WELL FED

CHICKEN & DUMPLINGS WITH TARRAGON

  

When I moved out to California and was first living on my own, I believe chicken and dumplings was among the first meals I made for myself.  Of course, being new to cooking and not very confident with my knife skills, I sort of cheated.  Okay fine.  I totally cheated.  I used some sort of chicken soup "starter" in a cardboard can that was full of dehydrated vegetables and seasonings and I'm sure a shit load of salt.  All you had to do is add water and chicken.  I decided that I'd also add dumplings, taking a simple soup to the next level, or so I thought.  Taking a cue from my mom's chicken and dumpling recipe, I also picked up a box of Bisquick.  Simple, easy and delicious.  Chicken with Bisquick dumplings was kind of a go to dish for me when the weather would get cool and I needed a cozy bowl of something warm.

So when the temperature in Los Angeles took an all too brief dip below the 60's, I jumped at the opportunity to make a pot.  Only this time, I wasn't going to cheat.  I had seen this recipe on Smitten Kitchen quite a while ago and it had always stuck with me.  Her picture was so tempting and I loved the idea of the leeks and tarragon.

Now there are two schools of thought on dumplings.  Some people prefer to roll out the dumplings on a floured surface and then cut them out, dropping them into the simmering stew to cook.  Growing up, my mom used the "drop dumpling" method.  No rolling is required.  Instead, you simply scoop a little of the batter into a spoon, and then using another spoon drop it into the stew.  They're much more free form than the ones that are rolled out, which to me just seem more like big thick noodles.  Rustic would be a good word to describe them.  To be honest, I much prefer the drop dumplings, especially when they're flavored with fresh herbs.  Of course you could just add chopped fresh tarragon to Bisquick dumplings but then you'd be, everyone say it together, cheating.  We don't cheat at Well Fed, do we people?

 

INGREDIENTS
5 pounds bone in, skin on organic chicken thighs
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 medium leeks, white and light green parts only, sliced in half lengthwise and then cut into 1/4 inch pieces
1 large onion finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
6 tablespoons all purpose flour
1/4 cup dry sherry
4 cups low sodium organic chicken broth
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup whole milk
small bunch of thyme, tied together with kitchen string
2 or 3 bay leaves
1 cup (or so) frozen green peas
3 tablespoons fresh tarragon leaves, minced

(for the dumplings)
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup whole milk
3 tablespoons reserved chicken fat  

METHOD
Pat the chicken thighs dry with a paper towel and then season on both sides with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.  Heat 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a large Dutch oven on medium high for 2 minutes.  Add half the chicken, skin side down, and cook until golden brown, about 8 minutes.  

 

Turn the thighs over and continue to cook until the other side is browned, another 8 minutes or so.  Transfer the chicken to a plate and remove the browned skin (it makes a delicious albeit not very healthy cooks snack).  Pour off the chicken fat left in the pot and reserve.  Pour in the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil and continue cooking the other half of the chicken thighs.  Remove the browned chicken thighs from the Dutch oven and add to the to the others.  Pour off and reserve any chicken fat and remove the skin from the second batch of thighs.

Add the butter to the Dutch oven and melt over medium high heat.  Add the leeks and onions and 1/4 teaspoon salt and cook until softened, about 7 minutes.  Sit in the garlic and cook for 1 more minute.  

Add the flour, stirring to coat the vegetables.  Whisk in the sherry, scraping up any browned bits on the bottom of the pot.  Stir in the broth, water, milk, thyme bundle and bay leaves.  

Nestle the chicken into the pot and pour in any accumulated juices.  Cover, crank the heat to high and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat to low and cook for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until the chicken is fully cooked and tender.

Using a pair of tongs, transfer the chicken to a rimmed baking sheet and let cool slightly.  Turn off the heat and allow the sauce to settle for a few minutes, then skim the fat from the surface using a wide spoon.  Remove the chicken from the bones and shred into bite sized pieces.

 

Return the chicken to the stew, add in the peas and tarragon and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary.

 

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, stir together the flour, salt and baking powder.  Heat the chicken fat and milk in a small saucepan (or microwave them in a small heat proof bowl), just until warm.  Do not over heat.  Add the warm milk mixture and the tarragon into the flour mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until incorporated and smooth.

Gather a small golf-ball-sized portion of dough onto a soup spoon and then using a second spoon, push the dumpling off into the stew.  Continue until all the dough is used up.  

Cover and cook for about 10 to 15 minutes, until the dumplings have doubled in size.

 

Serve in wide, shallow bowls with a couple grindings of black pepper.  Minced fresh parsley might be nice.  And/or maybe a little extra chopped tarragon.

I love this dish because it seems like recipes that feel hearty also have a tendency to have a heaviness to them, but this one has very delicate flavors.  Using dark meat chicken gives the stew much more flavor and the texture of the dark meat just seems to stand up better to the slow braise.  The tarragon, peas and leeks have a light freshness that balances out the creamy sauce and the toothsome dumplings.  These dumplings aren't as tender as the Bisquick ones that I made in the past.  But that's not a bad thing.  In fact, I recall the Bisquick dumplings often just disintegrating into the soup upon subsequent reheatings and then all you're left with is very thick chicken soup.  A nice thing about this dish is that it stands up well to reheating and in fact Mark and I had leftovers for several nights after.  In fact, the flavor sort of deepened.

Serves 6 to 8

SNICKERDOODLES

 

Let's talk about sinckerdoodles. I love snickerdoodles. I mean even that name is just lovable.  Snickerdoodle.  They are one of my favorite cookies.  However, my mom never made snickerdoodles.  In fact, no one I know made them.  My earliest encounter with snickerdoodles came thanks to a bakery located in the town where I grew up, back in Missouri.  It was called The Pie and Cake Factory.  The mother of a childhood friend would frequent the bakery, and one of the things she'd often buy there were snickerdoodles along with frosted sugar cookies celebrating whatever holiday was just around the bend.  Every day after school, I would go to my friend Steve's house to play and more often than not, there would be a white bakery box full of cookies, layered with tissue paper.  It was heaven.  To this day I have never had a snickerdoodle better than those from the Pie and Cake Factory.  Unfortunately it is now out of business and I don't know whatever happened to the proprietress.  

A phone call to my parents recently resulted in new information about the woman behind my favorite cookie.  Her name was Margie.  Apparently she used to be a cook on a tow boat that pushed barges around on the Mississippi river and became well known for her outstanding pies.  She quit working on the boat and started selling her pies and cakes to local restaurants.  Soon she opened her bakery up to the public which then followed with a storefront that also served light lunches.  My dad was a fan of her hot dogs and I vaguely recall trying split pea soup there for the first time.  This was more than twenty year ago and alas, the Pie and Cake Factory eventually went out of business but I never stopped thinking about Margie's cookie.

Recently I had dinner with my friend Lauren and afterward we went back to her apartment to visit some more.  She had a copy of the Martha Stewart Cookie book and soon we were talking about favorite baked goods. As I flipped through the book I happened across a recipe for snickerdoodles and a wave of nostalgia washed over me.  I decided that it was time that I finally made some snickerdoodles and revisit my youth (the fact that my birthday is in a few days I'm sure had nothing to do with my regression back to childhood).  I actually opted not to use Martha's recipe but instead went with Gale Gand's version of the cookie.  Martha's recipe calls for cream of tartar and equal parts butter and shortening whereas Gale's version is all butter and uses baking powder and baking soda.  I'm not sure what Margie used, butter vs. shortening, but for now I'm starting with all butter.

 

INGREDIENTS
3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

(for the coating)
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

METHOD
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
  
First combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in a large bowl.  Set aside.

In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, place the room temperature butter and cream on medium speed for about 2 minutes until the butter has gotten light and creamy. 

 

Add in the sugar and continue to mix for another 2 minutes or so, until the butter no longer feel grainy from the sugar, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as necessary.  Add in the eggs, one at a time.  Once combined, add in the corn syrup and the vanilla.  

 

On low speed add in the dry ingredients and mix just until everything comes together.  If the dough is too sticky, chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour.

To make the coating, stir together the 3 tablespoons of sugar and the cinnamon in a wide, shallow bowl.

To make the cookies, use a small ice cream scoop to measure out the dough and then roll into balls with your hands.  It should be about the size of a walnut.  Roll the balls in the sugar and cinnamon mixture to coat completely. 

 

Place on a baking sheet lined with a Silpat about 2 inches apart.  Because of how much they spread during baking, I was able to get 11 cookies per baking sheet.

Bake until puffed and the surface is slightly cracked, about 9 to 12 minutes, depending on your oven.  I prefer my snickerdoodles with not much color on them so I took mine out at 9 minutes.  Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 2 minutes.  The cookies will deflate a little as the cool on the baking sheet.  Transfer to a wire rack to continue cooling.

 

So these cookies are not quite like how I remember Margie's.  Hers seemed a little lighter and more puffed, but these are pretty great.  They're buttery, with a nice sweet vanilla flavor which is offset by the spice of the cinnamon.  I almost think you could probably use more cinnamon, if desired, both the the cookie dough and in the sugar coating.  The texture is just what I love in cookies, crisp around the edges, soft and chewy in the center.  

If I ever get my hands on Margie's recipe, I'll let you know.  Until then, these will do nicely.

Makes about 5 dozen cookies