Chicken and Dumplings: Thank You, Trisha Yearwood

[ray1970]

I'm thinking more along the lines of Terri Clark...even if she is a Canuck.

Does Terri Clark know how to make chicken and dumplings?

[theGinsue]

While I'm sure I did at some point, I never recall having chicken & dumplings (C&D) growing up in MO. My wifes family was from KY and her Aunt Wina was known throughout the family for making awesome chicken & dumplings (noodles IN). Most family get togethers would include a huge pot of C&D.

On one of our visits I got Aunt Winas recipe for making them and tried it at home a few months later (yes, homemade noodles IN the pot). My wife enjoyed them, but told me they weren't as good as her Aunts. On our next visit to KY I verified the recipe and watched how Aunt Wina made them - taking copious notes along the way. About a year later I tried making them again. Same result, very good but not as good as Aunt Winas. I resigned myself to the fact that I'd make good C&D but they'd never equal Aunt Winas. Aunt Wina passed away 3 years ago and I'm the only one who ever bothered to try to learn how she made this dish. While I know that they'll never be quite as good as hers, I'm happy that I can at least get in the ballpark.

Now, for another dish with a similar twist. I've seen dozens of recipes for cobbler whereas a pie crust is used on top. I learned how to make cobbler from my grandmother - a MO Southerner - and using pie crust is a pie, not a cobbler. Proper cobbler should have large dollops of a sort of drop bisquit type of dough dropped on top of the mix - no crust. The top of these "bisquits" gets crusted up but the bottom is soft and saturated with the juices of the fruit. I learned on, and still only make, blackberry cobbler. That's good eats.

[StagLefty]

Does Terri Clark know how to make chicken and dumplings?

Who cares after looking at her pics ?

[Bailey Guns]

Who cares after looking at her pics ?

Exactly. Who cares if she cooks?

And...good story, Ginsue.

[Ah Pook]

Alton Brown did a show on this around season 2 of Good Eats

Another AB fan?! Kewl.

My Mother made a mean C&D. Through the years, I have made C&D but they weren't Her"s. Recently, I went on a C&D binge to make "Her" C&D. For a simple dish this was hard. Got close on the sixth try. Wintr is coming and time for round 2.

[Ah Pook]

One of my favorite stories:

Had a friend who made the BEST green chili. He was Hispanic and this was his Mother's recipe. His wife could never quite make it the same. Good but not right. MIL's response was "Dear you can get close but you are a Gringo.".

The same for C&D?

[ben4372]

I think the problem with people passing recipes from old to young is subtle modifications in the recipe. My grandma used to pinch and dash and eyeball most ingredients. My wife, she uses 40 measuring cups and spoons for most cooking. All of us over 40 should thank our lucky stars that our wives are trying and getting it close. I know some millennials do cook, but by and large the average twenty something girl is not interested in cooking. My friends with kids in their 20's, that age brags about not knowing how to cook. They seem to take pride in not knowing how to most things.

[OtterbatHellcat]

Like.

[Gman]

I think the problem with people passing recipes from old to young is subtle modifications in the recipe. My grandma used to pinch and dash and eyeball most ingredients. My wife, she uses 40 measuring cups and spoons for most cooking. All of us over 40 should thank our lucky stars that our wives are trying and getting it close. I know some millennials do cook, but by and large the average twenty something girl is not interested in cooking. My friends with kids in their 20's, that age brags about not knowing how to cook. They seem to take pride in not knowing how to most things.

If they can't do it via an app on their phone, they just can't do it.

[ray1970]

My wife doesn’t cook so making the transition to a twenty something year old woman wouldn’t be terribly difficult.