Three Way Chicken Part 3: Chicken and Dumplings

I have enjoyed doing this multiple tiered post over the past week or so, and thanks for the positive feedback. Today's post will focus on the second recipe to come out of this prep, chicken and dumplings. I came about this recipe after I made my mom's, which are tasty but needed just a bit of help in the full on flavor department. Most chicken and dumplings are prepared the same way, making a stock while cooking (or poaching) the chicken, making a sauce from the stock, and cooking the dumplings in that sauce. I really do not deviate much from that basic premise, mostly because it's darn good.

You can really prepare this recipe in one of two ways. You can dice your chicken and make a saucier dish to go under the dumplings, or you can leave the chicken in whole pieces and serve it with the sauce. Since I load my sauce with all kinds of fun stuff, I usually stick to the first application, which allows more integration of chicken and sauce.

Chicken and Dumplings

Sauce

1 onion, diced
2-3 carrots, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
3 garlic cloves, diced
2 bay leaves
3 T butter
3 T olive oil
6 T flour
1/4 C heavy cream (or milk)
Chicken, shredded
5 C chicken stock
3/4 C frozen peas
1 t dried thyme
salt and pepper

Add oil and butter to pot until hot, add veggies, sauté until translucent, add the bay leaves. Mix in the flour and make a roux. Add chicken and let warm, then add stock. Cook until sauce starts to thicken. If sauce is too thick add more stock (you will have some leftover). You will want it a bit thin, as the dumplings will help thicken the sauce. Add cream and seasonings, adjust to taste. Bring to a lively simmer. Add peas immediately before you add dumplings.

Dumplings

1 1/2 C Flour
3 t. baking powder
3/4 t. salt
3 T Butter
3/4 cup buttermilk.

Mix butter into dry ingredients until flaky, add buttermilk and stir until
combined. If you have any fresh herbs lying around, add those in here (chives or parsley are particularly tasty).

Drop in dumplings by the spoonful into the hot liquid and cover, occasionally basting with the liquid. When the dumplings cook through, about 10 minutes, spoon up and serve.