Eat Arkansas

That's a good-looking pot of c & d. With the recent grace of milder temperatures, mzrz mann and I were saying how ready were were for this kind of cooking (c & d, chili, stew, stuffed peppers, chicken pot pie, etc.). We have our "usuals" but look forward to getting some new ideas from EA.

I keep coming back to this picture and oooohing and aaaahing. Man, these look good!

I'm w/hugh mann--ready for cooler temps and the great cookin' that goes with it. First on the agenda: scalloped potatoes & ham, followed by tamale pie. Yum!

Recipes, craighead gal, gimme some recipes!

Ooooh. I have that same "Club" brand stewpot, although it's never looked quite so good as it does in that picture.

Family and I love chicken and dumplings, but are always on the search for dumpling recipes. If anyone wants to contribute, it would be appreciated, and you can rest assured that we will give most a try.

Serge,

I admit to "cheating" and using the dumpling recipe on the Bisquick box for the puffy dumplings rather than the more dense ones.

(By the photo, I can't tell which way Ms. Poodles went with hers.)

My cousin once sent me a pasta press--the kind with rollers and a crank-- and I tried making fresh pasta at home for the first time. It was so tender and tasty that I'm sure it would make fine dumplings, though I haven't tried it.

The recipe is very simple. It calls for 3/4 cup flour and one egg yolk per person. The Flour (salt, pepper or seasonings optional) and egg yolks are combined in the usual way--start by making a well in the flour and pouring in the egg yolks, then go at it with a pastry cutter or your hands until it's smooth and workable, then cover and let rest for a bit.

For pasta, it needs to be rolled and doubled and rolled again, etc, before being cut into the desired shape. For dumplings, I suggest just pinching off and rolling in the hands to the desired size and shape before adding to the almost-ready chicken stew mixture.

If the stew is still boiling when the dumplings are added, it should be cut down immediately to simmer and cooked, covered, for another 15-18 minutes, depending on the size of the dumplings.

Made right, I don't think you'll be able to tell the difference (in your mouth) between a dumpling and a tender piece of chicken, as the flavors of the stew will have cooked into the dumplings. This is how my Grandma's dumplings impressed me as a child, but sadly, I never got her recipe.

I posted the recipe, with pictures, on flickr, starting here and proceeding to the right: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ninjapoodles/1368494942/

For the dumplings, I use the exact same recipe I use for biscuits (also "dropped" onto the pan): 1 cup SELF-RISING flour, 1/2 cup buttermilk, 1/4 cup veg. oil. I triple that for a big pot of dumplings.

If you add garlic powder, shredded sharp cheddar, and dried herbs to the dough, you get some AMAZING cheese biscuits.

We love beef & noodles
maybe even more than c & d.
Boil a chuck roast, with
good bit of fat on it to
make a rich broth, salt &
pepper. For noodles, egg
yolks, milk, selfrising flour.
Roll out, cut in strips, cut
again in squares.
My G'ma made the best c & d,
she called them "slicks."

I suppose the discussion should begin with "what makes a good dumpling?" The variety seems to range between large dumplings with a biscuit like internal consistency to almost noodles--broad and thin, like big, short, fettucini.

I like medium (slightly larger than bite-size) dumplings, with a doughy center, while the wife (a term my great-grandfather used in his daily diaries, e.g. "the wife fixed roast today"), likes 'em more like biscuits.

Cotham's has good dumplings on Tuesdays, and I've had the dumplings at cracker barrel, which are slick and doughy with a corn-starch based broth (meh).

So, what is a good dumpling?