Publication week aftermath. The book has been out for six days and the response is beyond anything Clara or I predicted.
First printing (8,000 copies): sold out. Second printing (3,000 copies): selling fast. Third printing ordered. Clara is cautiously optimistic in the way publishers are cautiously optimistic, which means she's panicking quietly while ordering more books.
The reviews continue: twenty-five now, all positive. The one that broke me open was from a military wife blogger in Germany who wrote: 'I read Dinner at 1800 in one sitting while my husband was deployed. I read it in our base housing kitchen in Ramstein with a cup of tea and my kids asleep. When I finished, I called my mother. I hadn't called her in three weeks. The book reminded me to call her. That's what this book does. It reminds you to call your mother.'
It reminds you to call your mother. That's the review. That's the whole purpose.
The virtual book tour started Wednesday — Zoom with the military library at Camp Lejeune. MY old base. The base where I lived alone during the deployment, where Caleb was born, where Jen knocked on my door with brownies. Fifty people on the Zoom call. Some of them were wives I'd known. Sandra was there. Sandra, who ate my brownies at the support group and asked for the recipe. Sandra, who was one of the first women who believed in me.
'I have a signed copy,' Sandra said on the call. 'You're famous now.'
I'm not famous. I'm shared. Famous is Brad Pitt. Shared is a casserole recipe in a Facebook group. I'm shared.
Hazel slept through the Zoom event. Caleb watched from the couch and said, 'Mama on COMPUTER! Mama TALKING!' He's right. Mama is on the computer. Mama is talking. Mama wrote a book and people want to hear about it.
Made Mom's pot roast tonight. Not for any reason. Just because it's Tuesday and the pot roast is what Tuesdays taste like and the book is in the world and the pot roast doesn't care about Amazon rankings.
The pot roast is the same. That's the miracle. The world changes. The pot roast doesn't.
Fifty people on a Zoom call. Twenty-five reviews. Three printings.
And a pot roast that doesn't care.
Mom’s pot roast is hers — hers alone — and some recipes belong to the person who made them first and best. But the spirit of it, that idea of a Tuesday dinner that exists completely outside of book sales and Zoom calls and review counts, that I can give you. This sausage and pepperoni pizza pasta is my version of the same logic: it’s warm, it’s unapologetically filling, and it will not once ask you how the second printing is going. Make it on a Tuesday. Make it on any day that needs to be grounded back into something real.
Sausage and Pepperoni Pizza Pasta
Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 30 minutes | Total Time: 45 minutes | Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 12 oz penne or rotini pasta
- 1 lb Italian sausage, casings removed
- 4 oz pepperoni slices, halved
- 1 jar (24 oz) marinara sauce
- 1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, drained
- 1/2 cup low-sodium chicken or beef broth
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
- Salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cook the pasta. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta according to package directions until just al dente, about 1 minute less than recommended. Drain and set aside.
- Brown the sausage. In a large oven-safe skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat, cook the Italian sausage, breaking it into crumbles, until browned and cooked through, about 7–8 minutes. Drain excess fat, leaving about 1 tablespoon in the pan.
- Add the pepperoni. Reduce heat to medium. Add the pepperoni to the skillet and cook with the sausage for 2 minutes until the edges begin to crisp slightly.
- Build the sauce. Stir in the marinara sauce, diced tomatoes, broth, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, and red pepper flakes if using. Season with salt and pepper. Simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens slightly.
- Combine with pasta. Add the drained pasta to the skillet and stir until everything is evenly coated. If the mixture looks dry, add a splash more broth.
- Top and broil. Preheat your broiler to high. Sprinkle 1 1/2 cups of the mozzarella and all of the Parmesan evenly over the top. Broil on the middle rack for 3–5 minutes, watching closely, until the cheese is melted and bubbling with golden spots. Top with the remaining 1/2 cup mozzarella in the last minute if you want extra pull.
- Rest and serve. Remove from the oven and let sit for 5 minutes before serving directly from the pan.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 580 | Protein: 29g | Fat: 27g | Carbs: 53g | Fiber: 3g | Sodium: 1,020mg
About the cook who shared this
Rachel Abernathy
Week 315 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.
