The multicultural potluck group met on Saturday and it was the most Rachel Abernathy thing that has ever happened to me.
Twelve women. Twelve dishes. Twelve stories.
Soo-Jin brought japchae — Korean glass noodles with vegetables. A Mexican-American wife named Lucia brought tamales her grandmother taught her. A Filipino wife named Grace brought lumpia that was so crispy and perfect I may have eaten seven. A wife from New Orleans brought crawfish étouffée. A German wife brought kñsespñtzle. A Japanese wife brought onigiri.
And I brought Mom's pulled pork, vinegar-based, North Carolina style, because if I'm representing my family's food at a multicultural potluck, I'm bringing the thing that Donna Abernathy does better than anyone alive.
We sat in a circle and each woman told the story of her dish. Not just the recipe — the STORY. Where it came from. Who taught her. What it means.
Lucia's tamales: 'My abuela made these for every family gathering. She died last year. This is her masa in my hands.'
Grace's lumpia: 'My mom in Manila makes these for Christmas. I haven't been home in three years. This tastes like her kitchen.'
My pulled pork: 'My mother is from North Carolina. She made this during my father's deployments. It fed our family at every base we lived at. It's the recipe that holds us together.'
Twelve women. Twelve dishes. Twelve kitchens represented, from Seoul to Manila to New Orleans to a split-level in Norfolk, Virginia.
I sat in that circle and I thought: THIS is what I want to write about. Not just military wife cooking. THIS. The way food travels across cultures and oceans and generations. The way a tamale and a pulled pork sandwich and a plate of lumpia can sit on the same table and tell the same story: we came from somewhere. We carry our somewhere with us. We feed it to you.
The potluck group meets monthly. I'm going every time. I'm bringing Mom's recipes and learning everyone else's and writing it all down.
The blog. The writing. The thing I've been circling since Professor Kim said 'don't stop writing.'
It's not just an idea anymore. It's becoming a plan.
Mom called. I told her about the potluck.
'Tamales AND pulled pork?' she said.
'And lumpia and japchae and étouffée and —'
'Did anyone try the pulled pork?'
'Everyone tried the pulled pork. Lucia asked for the recipe.'
Mom paused. 'Well,' she said. 'That's something.'
That's something. The Donna Abernathy seal of approval.
It IS something. It's everything.
Lucia asked for Mom’s pulled pork recipe that night, and I promised I’d write it all down — but sitting in that circle, listening to twelve women describe the dishes that hold their families together, I kept thinking about the other recipe in my slow-cooker rotation that has shown up at every base, every potluck, every “I need something that feeds a crowd without falling apart” moment of military life. This Slow-Cooker Cranberry Chicken is the one I reach for when I want something that feels celebratory and effortless at the same time — the kind of dish that earns its own story. It’s not North Carolina pulled pork, but it carries the same spirit: set it low, let it go, and feed the people in front of you.
Slow-Cooker Cranberry Chicken
Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 6 hours | Total Time: 6 hours 10 minutes | Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 3 lbs bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (about 6 pieces)
- 1 can (14 oz) whole-berry cranberry sauce
- 1 envelope (1 oz) dry onion soup mix
- 1/2 cup French dressing
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- Fresh parsley, chopped, for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Prep the chicken. Pat chicken thighs dry with paper towels and arrange them in a single layer in the bottom of a 6-quart slow cooker. Season lightly with black pepper.
- Make the sauce. In a medium bowl, whisk together the cranberry sauce, dry onion soup mix, French dressing, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, and garlic powder until fully combined.
- Combine and cook. Pour the cranberry sauce mixture evenly over the chicken, making sure each piece is coated. Place the lid on the slow cooker and cook on LOW for 6 hours, or on HIGH for 3 to 3 1/2 hours, until the chicken is cooked through and tender.
- Finish and serve. Carefully remove the chicken pieces and place them on a serving platter. Stir the sauce remaining in the slow cooker and spoon it generously over the chicken. Garnish with fresh parsley if desired. Serve over white rice or egg noodles to catch the sauce.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 390 | Protein: 31g | Fat: 16g | Carbs: 28g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 680mg
About the cook who shared this
Rachel Abernathy
Week 175 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.
