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Poultry
Chickens
Chicken & Dumplings

James's Chicken & Dumplings

Poached Chicken and Vegetables:
1 large roasting chicken (6 to 7 lbs), cut into 2 legs, 2 thighs, and 2 breast pieces, each with skin removed; back, neck, and wings hacked with a cleaver into 1 to 2 inch pieces to make stock.
1 large onion, cut into large chunks
2 bay leaves
Salt
3 celery stalks, trimmed and cut into 1 x 1/2-inch pieces
4 medium carrost, peeled and cut into 1 x 1/2-inch pieces
6 boiling onions, peeled and halved
4 Tbsp unsalted buter, softened, or chicken fat from the cooked chicken
6 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
2 Tbsp dry sherry or vermouth
1 Tbsp of heavy cream (optional)
3/4 cup frozen peas, thawed
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley leaves
Ground black or white pepper

Dumplings:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 Tbsp butter
1 cup milk
1/4 cup minced fresh herb leaves such as parsley, chives, and tarragon (optional)

1 Making the stock.
Heat deep 11 or 12-inch skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add hacked up chicken pieces - the back, neck, and wings - and onion chunks (not the boiling onions). Sauté until onion softens and chicken loses its raw color, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to low, cover, and continue to cook until chicken pieces give up most of their liquid, about 20 minutes. (While chicken stock pieces are cooking, bring 6 cups of water to a boil in a kettle.) Increase heat to to medium-high, add 6 cups of hot water.

2 Cooking the chicken.
Add skinned chicken parts (legs, thighs, breasts), bay leaves, and 3/4 teaspoon of salt, then bring to a simmer. Reduce heat; continue to simmer, partially covered, until broth is flavorful and chicken parts are just cooked through, about 20 minutes. Remove chicken parts and set aside. When cool enough to handle, remove meat from bones in 2 to 3 inch chunks. Strain broth, discarding chicken pieces. Skim and reserve fat from broth and set aside 4 cups of broth, reserving extra for another use.

3 Cooking the vegetables.
While the chicken is cooking, bring 1/2 inch water to simmer in a skillet fitted with a steamer basket. Add celery, carrots, and boiling onions; cover and steam until just tender, about 10 minutes. Remove and set aside.

4 Forming the dumplings.
While chicken is cooking, mix flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Add (optional) chopped fresh herbs. Heat butter and milk to simmer and add to dry ingredients. Mix with a fork or knead by hand two to three times until mixture just comes together. (Note: do not overknead! or your dumplings will turn out too dense.) Form dough into balls or lighlty roll-out and use the end of a 2-inch diameter water glass as a mold to cut the dough into even circles. Set aside

5 Making the gravy.
Heat butter or reserved chicken fat in the cleaned large skillet over medium-high heat. Whisk in flour and thyme; cook, whisking constantly, until flour turns golden, 1 to 2 minutes. Whisking constantly, gradually add sherry or vermouth, then reserved 4 cups of chicken stock; simmer until gravy thickens slightly, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in optional cream and chicken and steamed vegetables; return to simmer.

6 Adding the dumplings.
Lay formed dumplings on the surface of the chicken mixture; cover and simmer until dumplings are cooked through, about 15 minutes. Gently stir in peas and parsley. Adjust seasonings, including adding generous amounts of salt and pepper. Ladle portions of meat, sauce, vegetables, and dumplings into soup plates and serve immediately.

Serves 6 to 8.