The book is generating something I didn't expect: income. Real income. The royalties won't come for months (publishing pays quarterly), but the book's visibility has boosted everything else: the blog traffic doubled, the RecipeSpinoff posts are reaching 25,000 per article, and speaking requests are coming in.
Speaking requests. People want to PAY ME to TALK about cooking. At military spouse events, at food conferences, at library events. They want Rachel Abernathy to stand at a podium and tell stories about casseroles.
Professor Kim would be so proud. The girl who threw up at the thought of Public Speaking at ODU is now being asked to speak professionally.
I accepted two: a military spouse conference in San Diego (in-person! the first in-person event!) and a food writing panel at a culinary institute in LA. Both pay honorariums. Both require childcare. Both require me to be a person who speaks in public without a baby on her lap.
(The San Diego event said 'you're welcome to bring the baby.' I'm bringing the baby. On-brand.)
Hazel is two months old and is the calmest baby I've ever met. She's the anti-Caleb: quiet, observant, patient. She lies in the bouncer and watches the world with her brown eyes and occasionally makes a soft cooing noise that sounds like a dove. Caleb was a tornado. Hazel is a breeze.
The desert is heating up again. Summer approaches. But this time, we have an exit date: June. PCS orders to Camp Pendleton. BACK to Pendleton. Back to the ocean and the good produce and Soo-Jin.
Ryan told me Tuesday: 'Orders confirmed. Pendleton. June.'
I cried. Not deployment crying. Not PPD crying. Relief crying. The desert is ending. We're going back to California — the good California, the coastal California, the California with avocados and palm trees and Korean grocery stores.
Made Mom's celebration fried chicken. The escape chicken. The 'we're leaving the desert' chicken.
Twentynine Palms. Two years. One book. One baby. One new KitchenAid mixer (replacement, teal, bought with book advance money). One desert garden that grew tomatoes against all odds.
We survived. We always survive.
But I'm ready to survive somewhere with more counter space.
Mom’s celebration chicken has always been the meal that marks the big moments — and “orders confirmed, Pendleton, June” is about as big as it gets. I didn’t have time to do her full fried chicken justice (Hazel was in the bouncer, Caleb was being Caleb, and I was still ugly-crying into the dish towel), so I leaned into something that captures all that same bold, satisfying energy in far less time: Buffalo Chicken Alfredo. Spicy, creamy, a little indulgent — exactly what you make when the desert is finally, finally in your rearview mirror.
Buffalo Chicken Alfredo
Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 20 minutes | Total Time: 30 minutes | Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 12 oz fettuccine or penne pasta
- 1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 1/2 cup buffalo hot sauce (such as Frank’s RedHot)
- 1 1/2 cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- Salt and black pepper, to taste
- 2 green onions, thinly sliced, for garnish
- Crumbled blue cheese or ranch drizzle, optional for serving
Instructions
- Cook the pasta. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta according to package directions until al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta water before draining. Set pasta aside.
- Season and sear the chicken. Pat chicken pieces dry and season with smoked paprika, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken in a single layer and cook 5–6 minutes, turning once, until golden and cooked through. Transfer to a plate.
- Build the sauce. Reduce heat to medium. Add butter to the same skillet and melt. Add garlic and cook 30 seconds until fragrant. Pour in heavy cream and milk, stirring to combine. Simmer 3–4 minutes until slightly thickened.
- Add the buffalo flavor. Stir in buffalo sauce and Parmesan cheese. Continue stirring over low heat until the cheese is fully melted and the sauce is smooth, about 2 minutes. If the sauce is too thick, add reserved pasta water a splash at a time.
- Combine and finish. Return the chicken to the skillet and add the drained pasta. Toss everything together over low heat until fully coated and heated through, 1–2 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning.
- Serve. Divide among bowls and top with sliced green onions and optional blue cheese crumbles or a drizzle of ranch. Serve immediately.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 680 | Protein: 48g | Fat: 32g | Carbs: 52g | Fiber: 2g | Sodium: 980mg
About the cook who shared this
Rachel Abernathy
Week 316 of Rachel’s 30-year story
· San Diego, California
Rachel is a twenty-eight-year-old Marine wife and mom of two who has moved five times in six years and learned to cook a Thanksgiving dinner with half her cookware still in boxes. She married young, survived postpartum depression, and feeds her family of four on a junior Marine's salary with a freezer full of pre-made meals and a crockpot that has never let her down. She writes for the military spouses who are cooking dinner alone in base housing and wondering if they're enough. You are.
