Chicken & Dumplings

This was my very first time not only cooking, but eating chicken and dumplings. And I must say these were mighty delicious! The warmth totally envelopes you like a fuzzy blanket on a bitter winter day, and the dumplings are like soft, doughy pillows. I'm positive these are a cure-all; for no matter what ails you; whether it be in your body, mind or soul.


My stew recipe is very loosely based on Tyler Florence's. This one is heartier with the addition of sweet and white potatoes, peas, and corn. It's a stew that can stand on its own without the dumplings. I used leftover roasted chicken and my crock pot chicken stock, but canned will work just as well. (If you don't have leftover chicken you can cook your chicken and render a stock all at the same time, follow the links to Tyler's recipes for directions.) The stew has just the right amount of creamy thickness to it, and the dumplings are perfect; dense yet light with little air bubbles speckling the insides.





This recipe is very forgiving, as most stews are, a little variation on the amounts or even the types of veggies you use will give you the same, delicious result. Stick to the recipe for the dumplings and keep them small - they will grow 3-4 times in size.


Chicken & Dumplings
(Stew recipe by Reeni, Dumpling recipe adapted from Tyler Florence here and also here)

Chicken Stew:

2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons oil
1 yellow onion, diced
1 and 1/2 cups carrot, diced or sliced into rounds
1/2 cup celery, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 bay leaves
Salt and pepper
1/4 cup flour
6 cups chicken stock
2 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
3 cups potatoes, cubed (I used a mix of white and sweet)
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup frozen corn
3 cups cooked chicken, rough-chopped into bite-sized pieces
1/4 cup heavy cream or whole milk
Freshly ground black pepper, for garnish
Chopped flat-leaf parsley, for garnish


In a large, wide, soup pot or Dutch oven melt butter and heat oil over medium heat. Add onion, carrot, celery, garlic, and bay leaves. Saute until the vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in the flour to make a roux. Continue to stir and cook for 2 minutes to coat the flour and remove the starchy taste. Slowly pour in the chicken stock, 1 cup at a time, stirring well after each addition. Add the parsley, Italian seasoning, potatoes, peas, and corn. Simmer for 20 minutes. Taste and season with salt and pepper if needed.

Stir in heavy cream and chicken. Bring back to a simmer.

Using 2 spoons, carefully drop heaping tablespoonfuls of the dumpling batter into the hot mixture. The dumplings should cover the top of the sauce, but should not be touching or crowded. Let the dumplings poach for 10 to 15 minutes until they are firm and puffy. You may need to cook the dumplings in two batches if they don't fit in the pan all at once.


Season with freshly cracked black pepper and garnish with chopped parsley before serving.

Dumplings:

2 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
3/4 to 1 cup buttermilk*


To prepare the dumplings: sift dry ingredients together in a large bowl.

In a small bowl, lightly beat the eggs and milk together; pour the liquid(start with 3/4 cup, add the remaining 1/4 cup if needed) in the dry ingredients and gently fold.

Mix just until the dough comes together, the batter should be thick and cake-like.

*I made my own by adding one tablespoon of white vinegar(lemon juice will work too) to a one cup measure, than added milk. Let sit for five minutes.

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Don't forget to enter my giveaway for a set of cookbooks!

A Thanksgiving Book Feast Giveaway

I've partnered with the Hachette Book Group to bring you an awesome book giveaway! And guess what? It's not just one but two new cookbooks! And guess what else? This is to kick off week one of three giveaway weeks! Why? I don't need a reason. But if you really want to know...it's because I love you. You motivate and inspire me. You make me smile. With your comments. With your blogs. With your recipes and photos. You support me. You appreciate me. You make my recipes. And this is my way of showing appreciation for you, my thank-you. Enjoy.



The first book is How to Roast a Lamb by Michael Psilakis & Barbara Kafka

The second is Chocolate: A Love Story by Max Brenner & Illustrated by Yonatan Factor


You have five ways to win. Please leave a separate comment for each entry.

1. Leave a comment telling me your favorite Thanksgiving dish?

2. Follow me or if your already a follower just say so.

3. Twitter it and tell me - make sure to leave your twitter username.

4. Stumble it.

5. Blog about it.



I'm sorry - this is limited to U.S. and Canadian residents. No P.O. boxes please.

Giveaway ends this Sunday at midnight. One winner will be announced early next week.

'Tunnel of Apple-Love' Spice Cake

Apples and Apple Cider are two classic Fall Favorites that I can't help but Love. One of the things I look forward to eating at this time of year is fresh apple cake. This one uses both my favorites and carries the apple cider through in the cake, filling, and icing; along with the deep, caramel flavor of the brown sugar. A triple treat for your taste buds! It is very similar in taste to gingerbread, only more subtle for its lack of molasses. The first thing you notice about this cake is the sweet, spicy scent following you around the kitchen begging you to pay it more attention. It screams eat me. And when you do you will be so grateful you made this cake. The frosting is just divine; cream cheese, brown sugar, cinnamon and apple cider. The filling is similar to an apple pie filling. The cake is incredibly moist; it will melt in your mouth in pure, sweet, cinnamon-spicy, apple bliss.

I did make one mistake, that almost stopped me from sharing this, but I can't be selfish that way. This cake was meant to be shared. I thought the apple cider would be sufficient enough to stop the apples from browning. But they took on this nice hue of deep purple that is slightly off putting; it had no affect on the taste; nor did it stop anyone from eating it. All.




Tunnel of Apple-Love Spice Cake
(by Reeni)

Apple Filling:
6 cups Baking Apples, diced(I mixed Empire & Cortland)
Lemon Juice, fresh squeezed, about 2 teaspoons
1/3 cup Apple Cider
2 tablespoons Butter
2 tablespoons Brown Sugar
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
dash of Salt
1 tablespoon Corn Starch
2 tablespoons Boiling Water
1/3 cup chopped Walnuts

Cake:
1-1/4 cup all-purpose Flour
1 cup Whole Wheat Flour
3/4 cup packed Brown Sugar
3/4 cup Sugar or Splenda
1 cup Greek Yogurt or Sour Cream
1/4 cup Butter, softened
1/4 cup Shortening, softened
1/2 cup Apple Cider
2 teaspoons Cinnamon
1-1/4 teaspoons Baking Soda
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon Cloves
1/2 teaspoon Ginger
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1/4 teaspoon Nutmeg
2 large eggs
1/2 cup chopped Walnuts
Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Icing (recipe follows)

1. In a large skillet add all of the ingredients for the apple filling except the cornstarch, water, and walnuts. Cook over medium-low heat until apples just become tender and start to cook down a little. Make a slurry with the cornstarch and boiling water, whisking together until corn starch is incorporated. Add to the apples and simmer until the liquids start to thicken. Remove from heat. Mix in walnuts and set aside.

2. Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour a bundt pan.

3. In a large mixing bowl beat all the ingredients except walnuts with electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds and then on high for 3 minutes, scraping the bowl occasionally. Mix in walnuts. *Note: There are two ways to bake this - you can mix the apples right into the batter or you can use the apples as a filling.

4. Add half the batter to the prepared bundt pan. Add all of the apple mixture in an even layer, leaving a 1/2 inch border around the inner and outer sides. Top with the rest of the batter, smoothing it out evenly over the top. *If you mixed your apples right in - pour the entire mixture into the pan.

5. Bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

6. Allow to cool on a wire rack for ten minutes. Turn out and allow to cool the rest of the way before icing.

Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Icing
(by Reeni)

4 ounces Cream Cheese, softened to room temperature
1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
2/3 cup packed Brown Sugar
1 tablespoon Apple Cider, plus extra if needed
1-2 cups Confectioners' Sugar

1. In a medium sized mixing bowl beat the cream cheese until fluffly. Add the cinnamon and brown sugar. Beat until fluffy and the sugar is well incorporated. Beat in the apple cider.

2. Beat in a cup of confectioners' sugar. Add more as needed to to get a nice consistency, not too thick that you have to spread it, thin enough so that it will slowly drip off a spoon.

3. To ice cake: drop spoonfuls along the time flattening them out with the back of the spoon and bringing it to the edges of the cake so that it begins to drip down the sides on its own. Let set before serving.

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I want to extend a huge thank-you to the fabulously talented Miranda of A Duck In Her Pond for featuring me in her Creative Woman of the Pond series! I'm honored!

Farewell - Until We Meet Again

It's a sad day! The cooking group Tyler Florence Fridays has posted it's final round-up! Sigh. Sniffle. It's been a great year of cooking with Tyler! One I will remember for all of it's deliciousness. I had fun the 14 weeks I was involved on and off throughout the year. I didn't realize this was the last week or I would of been certain to participate. Instead I thought it would be fun to post my own round-up. Although it's the end of Tyler Florence Fridays it's not the end for me - I have Tyler's Chicken and Dumplings in my sights.


My first recipe and one of my very favorites was Tyler's Ultimate Cheesecake. I adapted it and added dulce de leche. "Luxuriously creamy, sinfully sweet, and with a little bit of tart from the sour cream. The dulce de leche added a rich caramel flavor that just melted the cheesecake on my tongue."





Next up were Tyler's Yorkshire Popovers.

"Popovers are made of a light, eggy, moist, puffy dough and are kind of hollow in the center."





Tyler'sShrimp Scampi "delicious, fast, and easy to make."





Fettucine Alfredo

"I swapped Tyler’s cream-laden sauce for a lighter version and his handmade fettucine for some market-fresh Spinach fettucine."





"This is Tyler's Fabulous Focaccia Bread filled with Salami, Mozzarella, Parmesan, caramelized onions and peppers with hints of garlic and thyme."





Upside Down Apple French Toast

"A mouth-watering baked French toast loaded with fresh apples, sweet cranberries and crunchy pecans."




Espresso Brownies for Breakfast

"These are extremely fudgy, dense and will satisfy any severe chocolate craving!"





Ravioli-Stuffed Acorn Squash Hearts with Mozzarella Cream Sauce

"I used bite-size cheese Ravioli smothered in a creamy, mozzarella herb sauce to fill these buttery acorn squash hearts until they were ready to overflow."





Mozzarella Pesto Grilled Cheese & Strawberry Salad

"This one had the perfect amount of butter-fried crunchiness and melted, molten mozzarella oozing out the cracks speckled with the pumpkin-arugula pesto."





The Ultimate Fish Tacos

"These are fried with a crispy breading of seasoned panko crumbs, served on corn tortillas with a creamy, spicy sauce made with chipotles, sour cream and mayo."





Chipotle Black Bean Soup & Spicy Chile Chips

"It was nice and spicy, hearty, and soul-satisfying."





Asian Chicken Salad


"Seared chicken breast with a gorgeous glaze of ginger, honey, toasty sesame seeds, and soy sauce served on a bed of grilled romaine."





Cold Sesame Peanut Butter Noodles

"These noodles are heavy on the peanut butter and flavored with soy sauce, toasted sesame oil, chili sauce and rice wine vinegar."





Tempura Green Beans w/ Chile, Garlic and Sesame Aioli


"The batter was delicate and crunchy and encased the string bean trapping its moisture and sweet, crispy flavor inside. The aioli was wonderfully cool in contrast to the warm beans and spicy-hot at the same time. True bliss."




Such sweet delicious memories!

I want to say thank-you to Natashya of Living in the Kitchen with Puppies and Deb of Kahakai Kitchen for tirelessly posting the TFF round-ups every week. Now that I've posted my own I see how much work it is. They have, along with Heather of Girlichef, started a new cooking club; I Heart Cooking Clubs. Go join the fun!

Italian Sausage Baked Ziti

Does anything say comfort better than a pan of Baked Ziti with Sweet Italian sausage sizzling on top? Hmmm...I can't think of anything right now. This is my Mom's ziti. Mom's recipes are the best where home-cooking is concerned. This is serious comfort food for a cold, lazy Sunday afternoon meal snuggled up inside where it's warm with your family gathered around. Since I'm talking ziti I have to mention the odd recipe I saw that called for sour cream minus the ricotta. I'm not sure how I feel - it's so un-traditional. As is ziti without ricotta! It wouldn't be the same for me. Ziti is all about the cheese, oodles of stringy, ooey-gooey cheese! It's not for the faint of heart or the cheese-conscious.

Ziti is really just another form of lasagna - the same ingredients are required - only the shape of the pasta is different - the flavors are there. You might question why this is called baked ziti when penne is used. Traditional ziti are long tubes that you break up before cooking, a rare find, as they are sold already broken up nowadays. Acceptable substitutes are penne, penne rigati, and mostaciolli. Penne rigate are the best because of their ridges. Cheese and sauce stick better to them.

This feeds a small crowd, but can easily be halved or frozen to enjoy at a later date. The leftovers rock!

Baked Ziti (by Reeni)

1 (16 ounce) package penne rigate pasta

32 ounces ricotta cheese

1 pound shredded mozzarella cheese

1 egg, beaten

1 tablespoon Parsley, fresh, chopped

Italian Sausage, cooked, sliced

Homemade Tomato Sauce(recipe to follow)or 1-2 large jars good spaghetti sauce like Barila

Parmesan cheese, for sprinkling on top and more for serving

Cook pasta to al dente according to package directions. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Spray a 9x13 inch casserole/baking dish with non-stick baking spray. Set aside.

While the pasta is cooking mix the ricotta cheese, 8 ounces of the Mozzarella, egg and parsley together in a large mixing bowl. Add the cooked, drained Ziti to the ricotta cheese mixture along with 3 cups of the sauce. Mix to incorporate the ricotta and sauce throughout. Add more sauce if needed.

Add the Ziti to the baking dish and top with the remaining mozzarella. Cover with sliced sausage or meatballs. Sprinkle with Parmesan. Bake Ziti about 35 -45 minutes or until bubbly and heated in the middle. If the top of the pasta seems to be browning too fast cover with aluminum foil.

Tomato Sauce

(by Reeni)

1 large onion, diced

1 green pepper julienned

2 tablespoons Olive Oil

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 can tomato paste

2 - 28 oz. can Crushed Tomatoes (like Tuttarosa)

1/4 cup water

2 tablespoons dried Italian Seasonings (We use a mix that has basil, oregano, thyme, marjoram and rosemary in it)

1 teaspoon dried sage

2 bay leaves

1/2 teaspoon salt (to start and more to taste)

¼ teaspoon black pepper (to start and more to taste)

Pinch of sugar

1. In a large pan sauté the onion and green pepper in Olive Oil until soft; add garlic and sauté until fragrant and tender.

2. Add tomato paste. Stir it into the onion and garlic mixture and allow it to heat through. Add tomatoes, water, and seasonings including bay leaves, salt, pepper and pinch of sugar.

3. Simmer for 45 minutes. Taste and add salt/pepper and more dried seasonings if needed. Remove bay leaves before serving.

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