What's Cookin': Chicken & Dumplings

This past weekend I wanted to make comfort food and went straight for my Big Book of Casseroles Cookbook, I first came to a recipe for Chicken Pot Pie and immediately began to reminisce about the many, many times my Mom made this for me as a child. I mentioned the dish to Mike, and just like many other Northern things that come out of his mouth, was shocked to hear "I'm not really a fan, although I've only ever had the individual frozen ones." Oh my. I figured we needed to start with a basic chicken and dough dish and opted for Chicken and Dumplings, one of his favorite Cracker Barrel dishes (I find this and Ramsey's are the perfect places to introduce him to some of the South's finest). This recipe did not dissapoint! Although it takes a while to cook, the hands on time isn't as extensive and I had chopped the veggies and chicken the night before, making it much faster. Enjoy!!


Classic Chicken & Dumplings

1/2 c all purpose flour
3/4 t salt
freshly ground pepper to taste

1 chicken (about 3 lbs), cut into serving pieces (I used only breast meat)
1 T butter
2 T vegatable oil
1 chopped yellow onion
1 chopped red bell pepper
4 ounces mushrooms, sliced (I omitted ... can't handle the texture)
1 garlic clove, minced
3 carrots, sliced
3 celery stalks, sliced
4 cups chicken stock
1 bay leaf
1/2 t dried thyme

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine the flour, 1/2 t salt and pepper in a small bowl. Using a zip-top bag, toss the chicken in about half the flour mixture, reserving the rest for later.

In a large Dutch oven, over medium heat, melt the butter with 1 T oil. Brown chicken in two batches, cooking pieces about 5 minutes on each side. Add oil as needed. Remove chicken to a plate.

Add remaining oil to the Dutch oven and add veggies. Saute until tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in remaining flour mixture. Add stock and bring to a boil, whisking until smooth. Add the bay leaf, thyme and remaining salt. Return chicken to the Dutch oven.

Cover and bake until chicken is no longer pink in the center, 45 minutes to one hour. In the meantime make the dumplings.

Remove the lid and discard the bay leaf. Place dumplings on top using a small cookie scoop or tablespoon. Bake uncovered for 10 minutes. Cover and bake for 10 more minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a dumpling comes out clean.

Parlied Buttermilk Dumplings

2 c all purpose flour
1 T baking powder
1/2 t salt
1/4 c fresh chopped parsley
1 c buttermilk

In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking powder, salt and parsley. With a fork, stir in the buttermilk until the dough is just blended.