Chicken and Dumplings

This recipe is really good. The flavor is perfect and the dumplings are very tender. This is the second time I have made this within a week because I made it for our Harvest Party and it went so fast that some of my family requested I make it again so they could try it. The first time I made it I took some short cuts and recommend that if you are short on time. I bought a rotisserie chicken and chicken broth from the store which saves a lot of time. Yesterday I had more time and I did the whole thing from scratch. It takes about 3 hours but most is inactive time. Both versions turned out very good. A few things I have noticed about this recipe is that is says the "Supreme Sauce" should be able to coat the back of the spoon. Mine never got that thick and don't think it needs to be. Also, unless you are using a pot with a lot of surface area you will have trouble not crowding the dumplings. I actually think there may be too many dumpling so you can either not add as much or just don't worry about it. Mine were crowded but I stirred them gently to make sure they all got cooked. With the first batch that I made I had transferred the soup into a crockpot and added the dumplings right before serving but it was not hot enough to cook them quickly so I ended up putting the whole pot into the oven and baking it. The dumplings all rise to the top so it turned into more of a chicken pot pie than dumping but it was still very delicious and the dough was still very tender.

Ingredients

Serves about 6

Roasted Chicken:

• 1 (3-pound) whole chicken
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 4 ounces unsalted butter, softened
• 1 lemon, halved and juiced; halves reserved
• 1/4-cup fresh chopped herbs such as thyme, parsley and rosemary
• 1 onion, halved
• 4 garlic cloves, smashed
• Fresh whole herbs, such as rosemary, thyme and parsley sprigs

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Remove the neck and giblets from the cavity of the chicken and discard. Rinse the chicken under cold water, inside and out. Pat dry thoroughly with paper towels. Season the body and cavity of the chicken generously with salt and pepper.

In a small bowl, mash together the butter, lemon juice, and chopped herbs. Rub the herbed butter all over the chicken, as well as under the skin. Put the lemon halves, onion, garlic, and whole herbs inside the chicken cavity, for added flavor. Tie the legs together with kitchen twine. Place the chicken, breast side up, in a roasting pan fitted with a rack. Roast for 1 hour until the meat is no longer pink. When cool enough to handle, shred the meat, discarding the skin and set aside. Reserve the bones for chicken stock.

Chicken Stock:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 carrots, cut in large chunks
• 2 celery stalks, cut in large chunks
• 1 onion, halved
• 1 garlic bulb, halved
• Reserved chicken bones
• 2 quarts cold water
• 4 sprigs fresh parsley
• 4 sprigs fresh thyme
• 2 bay leaves

To prepare the stock, coat a large stockpot with olive oil and place over medium heat. Add the vegetables and saute for 3 minutes. Add the reserved chicken bones, water, and herbs; simmer for 1 hour. Strain the stock to remove the solids and set aside.

Dumplings:

• 2 cups flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 to 1 cup buttermilk

To prepare the dumplings: sift dry ingredients together in a large bowl. In a small bowl, lightly beat the eggs and milk together; pour the liquid in the dry ingredients and gently fold. Mix just until the dough comes together, the batter should be thick and cake-like.

Supreme Sauce:

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1/2 cup diced carrot
• 1/2 cup diced celery
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/4-1/2 cup flour
• 6 cups chicken stock
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• Freshly ground black pepper, for garnish
• Chopped flat-leaf parsley, for garnish

To prepare Supreme Sauce: In a Dutch oven, melt butter and heat oil over medium heat. Add carrot, celery, garlic, and bay leaves. Saute until the vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in the flour to make a roux. Continue to stir and cook for 2 minutes to cook the flour and remove the starchy taste. Slowly pour in the chicken stock, 1 cup at a time, stirring well after each addition.

Let sauce simmer until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 15 minutes. Stir in heavy cream.

Fold the reserved shredded chicken into the sauce and bring up to a simmer. Using 2 spoons, carefully drop heaping tablespoonfuls of the dumpling batter into the hot mixture. The dumplings should cover the top of the sauce, but should not be touching or crowded. Let the dumplings poach for 10 to 15 minutes until they are firm and puffy. Season with freshly cracked black pepper and garnish with chopped parsley before serving.

Recipe from Tyler Florence of the Food Network.