Dumplings Anyone?

What a perfect late summer day! Oklahoma is finally getting some relief from those 61 days of over 100 degree days and my spirits are perked up more than I can describe. I now feel like doing chores and projects again. Sometimes when I am depressed, and this heat can be depressing, the thought of even the simplest chore is just too much to handle.

In honor of it only being 79 degrees at 12:45 p.m., I made chicken and dumplings. That, and the fact that my grocery store had chickens on sale for 39 cents a pound, limit 4. I bought 4! I am a chicken and dumplings connoisseur from way back. My Aunt Azalea made the best dumplings in the world. Her version had eggs and in my heart of hearts, I think that dumplings made with eggs are noodles. Discuss this among yourselves! When I married, one of the first dishes I wanted to try was dumplings. Somewhere along the line, I acquired a Grady County Extension Homemakers Groups Recipe Book, circa 1970. If I were to guess as to how I came by this book, I would say somebody at work was probably selling these for a fundraiser. It has a delicious recipe for dumplings which I have tweaked into perfection for these last 40 years. I do not remember too many family gatherings without them, but when I did fail to bring dumplings my nieces and nephews (and my brothers-in-law) would let me know that they weren't going to tolerate another get together without them. So....... I passed the recipe on to my nieces....no real excuse not to have them everytime we are together.


And without further adieu, my recipe for chicken and dumplings. If I use a cookbook recipe, I like to put the date and the summary of the recipe or some words about why I made it; i.e. Christmas at Brenda's house. What a wonderful surprise or memory to the future recipient of my cookbooks. You might note that this cookbook is pretty well beat up and no longer has a cover.

CHICKEN AND ROLLED OUT DUMPLINGS



Stewing Hen, cut up (I just use a whole bagged chicken or have even used nothing but backs. Note: If you use a bagged whole chicken make sure you take out the neck and packaged liver, etc, but after taking the liver out of the package, throw it in the pot. What the matter Shawna, making you queasy just thinking about that?)



Dumplings: 2 cups flour


1 teaspoon salt


1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 rounding tablespoon shortening

2/3 cup cup (scant) sweet milk (I use a tad more milk than 2/3 cup rather than less.)




Cut stewing chicken into pieces suitable for serving, barely cover with water, add 1 1/2 teaspoon salt, small onion and piece of celery, or celery leaves. Simmer until chicken is done, about 2 hours depending on size of the hen. (Remove onion and celery pieces. I also remove chicken and pick from the bone. I do not put all the chicken back in the pot because I don't like that much chicken. I save some of the boiled chicken for chicken salad).


Dumplings: sift flour, salt and baking powder, cut in 1 rounded tablespoon of shortening. Add sweet milk all at once and mix as for biscuits to form a stiff dough. Divide dough into portions and roll out about like pie pastry on floured cloth or board. Cut in strips about two inches wide.


Stretch pieces as you add them to the chicken and broth. Place several strips of the dough on top of the chicken in the boiling broth. Replace lid and allow to continue boiling until broth as boiled up over the dumplings. Then add another layer of the strips and let broth boil over this layer, continuing until the dough is used. Allow 20 to 30 minutes from the time you put the first ones in for dumplings to cook. If the broth runs low, heat some milk and add, pushing back the dumplings and chicken and pouring it near the side of the kettle. Broth may be thickened slightly before serving by adding flour and water thickening in this manner, moving chicken about carefully to keep pieces intact.


For my large extended family, I triple the recipe. To make this quicker to prepare, especially on Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas when time is always at a premium, sift dry ingredients in bowl and cut in shortening the day before. These are all ingredients that do not have to be refrigerated. Make sure you over the bowl. Then the next day, all you have to add is the milk and roll them out.
These last few years, it has only been the two of us preparing our portion of the takeout dishes for our family gatherings. You know what? Even those are sweet memories. What a nice warm feeling to be rolling out dough, watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade on my little kitchen TV. I know that in a few hours we will be at my sister's house with up 14 or more little ones running wild, the men watching the dog show on TV on mute, the girls spreading the Christmas ads all over the house scouring for those great 4 a.m. sales, someone playing the piano, and the invariably the girls singing in on Christmas Carols. PASS ME THE TYLENOL!!

I think it is my turn for Thanksgiving dinner. I probably ought to get cleaning and cooking. Love to you all!!!!