When we had our son, Wagner, my entire church and most of our coworkers kept our bellies full and our freezer stocked for nearly three months. We had cassaroles, salads, fruit, cold-cuts, rolls, cakes, venison burgers... oh, and PIES. So good pies. This was the most wonderful gift we could have been given, especially since we were sleep deprived, cranky, and barely functional. It's a tradition that's not unique to Mississippi. All over the south, when someone has a baby, or someone gets sick, or someone's family member dies, food appears on the doorstep with prayers and love. It's the most amazing thing. I've had people send love (also known as food) when my own grandmothers and grandfather died, and as my mother was battling (and winning) lung cancer. Food comforts in ways that words can't in certain situations. My favorite thing to take in situations where comfort food is called for is chicken and dumplins (it also happens to be one of my favorite things to eat in the world, so I figure it's probably everyone else's, too, right?) They are warm, and fill your belly, and just right.
Coincidentally, it happens to be one of Dolly Parton's favorite foods, too. As she is my personal hero and one of the most incredible songwriters in the entire universe and of ALL TIME, and as January 19th, 2016 is her 70th birthday, I dedicate this recipe to her. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Dolly! Iiiyiiiii will alllways love yooouuuuu. ;)
Chicken and Dumplins
Serves: 8-12
What you need:
1 whole hen (I used a roasting hen, which is much larger, but I was also feeding waaaay more people than usual)
Approximately 12 Cups of chicken stock (see
Homecook How-to: Chicken Stock for an EASY and the most delicious recipe). If you're cutting corners (NO judgement here, I have a family and sometimes you just need to go with what's easy) just use out of the can stuff.
1-2 Tablespoons Better than Bullion Chicken Flavor Base
2 Cups Flour
1 Tablespoon Salt
1/2 cup whole or 2% milk
Pepper + salt to taste
Ice water (this actually varies depending on your flour's humidity/temperature. Once I made it and it took 20 tablespoons (1 1/4 cup) another time in the same day it took 10 tablespoons. I prepare about 2 cups just to have on hand)
What to do:
Start by putting your hen into a large pot, and covering with water. (I was making my own stock here, so if you're just boiling the chicken, ignore all the herbs and veggies). You'll want to cook it for about an hour and 15 minutes or longer if your chicken is bigger (the gauge you're going for is whether until the chicken is completely falling off the bone)
Let the chicken cool until you can touch it without burning your fingers off, and you can throw it in the fridge to speed up the process. Once you can touch it, shred it into fine slivers. Set the chicken aside while you make your dumplings.
The dumplings are SO easy, y'all. I know they sell them in the frozen section of the supermarket, but seriously, why buy them when they're basically flour, water, and salt? Here's what you do... add your salt to your flour and mix thoroughly. Now, here's the tricky part, my grandmother's recipe says "add ice water until the right consistency." The first time I made it I was like "WHAT?" But because the recipe also is made ALL the time by gals in my family, (thankfully) now I know what she meant by "the right consistency." Now I can't tell you the exact amount of ice water you need, as it's always different. So, to make sure you don't over-wet the dough, add in tablespoons of ice water one at the time until you've got a dough ball that just barely sticks together. You DO NOT want to make this dough too wet or the dumplings will fall apart as you cook them.
Exhibit A: dough that has the correct texture and consistency.
Roll out the dumplings using a rolling pin so that you don't over-work the dough. My cousin Amy likes to make some thick and some thin, but I just like mine to be uniform. I roll them about about 1/4" thick, then cut them into inch wide strips. Know that when you cut them they puff up a bit, and that's A-ok. You'll have enough leftover strips and pieces to ball the dough up a second or third time and cut more out from the scraps.
While that's happening, boil your chicken stock, but once it's at a rolling boil cut it down a notch because you don't want the boiling water to break the dumplings apart. Now drop your dumplings in slowly, one by one. This way, they won't clump together.
Once they've all started floating, put in your shredded chicken. You'll have a lovely broth, but to really get things creamy and smooth you'll want to add in a bit of thickener. In a mixing cup, use about a tablespoon of flour and mix it with a tablespoon of softened butter until you have a bit of a light roux. Drop this in little by little and stir, then let
this all simmer together with the tablespoons of chicken bouillion, salt and pepper, for
at least an hour if not two. Just like chili, all the flavors meld over
time and make it creamy and smooth. Right before you serve, add in the 1/2 cup of milk.
My family HAS to serve this with butter beans and candied sweet potatoes. If you know what's up, you'll try it this way, too! :)
If you're making this to welcome a new baby to the world (or in my friend Jane's case, TWO beautiful new babies) or comfort a sick or grieving pal, take the whole shebang over with some rolls and flowers (Of course I picked Sister Shubert as she's an Alabama lady with rolls that taste as close to homemade as you can get. Plus, when my own perfect grandmother passed away, she sent my aunt an entire freezer full of good things to eat.) Enjoy. AND HAPPY BIRTHDAY DOLLY!
Labels: poultry, soups and stews
