taco cart hangs on the opposite page. You can also catch Nick, the illustrator from all our books, on page 66 taking a pull from the punch dispenser as neighbor Megan and friend/lawyer Sally chat in the background. All these people are married with kids now so it’s great to see them forever stuck in time at a party before they grew all the way up just a few years later. All of the books are filled with friends, like Maya who is taking a drink of the peach juleps with me on page 192 and also appears in Brave New Meal. We cashiered together for years and she’s one of the funniest people I’ve ever met. If it wasn’t for all these friends, my stress hives from the production of this book might have never cleared up.
One of my favorite dinner party dishes from that time of my life appears in Party Grub. I’ve made this thousands of times and it always hits the spot. Don’t be fooled by its simple list of ingredients. This pasta is greater than the sum of all its parts and deceivingly delicious. It’s perfect for lazy summer dinner parties filled with good drinks and better company. Not every party needs to stress you the fuck out. Trust me. I learned the hard way.
Family-Style Roasted Veggie Pasta
Makes enough for 4- 6 people, easy to double for a crowd
1 pound pasta*
1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more if needed for the pasta
1⁄2 large red onion, sliced
2 medium carrots, cut into thin matchsticks
1 pint tiny tomatoes, halved**
1 medium zucchini, cut into thin matchsticks
1 pound eggplant, skin on, cut into cubes
¼ teaspoon salt
2 ½ tablespoons chopped fresh thyme leaves
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons lemon juice
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1⁄2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)***
Salt and black pepper
Serving ideas: fresh arugula or spinach leaves
Cook the pasta according to the package directions. We aren’t going to waste our damn time typing that shit out. We already know you can read. Drain that shit and pour it back into the pot.
Crank up the oven to 425°F. Grab 2 large rimmed baking sheets. In a large bowl, throw in the oil, red onion, carrots, tomatoes, zucchini, eggplant, and salt. Mix that shit up until everything looks coated. Spread it out on the baking sheets and then slip them in the oven. Roast for 20 minutes, then take them out, add the thyme, garlic, and lemon juice, stir, and throw them back in the oven until some of the veggies start looking a little browned around the edges, 10 to 15 minutes longer. A few burned pieces aren’t going to hurt anybody, so calm the fuck down.
Add the roasted veggies to the cooked pasta, pour in the balsamic, pepper flakes, a pinch of salt and black pepper, and stir that shit up. If the pasta looks a little dry add a tablespoon of olive oil to lube it all up. Taste and add more garlic, vinegar, lemon juice, thyme, whateverthefuck you like. If you want to up the greens level, serve the hot pasta on a bed of arugula or spinach with a squeeze of lemon juice on them. Done and done.
* We like penne or ziti but use whateverthefuck you have.
** If the tomatoes are really fucking tiny, like smaller than a marble, just leave ‘em whole.
*** Optional if you know that your shit is weak.
Thanks so much for joining us on this walk down memory lane. Want to fill up your plate with some more food? Join our Sunday Recipe Club for seasonal recipes and great cooking tips.
Love this recipe! I make this, the chickpea bolognese and the winter rigatoni pretty often and they’re all amazing. There’s just something about your pasta recipes!
I've made the pizza dough from this book soooo many times! When we first moved into our house my parents got us a pizza oven as a house warming gift. So that pizza dough recipe has been clutch!! Serious bubble action.