Chicken and Dumplings Recipe

And here's another of my husband Morgan's meaty recipes. He says:

"There are as many ways to prepare chicken and dumplings as there are fond memories of Sunday dinner with an old-South mother or grandmother. My own mother made light, fluffy dumplings and not the rolled-and-cut, noodle-like variety, so I tend to prefer these. The sauce I've tweaked some, taking inspiration from a South Carolina grandmother and the cooking lore of the Appalachians. This recipe is a bit of a hybrid of all these influences and produces a chicken and dumplings that I find deeply satisfying. The gravy is substantial, filled with vegetable and chunks of flavorful meat, and throughout it float large, pillowy dumplings. One bowl is enough to fill you up, but you won't be able to resist a second."

Chicken and Dumplings Recipe

serves four to six

Ingredients:

Stew:

    1 small hen, quartered
    1 quart chicken stock
    1 small onion, diced
    2 carrots, chopped
    2 celery stalks, chopped
    3 garlic cloves, chopped
    1/2 Tablespoon salt
    2 teaspoons fresh parsley, minced
    1 teaspoon fresh sage, minced
    1 teaspoon fresh marjoram, minced
    2 pinches fresh rosemary, minced
    2 pinches fresh thyme, minced
    2 pinches black pepper
    1 pinch crushed red pepper
    1 Tablespoon butter

Dumplings:

    2/3 cup flour
    1/2 tsp salt
    1 tsp baking powder
    1/4 cup milk
    2 tbsp oil 

Preparation Instructions:

1. Quarter the chicken, keep the neck, giblets, wings, and back to make stock another time (freeze).

2. Heat a large cast-iron skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Rub the chicken with some of the salt, pepper, and herbs. Fry the chicken in the butter until both sides are well browned then set aside.

3. Deglaze the pan with a splash of stock, scraping up any bits sticking to the bottom and stir. Add the onion, celery, carrot, and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is translucent.

4. Add the chicken back into the mix, then add the stock and cover. Add remaining salt, pepper, and herbs. Reduce heat to low and cook for at least an hour.

5. Carefully remove meat from the bones, leaving it in good-sized chunks. Add the fresh parsley. Turn heat up until the stew is boiling.

6. Prepare Dumplings

    a) Mix flour, salt, and baking powder
    b) Add milk and oil and stir just until the mixture forms a clumpy mass. The dough should be sticky. Do not over-mix.
    c) Using a spoon, drop 8 mounds of dough into the boiling stew.
    d) Turn to low, simmer 10-12 minutes.


7. Serve hot. Enjoy!

Raspberry Thumbprint Cookies Recipe

Simple melt-in-your-mouth butter cookies become a delicacy when you use a dab of tart jam to turn them into Raspberry Thumbprint Cookies. These have long been a favorite dessert at our house because they are easy, inexpensive, and taste so good!

Last week, I needed to make a plate of food or desserts for a charity auction, but we were out of money and the kitchen was bare except for the pantry staples. These simple, easy cookies came to the rescue, providing a delicious plate for the auction. They take nothing more than butter, vanilla extract, powdered sugar, flour, and whatever jam you have on hand.

They are called thumbprint cookies because you roll the dough into a ball and put a thumbprint in the center to fill with jam. My son calls these "squish cookies," and takes great joy in providing "squishing" sound effects as I put my thumb into each one. Once they are cooked, he starts calling them "doughnut" cookies because of their shapes and the jelly in the middle.

You can also experiment with this recipe, substituting raspberry jam for other sorts of jams, jellies, and marmalades. I have tried it with raspberry, blackberry, and strawberry jams, and they all tasted great. Orange marmalade was also wonderful. Have fun!

This recipe is vegetarian and vegan if you use a vegan margarine.

Raspberry Thumbprint Cookies Recipe

makes approximately 32 cookies
Ingredients:

    2 sticks butter or margarine
    1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    3/4 cup powdered sugar
    2 cups flour
    raspberry jam

Preparation Instructions:

1. First, leave the margarine or butter out to soften to room temperature.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (175 degrees Celsius), and move the rack to the highest position.

3. Cream the vanilla into the butter or margarine. Then add the powdered sugar and cream it in too. Once it is well mixed, add the flour a little at a time and mix in. Stir until the dough has a smooth consistency.

4. Roll the dough into balls one inch in diameter. Place the balls on an ungreased cookie sheet about two inches apart. Press your thumb into the center of each cookie, squishing it a bit and making a little well in the middle. (Do not press all the way through the ball, though!) Spoon a dab of raspberry jam into each well, filling it but taking care not to let them overflow.

5. Bake on the high rack for 12 minutes, or until just barely starting to brown at the edges.

6. Let cool on the pan for a minute, then transfer to a rack to cool to room temperature. Enjoy!

Store in an airtight container.