Damn The Weather - Eat Chicken and Dumplings

Foggy Morning at My House

It's February.
I have to do our taxes.
It's dark when Phil goes to work in the morning.
It's dark when we sit down for a cocktail in the evening.

Everyone on the island is going to Hawaii.  Except me.

While there are glimmers of light - the pots of herbs on my deck are coming back to life and there is the occasional glimpse of snowy mountains that take my breath away--

Olympics From Manzanita Bay

mostly it rains and rains and then rains some more.

Phil's shoes never dry. 

So why am I so happy?
Chicken and dumplings, that's why.

The Bainbridge Farmer's Market won't open again until early April, so while waiting impatiently for spring greens and asparagus, I snag a local chicken from Heyday Farm, Bay Hay & Feed, the Chimacum Corner Farm Stand, or the Capital Hill Farmers' Market on Sundays, where I also score a few local leeks, potatoes, carrots, and kale.  (Aside: Ride the new First Hill Streetcar to the Capital Hill Farmers' Market for free for a limited time.  Then celebrate your bounty with a steaming bowl of Ramen at Samurai Noodle down the block.  If you're still not walking on sunshine, meander a little farther to Molly Moon's for ice cream.)

Chicken and dumplings evoke happy childhood memories of my maternal grandparents,

 Eula Glore and Ezra Victor Boyer. 

Grandma Eula

Eula was a handful.  She had a unstoppable zest for life and preferred not to behave herself.  She taught me to play poker, drink Kentucky bourbon, and float in the ocean.  I am more like her than I care to admit.  Ezra was a solid Pennsylvania Dutch Lutheran with a warm laugh and I loved him more than anyone.  He taught me to fish, knit, bake cookies, and took me to my first baseball game at Wrigley Field when I was four years old.

Eula and Ez often cooked meals together.  
Eula with a glass of bourbon in hand;

Papa Ezra

Ezra in a starched white apron.

My grandparents' dumplings were biscuit like.  Mine are lighter, tangy from buttermilk, and flecked with pepper and chives.  My sauce is enriched with a wee bit of cream, and laced with sherry.  Eula and Ez skipped the booze and cream and whisked egg yolks in their sauce. Both versions are good.

Chicken and dumplings are straightforward to make and the prep can be fitted between bouts of cleaning up the yard, reading by the fire, or working on your dreaded taxes.

I recommend a sip or two of bourbon while you cook as Eula did, or better yet, two fingers of Battle Point Whiskey.

Damn the weather.  Eat dumplings.  Be happy.
Poached Chicken with Aromatic Vegetables, Creamed Gravy, and Buttermilk-Chive Dumplings

1	local free-range chicken 4 - 5 pounds, cut up
2	tablespoons olive oil or rendered chicken fat
1	large onion cut into large chunks (unpeeled)
2	bay leaves
	sea salt
3	ribs of celery trimmed and cut into 1-by-1/2-inch pieces
4	carrots peeled and cut into 1-by-1/2-inch pieces
6	boiling onions, blanched, peeled and halved
4	tablespoons unsalted butter softened, or chicken fat from the cooked chicken
6	tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
1	teaspoon dried thyme
2	tablespoons dry sherry
1/4	cup heavy cream
3/4	cup peas
1/4	cup minced fresh parsley
	ground black pepper
Baking Powder Dumplings
2	cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1	tablespoon baking powder
3/4	teaspoon table salt
3	tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/4 2	cup whole milk buttermilk (preferably Grace Harbor brand) cup minced dill  tablespoons minced chives

1. For the chicken: Sprinkle chicken pieces liberally with salt and pepper.  Heat large Dutch oven or other large, deep pot with a lid over medium-high heat. Add olive oil or chicken fat and cut chicken pieces and brown on all sides (about 5 minutes).   Transfer chicken to platter.

Add onion chunks to the now empty pan; sauté until onion softens, about 5 minutes more. 

Return chicken to pot with onions, including any accumulated juices on the platter.  Increase heat to medium-high, add 6 cups hot water, bay leaves, 1 teaspoon salt, a few grinds of pepper, then bring to simmer. Reduce heat; continue at bare simmer, partially covered, until broth is flavorful and chicken parts are just cooked through, about 20 minutes longer. 

Remove chicken parts and set aside. When cool enough to handle, remove meat from bones in large chunks. Return bones, fat, and tendons to broth, cover, and simmer on low.  The broth will be flavorful after 1 hour but, if you have time, let it simmer for another hour.  Strain broth, discarding bones, fat, and tendons. Skim and reserve fat from broth and set aside 5 cups of broth, reserving extra for another use.

 





2. Meanwhile, bring 1/2-inch water to simmer in cleaned skillet fitted with steamer basket. Add celery and carrots; cover and steam until just tender, about 10 minutes. Remove and set aside.

3. Heat butter or reserved chicken fat in cleaned skillet over medium heat. Whisk in flour and thyme; cook, whisking constantly, until flour turns golden, 1 to 2 minutes. Continuing to whisk constantly, gradually add sherry, then reserved 5 cups stock; simmer until gravy thickens slightly, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in cream and chicken, steamed vegetables, boiling onions, peas, and parsley; return to simmer.

4. For the dumplings: Mix flour, baking powder, dill, chives, and salt in medium bowl. In a small saucepan, heat butter and buttermilk to bare simmer and add to dry ingredients. Mix with a fork until mixture just comes together.

5. Using a 1/2-cup measure, immediately drop dumpling dough on surface of chicken mixture.  Dumplings may cover the entire top of the stew.  Cover the pot and simmer until dumplings are cooked through, about 15 minutes. Adjust seasonings, including generous amounts of salt and pepper. Ladle portion of meat, sauce, vegetables, and dumplings into soup plates and serve immediately.  Top with additional snipped fresh chives or parsley, if desired.