Thursday, January 27, 2011

Chicken and Dumplings for a Snow Day

Today we woke up to find a winter wonderland. We got a total of 19 inches of snow which was enough for the Department of Education to call a snow day. I think a snow day is the perfect day to spend inside cooking and enjoying a nice hot bowl of comfort food.


The view out our kitchen window.




Commuters trudging down a nearby side street.



While I was sick, I made a couple of batches of homemade chicken soup. By the time my husband came down with the cold, he couldn't be convinced that he needed some chicken soup too. I did convince him that some chicken and dumplings could be satisfying. The thick, hearty texture is much more his style.


Prepare a chicken stew.




Cook the dumplings in batches to prevent over crowding.




A great hearty meal for a snow day or a day inside with a cold.



Chicken and Dumplings
inspired by Tyler Florence and good memories of my grandfather's chicken and dumplings

Chicken stock

3 lb chicken
2-3 bay leaves
1 t thyme
4 cloves of garlic
2 T apple cider vinegar
3 small carrots, cut into 3 inch pieces
2 stalks of celery, cut into 3 inch pieces

Chicken Stew

2 T butter
2 T coconut oil
2 carrots, sliced
2 stalks of celery, sliced
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 bay leaves
1/4 C flour
6 C chicken stock
1 C frozen peas

Dumplings

2 C flour
1 t baking powder
1 t salt
2 eggs
3/4 - 1 C milk

Place all of the ingredients for the chicken stock into a stock pot, and cover with water. Bring to a boil, and reduce to a simmer. Cook for 2-3 hours. Remove the chicken. Let cool enough to be comfortable to touch. Remove the meat, and return the carcass to the water. Cook for another 1-2 hours. Pour the broth through a fine mesh strainer to remove all the bits. Chill and remove excess fat.

Melt butter and coconut oil, and add the carrots, celery, garlic and onions. Cook until the onions begin to soften. Slowly add flour while stirring. Cook until the flour is integrated and turns golden (about 2-3 minutes). Slowly add the chicken stock, and cook until the stew begins to thicken (about 15 minutes). Add the peas and bring to a gentle boil.

While the stew is cooking, prepare the dumpling batter. In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and salt. In a measuring cup, beat eggs and add milk. Add to the dry ingredients, and gently stir to combine. Use two tablespoons, to drop spoonfuls of batter into the hot stew. Leave some space between the dumplings. Cook for about 5 minutes on each side. Remove the cooked dumplings with a slotted spoon to a platter. Continue cooking the batter in batches until all of the dumplings are prepared.

Serve the chicken stew with a few dumplings on top.

This post is part of SoupaPalooza. Come join SoupaPalooza at TidyMom and Dine and Dish sponsored byKitchenAidRed Star Yeast and Le Creuset


3 comments:

Allison@Radishes and Rhubarb said...

Hi there,

Thanks for your comment. Lovely post and there is really nothing like Chicken Soup on a cold day.

Anonymous said...

My favorite meal of all~time was always my late grandmother's Chicken 'n Dumplins'. To this day, if given a choice, I would ALWAYS choose that dish... Your recipe sounds divine! Almost sounds like a chicken pot pie base with the veggies. I'm bookmarking this to try! We are scheduled to get a major snow storm this week.... Funny that I always want to cook/bake on snow days but forget to prepare ahead of time with the ingredients! :) Thanks so very much for linking to Saturday Swap! Have a great start to your week!!!

Nicole said...

Yum--Chicken-n-Dumplings, one of my favorite comfort foods. Funny it was on our menu this week with all the snow we had:)

Post a Comment

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...