Bobbi Brown: Adaptable Big Bowl Pasta Dish
Beauty expert, makeup mogul, and health coach Bobbi Brown shares the go-to big bowl saucy pasta that feeds an army of loved ones on her beach house deck.
I’m so happy to feature Bobbi Brown, the award-winning makeup artist, author of 9 books on beauty and wellness, and entrepreneur known for revolutionizing the beauty industry. I speak from experience when I say that her clean-makeup brand, Jones Road Beauty, has the best-feeling and most natural-looking products. The miracle balm truly lives up to its name. OK, enough fan-girling.
Bobbi’s passions are clear: wellness, work, and family. Today, she’s sharing her go-to adaptable pasta dish with us. She makes it in abundance for her big family at their beach house deck gatherings.
“I live with a family of chefs,” she says. “Not professional ones, but ones that love to cook and are really, really good at it. I don’t know how to follow a recipe; I’m not even sure of all the ins and outs of how to actually cook. However, I am a foodie and love to eat. As a beauty expert and certified health coach, I am very much into real, whole, fresh food, and lots of produce.”
“Every summer, we host a lot of people at our beach house. It doesn’t matter if there are six, ten, twelve, or twenty people—we have dinner on the deck. Everyone pitches in. Here’s my go-to for a quick yet adaptable big bowl meal that can feed an army. There’s always wine and, in my case, a Bobbi Rocks cocktail: a large ice cube in a rock glass with freshly squeezed cucumber juice, freshly squeezed lemon juice, fresh mint, and vodka.”
“Over the years, I’ve had to make a few variations of this meal to ensure everyone has something they like. There’s real pasta from Italy, gluten-free pasta, sometimes zucchini noodles, and sometimes bean pasta. The sauce is a combination of roasted garlic, olive oil, a red-hot pepper mix (which comes dry from the Italian deli), and Rao's red sauce mixed in for just the right amount of deliciousness. The vegetables are either fresh peas in the spring, frozen peas in the winter, or broccoli rabe. The protein, often served on the side, is shrimp, Italian tuna in a jar with oil, or grilled chicken. There’s always fresh Parmesan, which is grated and plentiful, and cracked pepper.”
“Also, I prepare a side salad that some people like before the meal, some with the meal, and some, like me, after the meal. I favor a simple, local, multi-leaf salad with lemon, olive oil, and sea salt. What I love about this recipe is that it has evolved since the kids were little and has certainly evolved as the family has grown and more of my guests have food allergies or preferences.”
“Besides the pasta and the salad, there’s most likely some local sourdough bread that my husband toasts and grills with, of course, butter and garlic. I also make sure we have some kind of dessert, even though I usually skip dessert when I have a cocktail because it doesn’t make me feel great the next day. However, there are always fresh berries, whipped cream, and cherries, which are always a fan-favorite.”
“By the way, we make a ton, so there are always leftovers, even though in my house leftovers rarely get eaten. They just sit there for five days until I clean out the refrigerator on Sunday and sadly throw them away.”
Adaptable Big Bowl Pasta Dish
Pasta: (Any type you like)
From Italy, Gluten-free, Zucchini noodles, Bean etc.
Sauce:
A combination of roasted garlic, olive oil, red-hot pepper mix (which comes dry from the Italian deli), and Rao's red sauce
Vegetables:
Fresh peas in the spring, frozen peas in the winter, or broccoli rabe.
Protein: (often served on the side):
Shrimp, Italian tuna in a jar with oil, or grilled chicken.
Garnish:
Fresh grated parmesan and, cracked pepper.”