Whistlestop Cafe Chicken And Dumplings Recipes

Steps:

• Place the chicken in a large, 2 1/2 quart saucepan. Add 6 cups water, salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until very tener. Remove from broth and let cool. Reserve the broth.
• When chicken has cooled off, remove the meat from the bones and dice.
• Next, add milk and margarine to the broth. Bring to a simmer.
• TO MAKE THE DUMPLINGS: Cut the shortening into the flour, using a pastry blender, until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add 1/2 cup water and stir with a fork, just until dough leaves side of bowl. For rolled dumplings roll out dough to 1/8-inch thickness on a lightly floured surface. Cut into 4 x 1/2-inch strips or 2-inch squares. For dropped dumplings, pat dough to 1/2-inch thickness on a lightly floured surface. Pinch off dough to 1 1/2-inch pieces.
• Gradually drop dumplings, one at a time, into boiling broth mixture. Cover, reduce heat and boil gently for 15 minutes, or until dumplings are cooked. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking. Stir in chicken and heat through.

Steps:

• Stir together flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt in medium size bowl. Cut in butter until crumbly. Stir in milk to make a soft dough.
• Drop by spoonfuls into boiling stew. Cover and simmer 15 minutes without lifting lid. Serve.
• To make parsley dumplings, add 1 tablespoon parsley flakes to the dry ingredients.

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.