The art of making dumplings.
I have now made chicken & dumplings three times.
The first go-round was an unmitigated disaster. Oh, the chicken turned out just fine--really, it's hard to ruin boiled chicken--but the dumplings came out as an inedible, gelatinous mess. Further reading on the subject showed me what I'd done wrong, so I attempted the recipe a second time a few weeks later. That time, the dumplings came out perfect, and I was most pleased, indeed.
Unfortunately, I have since misplaced that particular recipe. I'm sure it's around here somewhere, tucked between the pages of one of my many cookbooks. Since I couldn't find the one I wanted, I decided to try a recipe from a different source. The results were ... mixed. Again, the chicken was fine, but this time the dumplings came out somewhere between gelatinous lumps and perfect fluffy goodness. I am not sure what I did wrong. I have used many recipes from this particular cookbook, always to great success. I followed the directions to the letter. And yet, my dumplings were heavy and chewy.
I will try again, of course, though perhaps not this week. Chicken and dumplings is one of my absolute favorite comfort foods, and I would love to be able to make it myself. With luck, I will find what I did with that first recipe, the one I know I can make well. If not, I'll just keep trying others until I get it right.
The first go-round was an unmitigated disaster. Oh, the chicken turned out just fine--really, it's hard to ruin boiled chicken--but the dumplings came out as an inedible, gelatinous mess. Further reading on the subject showed me what I'd done wrong, so I attempted the recipe a second time a few weeks later. That time, the dumplings came out perfect, and I was most pleased, indeed.
Unfortunately, I have since misplaced that particular recipe. I'm sure it's around here somewhere, tucked between the pages of one of my many cookbooks. Since I couldn't find the one I wanted, I decided to try a recipe from a different source. The results were ... mixed. Again, the chicken was fine, but this time the dumplings came out somewhere between gelatinous lumps and perfect fluffy goodness. I am not sure what I did wrong. I have used many recipes from this particular cookbook, always to great success. I followed the directions to the letter. And yet, my dumplings were heavy and chewy.
I will try again, of course, though perhaps not this week. Chicken and dumplings is one of my absolute favorite comfort foods, and I would love to be able to make it myself. With luck, I will find what I did with that first recipe, the one I know I can make well. If not, I'll just keep trying others until I get it right.