March 24, 2012
This blog post is a little late hitting the web, but, I think that many of us may still be in need of it's content. With spring upon us, outdoor temperatures have been anywhere from scorching to near freezing, and the Devil has cursed us once again with a super-size dose of pollen. This past winter was hard for many of us who had cold upon cold, and now we get to suffer through spring allergy season.
If you're not feeling well, the recipe in this post is for you! I made it a few weeks ago when Doug was feeling under the weather with a cough and sinus congestion. Poor guy!
When we're not feeling well, we tend to turn to comfort food. Everyone has their own favorite, be it macaroni and cheese, lasagna, or our personal favorite: chicken and dumplings.
This recipe is from Alton Brown, with a few modifications. I was so excited to make it, since it required the use of the pressure cooker that I got for Christmas! On this episode of Good Eats, Alton cooks his whole chicken in a pressure cooker, which yields tender, perfectly cooked meat in a quarter of the time and a delicious golden broth to boot.
Alton also discusses the controversial topic of how to make the dumplings. Some cooks like the "fluffy" (dropped) dumplings, while some like the "flat" (rolled) dumplings. He goes on to comment that difference in techniques has nothing to do with The North vs. The South. The "fluffy" ones in soups originated somewhere in England, while the "flat" dumplings originated in Germany.
Anyways, my Mom has always made the "fluffy" dumplings, while I have also enjoyed the "flat" variety made by my friend Natalie. Alton's recipe allows for both styles and methods of dumpling creation.
The dropped dumplings recipe did NOT take 2 hours.
Another note on how we changed the recipe to our liking:
- We cooked a local free-range 4 pound hen, bought at the farmer's market of course
- I added a medium sized onion in with the chicken while it was cooking in the pressure cooker.
-For an extra serving of vegetables, I chopped into small pieces 2 large carrots, 2 large stalks of celery and a handful of fresh parsley and added them to the gently simmering broth before I started making the dumplings. By the time the dumplings were ready to go in, the veggies were soft.
-We also used King Arthur White Whole Wheat all-purpose flour for our dumplings. They came out light brown in color, but the taste was not much different from using regular all-purpose flour.
I hope that I've inspired you to make something yummy when your loved ones are feeling "under the weather." As good as this is while you're sick, it's even better when you're not....after all, half of what you taste is what you're able to smell!
