Recipe: Chicken & Dumplings

The day before, place cut up chicken, celery,
onion, garlic, tarragon and thyme in 2 quarts water
and bring to a boil. Simmer until well cooked, about
1-1/2 hours. Remove chicken pieces, cool and
refrigerate chicken pieces and broth mixture overnight.
The next day, about 3 hours before serving, skin
and bone chicken. Skim chicken fat from the
refrigerated broth and add cooked boneless chicken,
cut into chunks or shredded. Bring to a boil, then
simmer on low for about 2 hours. Season to taste.
Increase heat under mixture until bubbling, and
add a
mixture of flour and water to the mixture. Cook until
it thickens to your taste. Drop dumplings (recipe
follows) by the tablespoonful into the broth. Do not
allow dumplings to touch. Cover immediately, and
simmer for 20 minutes. DO NOT PEEK! DO NOT OPEN LID!
To serve, place dumplings on plates and cover
with chicken mixture.
Dumplings: Sift together 1 cup flour, 2 tsp. baking
powder, 1/2 tsp. salt, 1/2 tsp. sugar, and 1/2 tsp.
thyme. Slowly add milk, a few tablespoons at a time,
until mixture is elastic. Dough should be a little
less stiff than a biscuit dough.