Chicken & Hockey Pucks ~ A new family favorite…NOT!

How disappointing is it when you spend nearly the entire day working on a recipe and then you give it a try and it just is not any good?

And to top it off this is not the first time I have been disappointed by my attempt at chicken and dumplings. Maybe it’s a control issue I have, but once I fail at a recipe it seems to stay with me until I can figure out why or what I am doing wrong.

What is even more disappointing is that this is a Paula Deen recipe. Now I know that all great cooks have bad days but this recipe really missed the mark for me on not one but two separate occasions. I am now making the culinary decision to rip this one out of the old recipe binder never to grace the top of my stove ever again.

It all started with my four favorite words “Reduced For Quick Sale” in the poultry section of the meat counter. Two very nice fat whole chickens. I snatched up the two biggest ones and brought them home.

I vowed to give this recipe another try as the first attempt was less that satisfying. I modified the recipe a bit but stayed true to the dumpling recipe and re-read the directions very closely and followed them to the letter. As I sampled the dumplings I was again disappointed. They were rubbery, tough, thick and gummy like chewing on shoe leather. Mmmm Good…YUCK was the word for the day!

Y’all can you say “DISSAPOINTMENT!” I worked all day and in the end I think I am going to fish out the dumpling and at least try to save the chicken base.

In my research this morning I came up on a Tyler Florence recipe and his dumplings were very different from Paula’s. I will be giving this one a try as soon as my ego has mended, not to mention I need to let the families taste buds recover from this culinary crash and burn!

Does it bother you when something you have cooked does not come out as you wanted it to?

Any tried and true chicken and dumpling recipe you are willing the share would be greatly appreciated.

I may not sleep peacefully again until I can clear my conscious and my pallet of the experience!

How many chickens and or family members must suffer until I can place an edible bowl of Chicken and dumpling on the table. 

The world may never know!

Blessings

R