Our entries will begin with the recipe first, followed by helpful photos, and then any personal words we feel we need to add. Practical and efficient. Here we go!
Ingredients for the chicken stew:
4 cups chicken stock
2 tablespoons butter
1 large onion, diced
2 cups celery, diced
2 cups carrot, diced
5 tablespoons flour
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup milk
~2 tablespoons fresh herbs (chives, tarragon or parsley)
2 chicken breasts (or 4 thighs... or a combo of the two)
Ingredients for the dumplings:
(adapted from Cooks Illustrated, February 2005)
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup sour cream
3 tablespoons butter
2 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
Directions:
1) Melt 3 tablespoons butter in a large wide pot. Add the onions and saute until slightly softened. Add the carrots and celery and saute 5 minutes more. Stir in the flour until all the vegetables so that the vegetables are evenly coated. Stir in the wine. Add the chicken stock and 1/2 cup milk, and herbs. Bring to a boil.
2) Add the chicken, submerging in the liquid. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove the chicken to a cutting board. Using two forks, pull the chicken into shreds, and then add it back to the pot. Re-cover and keep on low heat while you make the dumplings.
3) Mix the butter, sour cream and milk together and microwave until warm and butter is melted. In a separate medium-sized bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add the butter/milk mixture to the dry ingredients and stir, or knead the flour in with your hands until everything is combined.
4) Use a spoon to scoop up about a tablespoon of dough and push it off the spoon into the stew, one at a time. Add as many dumplings as you can before they begin to touch each other, as they need room to expand. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Serve!
The carrot-onion-celery saute, AKA mire-poix
Coated in flour
Liquids added
Shredding the chicken after poaching in the stew
My slightly-oversize dumplings, simmering
The finished product
Aw yeah. I wasn't expecting this to be so good since I sort of made it up on the spot. I had made my own chicken stock for the very first time (happy that I can now say I finally accomplished this feat before age 30), and wanted to feature it in an exciting meal, rather then stow it away in the freezer for more economical use at a later date (too practical). I must admit, making my own chicken stock always sounded like the most extreme potchke imaginable, but I had a leftover roasted chicken carcass from the Portuguese Rotisserie sitting in the fridge and a free afternoon.
So, if you wanna make your own chicken stock for this recipe (and I will admit, I DO think that the homemade stock took it to the next level), here's what I did. I covered the chicken carcass-- skin, bones, and all-- in cold water. I added a quartered onion, a handful of baby carrots, 2 smashed garlic cloves, some tarragon since I had it on hand, and a whole bunch of bay leaves. I brought it to a boil, then simmered it for about three hours, adding about 2 cups of water halfway through to keep the chicken covered. I didn't skim any schmutz off the top, honestly, because I didn't really care if my stock came out cloudy. But, if you see dirty-like gross stuff on the top (this can happen), you might want to spoon it out. I cooled it down, then put it in the fridge overnight. Skimmed the fat and was left with CHICKEN JELLO. Panic. But after a little research, and an email consult with Liza, I learned that this is to be DESIRED. Because when you boil chicken bones, it makes GELATIN! Science. Anyway, when you heat it back up it turns back to liquid. Except it's all rich and hearty and full of protein. This is why, I guess, it's better than store-bought stock.
BONUS FACT: The difference between chicken stock and chicken broth is that the former is made with bones, whereas the latter is not.
Soooo, back to chicken and dumplings. If you want to be elegant, slice your carrots and celery on a slight diagonal. I had to accommodate for my cloudy broth, after all. Everything else is pretty self-explanatory. Of course, you can use whatever milk or cream you have on hand, or a combination of the two. The only reason I used sour cream in the dumplings was to make them slightly richer, as I only had low-fat milk on hand. A nice finish to the plate is some extra fresh herbs on top. You know-- for a pop of green.
This is pretty much the ideal winter dish. I can't wait to eat the leftovers again tonight! So I won't! Nosh time. See ya!
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