Lest you think me some sort of domestic diva, I decided to share my failure, as well as my success, in the kitchen.  The no-knead bread that everyone raves about did not turn out.  It all started out innocently enough. I researched and read a lot before making this bread.  I printed out reader’s comments and HIGHLIGHTED the ones I thought would work the best.  (Anal much?) I’m thinking being well-prepared has diddley squat to do with being able to make good bread.

I wanted the bread to be ready for dinner when my sister was here last week, so I started it the day before.  I let it rise for 18 hours, but it did nothing.  It didn’t raise at all, not even a little bit.  Maybe it was too cold in my kitchen? Maybe the bread gods weren’t feeling very generous that day?  Whatever it was, not a darn thing happened in those 18 hours, nor the 3 hours of the second rise.  I decided to bake it anyway, but I had some Sister Schubert rolls on hand as back-up that we had with dinner.

It looks ok, but I think it is supposed to be a lot taller than this.  I haven’t tried it yet, so I can’t tell you what it tastes like.  I think I’ll take it to my in-laws.  They’ll eat anything and enjoy being my guinea pigs (I think).  I will stick with this recipe from  now on.  It was way easier, a lot less messy, and turned out well.  Note to anyone who experiments with this:  do not, I repeat DO NOT throw your dough-covered towel (or pillowcase) in the wash with a load of bath towels.  You will have gooey, baked on dough boogers everywhere and nobody wants that, now do they?

The chicken and dumplings, however, were pretty darn good.  I forgot to take any pictures during the actual making, so here is the finished product.  Drool.

 My kitchen was absolutely covered in flour after all of this cooking (and a lot of “helping” from Arwyn).  It’s a good thing I have the world’s most fabulous sister who drove two hours to help me clean my house for my Christmas present.  Aunt Banana is the best!