Chicken and dumplings

When people talk about comfort food they always talk about chicken and dumplings. I never thought that! For a couple reasons. I never ate it before and It seemed like such a mainland food. When I decided to make this I looked up a couple recipes and they all use stuff like condensed cream of celery or cream of chicken soup, and Bisquick batter. The thought of chicken soaked in canned soup topped with pancake batter made me sick. I thought chicken and dumplings were old school food? Before processed food was even made? So I came across an old recipe tweaked it and came out with an awesome dish. This is a little time consuming for people now days. I have no life so I can stay home all day and cook. To make this faster you could use chicken thighs and store bought broth. But i wouldn't :)

Ingredients:

1 roasting chicken about 5 to 6 pounds

1 large onion chopped, (for the stock)

3 bay leaves

6 tablespoon butter

6 tablespoon flour

3 teaspoons fresh thyme

2 tablespoon cooking sherry

4 celery stalks cut into 1/2-inch pieces

4 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces

1 large onion quartered

1/4 cup heavy cream

1 cup frozen peas, thawed

1/4 cup minced fresh parsley leaves

Ingredients for Dumplings:

2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

2 Tbsp butter, melted

3/4 cup milk

1/4 cup minced herbs (parsley, sage, and thyme) or whatever floats your boat. Make sure you use fresh herbs not dried.

Directions:

First things first, We need to cut up this bird. Cut off legs, thighs and breasts, remove the skin and set aside. Next we need to hack up whats left over into 2 inch pieces for the stock.

Heat some olive oil in a heavy bottom pot on medium high heat. Add hacked up chicken pieces (back, neck, and wings) and onion. Cook until onions soften and chicken pieces brown, about 5 minutes. Turn heat to low, cover and continue to cook for about 20 minutes. In a tea kettle or separate pot, boil 6 cups of water. Add boiling water to chicken pan and turn heat to medium high.

Add chicken , 3 bay leaves, and 3/4 teaspoon of salt to the stock and bring up to a simmer. Reduce heat and simmer, partially covered, until the chicken is  just cooked through, about 20 minutes. Remove chicken legs, thighs, and breasts from the pan and set aside. When chicken is cool enough to handle, debone the chicken pieces. Shred and cut into bite size pieces.

Next you need to strain the broth and discard all the solids and bay leaves. Skim off any fat from the broth and reserve 5 cups for the dish. Freeze any left overs for later use.

For the dumpling batter. sift together flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Add herbs. Add melted butter and milk to the dry ingredients. Gently mix with a spoon until mixture just comes together. Making sure not to over mix or you batter will be too dense. Set aside.

Next; heat 6 tablespoons butter in the pan you used to make the stock over medium-high heat. Whisk in flour and thyme, whisking constantly until flour turns golden, 1 to 2 minutes. Whisking constantly, slowly add sherry, then slowly add the 5 cups stock, cook until mixture slightly thickens, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the carrots, celery, and onions; cook for 5 minutes. Stir in chicken and cream; return to a strong simmer. Season with salt and pepper and cover to cook 5 minutes.

After the 5 minutes drop the dumpling batter into the stew by heaping teaspoonfuls, over the surface of the stew. Cover and simmer until dumplings are cooked through, about 15 minutes. (I know its tempting but make sure you don't uncover the pot! The dumplings need steam to cook) Check the dumplings in 15 minutes. If there still not done cover and let it cook for another 5 minutes.

When dumplings are done take them out and put them on a plate. Stir in the peas and parsley and warm them through.

Scoop stew into bowls and add dumplings on top.