I made my second attempt at crock pot chicken and dumplings tonight. Now thats not earth-shattering news I know, but I fancy myself to be something of a decent grub-slinger, and this dish has eluded me all my born days! About a month ago, a powerful hankering came over me for my favorite comfort food. I pulled up a recipe, we went to the store, and here I went. Skinned and deboned chicken thighs, added the base and seasonings, and plugged er in. Following the recipe, when I came home from work, I pulled out the little sheets of dumpling dough and dropped each one in, carefully dangling it over the yellow broth like I was dipping into molten lava. The recipe called for half a pack, but for goodness sake, what would I do with the other half! And I was HONNNNGGGRY! So here I went, cutting and dangling and dropping until the pack was gone. My buddy Jerry Breen came over to break bread with us, and wed talked ourselves into a dumplin frenzy all day. Imagine my surprise when I took off the lid to find that golden broth was now a nearly solid column of chicken flavored dough! Thicker than brick mortar! A ten-inch chunk of grey-tan globule with pieces of thigh peaking out. It looked like a cross between a bad science experiment and a new part made in the top secret labs at General Dynamics to chock jet airplane tires! But Jerry and my angel were kind and had their fill, and I promised to never cross the chicken and dumpling line again. Well, that didnt last long. I found a new recipe this weekend and talked my angel into letting me try again. This time, I got it!, I exclaimed, much like Slim Pickens in a cowboy hat. So early this morning, after the pups patrolled the yard here at the Cliffside and Id killed time on the net, I slipped over to the kitchen to try again. This time, boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Cream of chicken and cream of mushroom soup. Chicken broth. Salt and pepper. Plop! Plug it in and go to work. All was good. The fragrance of the delectable dish wafted across the whole house as I came in after work. Success at last! So I washed up and followed the recipe, pinching a can of pillsburys best into the pot and leaving it for dinner. My angel made it home, I walked the dogs and changed clothes, watched the news, then went to set the table. To my surprise, no clump. But underneath the layer of bobbing biscuit bumps was a brine of yellow chicken soup! No thick gravy! So again, a flop. It sure tasted good, but it aint chicken and dumplings! Then it hit me - maybe I shouldnt have added that extra can of broth for good measure, to keep from repeating The Great Pullet Lump from last time. So now, instead of a brick, Ive invented Dumplings By The Gallon! Too thick, then too runny. Im afraid to try again. For if I do-and succeed- the likelihood of finding a trio of bruins sleeping in the beds seems to be how this tale will end. Maybe anybody got a recipe for bear stew, just in case?
Posted on: Thu, 06 Nov 2014 01:31:40 +0000
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