Chicken And Dumplings For Two Cooks Country Recipes

CHICKEN AND DUMPLINGS FOR TWO (COOK'S COUNTRY)

Steps:

• Note: Make the dumplings just before adding them to the stew.
• For the stew: Melt butter in medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add carrots and onion and cook until lightly browned, 5 to 8 minutes. Add garlic, thyme, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add flour and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Stir in sherry, scraping up any browned bits, and cook until nearly dry, about 1 minute. Slowly stir in broth and bring to boil. Add chicken, reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until chicken is cooked through and tender, about 15 minutes.
• For the dumplings: Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in bowl. Stir in broth and melted butter until just incorporated.
• Season stew with salt and pepper to taste. Increase heat to medium. Using 2 spoons, drop eight 1-inch dumplings into stew about 1 inch apart. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Sprinkle peas around dumplings, cover, and cook 5 minutes longer. Remove from heat and let cool slightly, uncovered, about 10 minutes. Serve.

CHICKEN AND RICE FOR TWO(COOK'S COUNTRY)

Steps:

• 1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Combine ¾ cup broth, rice, and ¼ teaspoon salt in medium bowl and microwave, covered, until liquid is absorbed, 6 to 8 minutes.
• 2. Meanwhile, pat chicken dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Heat oil in medium saucepan over medium-high heat until just smoking. Cook chicken until browned all over, about 10 minutes; transfer to plate.
• 3. Pour off all but 1 teaspoon fat from pot, add onion and ¼ teaspoon salt, and cook over medium-low heat until softened and lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and thyme and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add remaining ½ cup broth and wine, scraping bottom of pot to loosen any browned bits. Stir in parcooked rice, breaking up any large clumps, and bring to simmer. Place chicken skin side up on rice, cover, and bake until rice is cooked through and chicken registers 175 degrees, about 25 minutes.
• 4. Remove pot from oven, transfer chicken to platter, and tent loosely with aluminum foil. Fluff rice with fork, cover, and let sit for 10 minutes. Stir parsley into rice and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve rice with chicken.
• TIP:Chicken and rice is usually made in a wide skillet. But with such a big circumference, even a covered skillet lets too much steam escape. We had better results with a saucepan, which has a smaller circumference, and hence keeps the moisture where you want it: in with the chicken and rice.

SLOW-COOKER CHICKEN AND DUMPLINGS(COOK'S COUNTRY)

Steps:

• FOR THE STEW: Pat chicken dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Brown half of chicken all over, 5 to 8 minutes; transfer to slow cooker. Repeat with 1 tablespoon oil and remaining chicken.
• Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in now-empty skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add onions, celery, and carrots and cook until soft, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in garlic, tomato paste, bay leaves, and thyme and cook until fragrant and tomato paste is starting to brown, about 2 minutes.
• Stir in flour and cook for 1 minute. Slowly whisk in wine, scraping up any browned bits. Whisk in 1 cup broth and bring to simmer; transfer to slow cooker. Stir remaining 3 cups broth into slow cooker. Cover and cook until chicken is tender, 4 to 6 hours on low. Stir in peas.
• FOR THE DUMPLINGS: Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt together in large bowl. Stir in milk and melted butter until just incorporated. Using greased ¼-cup measure, drop 8 dumplings around perimeter of stew. Cover and cook until dumplings have doubled in size, 30 to 35 minutes. Remove bay leaves and serve.

CHICKEN AND DUMPLINGS

Steps:

• Season chicken on both sides with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Working in batches if needed, sear chicken, skin-side down, until deeply golden brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Flip chicken and continue to cook until it is browned on the other side, another 5 to 8 minutes. Transfer chicken to a large plate, and pour off all fat into a measuring cup. (You should have about 5 tablespoons, depending on the fattiness of the chicken.)
• Leaving all the browned bits in the pot, return 2 tablespoons of fat to the pot. Add onions, celery and half the carrots. Season with salt and pepper and cook on medium heat, stirring to scrape up all the bits on the bottom of the pot. Cook until vegetables start to soften, about 4 minutes or so. Return chicken to the pot along with thyme and 8 cups of water. Simmer, uncovered, until chicken is completely tender and liquid has reduced by about 1/4, about 30 to 40 minutes.
• Transfer chicken to a plate or cutting board to cool. Strain the stock (you should have about 5 cups; if you have less, you can add water to make up the difference) and wipe out the pot.
• Heat remaining 3 tablespoons chicken fat along with 1 tablespoon butter (if you don't have enough chicken fat, use enough butter to equal 4 tablespoons of fat) over medium heat. Sprinkle in flour and stir constantly until it's all a pale golden brown, about 2 to 3 minutes.
• Slowly whisk in reserved chicken stock until no lumps remain (it will thicken considerably at first) and bring to a boil. Add leeks and remaining carrots, season with salt and pepper and lower the heat to simmer.
• Remove and discard the skin and bones from the chicken. Shred the meat and add to the pot. Cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid is nicely thickened and carrots and leeks are tender, 10 to 12 minutes.
• Make the dumplings: In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and pepper. In a small bowl, whisk together buttermilk and egg and add to dry ingredients, followed by melted butter. Using a wooden spoon or spatula, stir just to combine. (Do not overmix.)
• Using a spoon, drop generous quarter-size dollops of the dumpling dough into the pot (they should just sit right on top; they will not sink), spacing them apart as much as possible (it's O.K. if they touch). Cover the pot and reduce heat to low. Cook, undisturbed, until the dumplings are puffed and totally cooked through, 18 to 22 minutes. (Test a dumpling by cutting it in half; it should look slightly biscuity, but with no raw bits of dough. If it needs more time, continue to cook.)
• Remove lid and divide among bowls; sprinkle with parsley and chives, if using.

THE BEST CHICKEN & DUMPLINGS

Steps:

• In a shallow bowl, mix 1/2 cup flour, salt and pepper. Add chicken, 1 piece at a time, and toss to coat; shake off excess. In a 6-qt. stockpot, heat oil over medium-high heat. Brown chicken in batches on all sides; remove from pan., Add onion, carrots and celery to same pan; cook and stir 6-8 minutes or until onion is tender. Add garlic; cook and stir 1 minute longer. Stir in 1/4 cup flour until blended. Gradually add stock, stirring constantly. Stir in wine, sugar, bay leaves and peppercorns. Return chicken to pan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, covered, 20-25 minutes or until chicken juices run clear., For dumplings, in a bowl, whisk flour, baking powder and salt. In another bowl, whisk milk and melted butter until blended. Add to flour mixture; stir just until moistened (do not overmix). Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto a parchment-lined baking sheet; set aside., Remove chicken from stockpot; cool slightly. Discard bay leaves and skim fat from soup. Remove skin and bones from chicken and discard. Using 2 forks, coarsely shred meat into 1- to 1-1/2-in. pieces; return to soup. Cook, covered, on high until mixture reaches a simmer., Drop dumplings on top of simmering soup, a few at a time. Reduce heat to low; cook, covered, 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center of dumplings comes out clean (do not lift cover while simmering). Gently stir in cream, parsley and thyme. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste.