Chicken and Dumplings

I woke up this morning to Fall. Despite what the calendar says today is the first day of fall in Richmond. I know, the leave began to turn a week ago and it has been getting cooler for some time, but today felt different. I cleaned out the chicken coop and put new bedding in and got the garden beds ready to cover so I can eek out a few more weeks of tomatoes (I expect our first frost on Friday or Saturday morning). Fall (and Winter) means more soup in our house. Not that we don't like soup in the summer (borscht, gazpacho, mint cucumber soup, etc are great cold soups) but a nice hot bowl of soup on a cool, crisp day is somehow warm and inviting.

So for my first hot soup of the season, I choose Chicken and Dumplings. No rhyme or reason, it just sounded good. This may not be an authentic dumpling but it was quick, easy, made from scratch and tasted darn right good. Just the thing for the first day of fall.

Note: This recipe is written just like I made it. There are not exact measurements, just like grandma used to cook. More people show up, add more water (and maybe a little more chicken base).

Easy Chicken and Dumpling Soup

8-10 cups water (just under the max fill line of your stock pot once all the ingredients are added)

3 - 4 lbs Chicken (older stewing chickens make the best soup, but I used frozen breasts, which once thawed, I diced up)

2 Tbsp Chicken Base

2 handfuls Diced Carrots

2 handfuls Diced Celery (I used Freeze Dried for convience and because it was what I had)

1 Red Onion, Diced

1 handful shredded yellow squash (it was there so I used it)

1 Tbs Minced Garlic

1-2 Tbs Fresh Tarragon

Salt and Pepper TT

Dumplings

(Becky made fresh bread today, so I used about a half of loaf of the bread dough cut into small pieces and flattened slightly)

1. Saute Onions, Carrots, Celery, Squash and Garlic until slightly caramelized.

2. Boil Chicken in the water with items from step 1 until the chicken is thawed. Dice up chicken and add back to the soup. If using fresh chicken just cook in the soup.

3. Add Dumplings to the soup and cook for 20-30 minutes, stirring the dumplings so they get cooked all the way through.

4. Add salt, pepper and tarragon for the last 2 minutes.

5. Ladle and serve.

Enjoy.

Warm Panko Chicken Salad with a Sesame Vinegrette

As is often the case I started out with the idea to make one thing and ended up making something completely different. I believe that one must experiment and take risks in order to become a good cook. Learn by trial and by example about what ingredients go together, and quite frankly, what doesn't. Proverbs teaches us that through wisdom is a house [built], and by understanding is it established: And by knowledge shall chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant riches [foods] (not an exact quote).

A friend yesterday told me that she loved the recipes I keep publishing but she has not yet tried any of them because she often didn't have one or another ingredient for that days recipe. Many of my recipes started out as someone else's but ended up as mine. Not because I prepared them, but because I was missing an ingredient or two or just wanted to add this or take away that ingredient. Too be fair, I did attend culinary school, apprenticed at a major hotel and did run my own catering company for over ten years, which has give me a lot of intuition and experience. I also love to watch cooking programs and I read cook books for fun. But I've also made mistakes (as my wife can attest) and have made some things that even our dog wouldn't eat.

Today's recipe turned out quite good, excellent in fact if you ask my opinion and is one that I'll make again. I especially liked the dressing and will use this for other salads. I believe this is probably best Asian Sesame Dressing I've ever tasted and it is all natural without any MSG, Corn Syrup, stabilizers, or other questionable or un-pronounceable ingredients. Feel free to experiment with the ingredients (especially with the salad). Add sliced red onions if you like them. Take out the mushrooms if you want. The point is have fun and enjoy the journey as well as the destination.

Warm Panko Chicken Salad with Sesame Vinaigrette

Serves 8-12 hungry people

Chicken:

5-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, washed and dried

Panko Breading (Japanese breadcrumbs, if you don't have these you can use any breadcrumbs you want but I would recommend keeping this versatile ingredient on hand as a staple ingredient)

Oil for cooking

Coat the chicken with the Panko and deep fry until golden brown and cooked through. Drain, slice thinly on a bias. Add to finished salad and toss with dressing when ready to serve.

Salad:

1/2 lb fresh baby spinach

1 lb pre-made garden salad blend

1 head romaine lettuce

3-4 medium carrots, peeled and sliced thinly on a bias (diagonal)

1 red, 1 yellow sweet bell pepper, thinly sliced

1/2 lbs baby portabello mushrooms (or favorite variety)

2 stalks celery, sliced

1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds

1 can mandarin oranges, drained

Dressing:

2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar

2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

2 Tbsp lime juice (the juice from one lime)

1 Tbsp candied ginger

1/4 cup agave syrup (or honey)

2 Tbsp soy sauce

2 Tbsp sesame seeds

2 tsp garlic, minced

1 tsp red pepper flakes

1 Tbsp sesame oil

3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Combine sesame oil and olive oil and set aside

In a food processor (or blender), combine all ingredients except the oil. Using the puree blade and on low speed, mix all ingredients, slowly drizzling oil while blending. Can be made in advance and kept refrigerated. You may need to shake if the dressing separates (this is normal). Dressing may be kept for several weeks.

My favorite thing about the modern crock pot is that once all the ingredients are thrown together and it has been turned on, you can walk away and slowly the sacred vessel turns that hodge podge of simple ingredients into something truly special. Many a time I've left the crock pot to the muses of time only to come home to the wonderful smells wafting throughout the house with a promise of a gourmet meal waiting at the appointed time.

Today's dinner is a bastion of homemade goodness transporting one back to a simpler time and stems from my southern roots on the farm. (Ok, so I'm not really from the South and I've never lived on a farm, but I did live in the Virginia / North Carolina area for two years and I have ancestors that were gentleman farmers in Kentucky).

Southern Style Chicken & Dumplings

2 lbs, boneless, skinless chicken (breasts and/or thighs)

6 cups chicken stock (can be quickly made with chicken base (or bouillon) and water)

6 carrots, peeled and sliced

3 med. potatoes, peeled and diced

3 stalks celery, chopped

1 medium onion, quartered

2 tsp parsley, chopped

1 tsp. poultry seasoning

Salt and Pepper to taste

Biscuit Topping (see below)

Roux as needed to thicken (See post on Roux if you don't know about this wonderful thickener).

Peas can be added if desired at the end. (optional)

Place all ingredients in crock pot except Biscuit Topping and Roux. Cook on high for 4-5 hours or low for 7-8 hours. Prepare Biscuit Topping and spoon over chicken mixture. Thicken with roux until desired consistency (caution, this will continue to thicken slightly as it cook). Tilt lid to vent steam and cook on high for 30 minutes or until biscuits are cooked in the center (caution #2 biscuits will also thicken sauce).

Biscuit Topping:

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

2 Tbsp sugar

1/2 cup butter or shortening (cut in until coarse and crumbly)

2/3 cup cold milk (add and stir until completely moist)

Food Storage Jambalaya

I wanted to try something different today and use as much as I could from my food storage. So with the exception of some of the meats, everything else was from dried or canned. It's not that you can't get dried or canned meats, on the contrary, I have found some fairly good meats for my food storage. It's just that I don't currently have any freeze dried meats (I'll looking at getting some soon from a couple of sources) and my only selection of canned meats currently are tuna, chicken, salmon and one can of clams. So in true food storage fashion, I'll just have to make due.

And that is the true beauty of Jambalaya. A true Louisiana dish of rice, vegetables, stock and whatever meat could be found lying around. The dish gained popularity outside of the south during the Great Depression of the 1930's precisely due to its throw-everything-except-the-kitchen-sink-in simplicity. With this I'm planning to make a Key Lime Pie which should compliment this very well (see my other post later today if I have time to pick up some limes).

So here goes my food storage Jambalaya cooked in a crock pot:

Food Storage Jambalaya (sort of)

Serves 8

3 cups white rice

7 cups chicken stock

1 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1/4 tsp chili pepper or red chili pepper flakes

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/4 tsp white pepper

1 tsp salt

2 (6 oz) cans tomato paste

3 sausages, sliced thin (andouille, chorzo, italian, or what ever you got).

2 (12.5 oz) cans of premium chunk chicken breast (or 2 lbs fresh chicken, diced)

1 (7 oz) can salmon

1 cup diced ham

2 (14.5 oz) cans diced tomatoes

1 can red kidney beans (or 1 cup kidney beans that have soaked over night)

1 cup dehydrated diced green & red bell peppers

1 cup dehydrated celery

1 cup dried minced onions

In a crock pot combine rice, seasonings and dehydrated vegetables. In a medium sauce pan combine chicken stock and tomato paste. Bring to a boil, pour over the rice mixture and stir. On top, place the meats (anything raw should go near the edges), kidney beans and tomatoes (including liquid). Cook on low heat for 6-8 hours. Stir and enjoy.

Cilantro Lime Chicken with Avocado Salsa

I know, Monday's are normally Casseroles, but hey, it's Memorial Day, the first day of summer and I was off work. So after visiting the new exhibit at Temple Square, taking a tour of the Beehive House (Brigham Young's home and territorial office) and working on my yard what better way to relax than by cooking on the grill.

This is a nice, light dinner, that is full of fresh ingredients, delicious, healthy and a nice tribute to the avocado, one of my favorite fruits. Tonights dinner is Cilantro Lime Chicken with Avocado Salsa, Corn and Spanish Rice.

Cilantro Lime Chicken with Avocado Salsa

Serves: 4 Adults

Marinade:

1/2 cup White Wine Vinegar

1/2 cup Olive Oil

1 Lime, juiced

1 tsp Coriander

1/2 tsp Black Pepper

1/2 tsp Salt

1/2 tsp Cayenne Pepper

2 Tbsp Fresh Cilantro, chopped

Photo: Becky Luigart-Stayner, Cooking Light, April 2009

Chicken:

4 (6 oz) boneless, skinless Chicken Breasts

Whisk marinade together and pour over chicken breasts. Let marinade for 30 minutes to 2 hours. Grill over medium high heat until fully cooked. Brush grilled chicken with an Avocado Compound Butter and top with Fresh Salsa.

Avocado Compound Butter

2 Tbsp butter, unsalted

6 oz (about 2 small) avocado's, diced

1 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 clove garlic, minced

1 Tbsp, freshly chopped cilantro

2 tsp ground cumin

Salt & Pepper to taste

Blend all ingredients in you food processor, place in the middle of wax paper, fold over, roll and twist the ends. Cover in plastic and let sit in the refrigerator for 2 hours.

Fresh Avocado Salsa

2 cup plum tomatoes, diced (about 4)

1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and diced

2 Anaheim peppers, seeded and diced

1/2 small red onion

1 lime, juiced

2 Tbsp cilantro, chopped

1 Tbsp garlic, minced

1 avocado, diced

Salt and Pepper to taste

Mix all the above ingredients in a work bowl serve and enjoy.

Oven Glazed Caribbean Chicken

I love rum (flavor). If I believed in re-incarnation, I probably would have been a pirate. Not the Black Beard, cut your heart out just a soon as look at you kind of pirate, but the Disney, Pirates of the Caribbean kind. Its a good thing I don't drink because with my personality I would end up on a beach in the tropics (or at a theme park) drinking rum and singing pirate ditties.

As a Mormon, we believe in abstaining from alcoholic beverages. I can honestly say that I have never been drunk (or even buzzed) and can't stand to drink the stuff. I have tasted many different alcohols, some in my teen years (thanks Scott), but mostly in culinary school. To me they all taste and smell like different varieties of cough syrup. But cooking with rum is different. Rum embodies the tastes, sounds and smells of an open ocean in the warm tropics of the Caribbean.

The nice thing about cooking with rum (or most alcohols for that matter) is that once the alcohol is cooked off you no longer have the cough syrup burn, or the brain matter killing, make your clothes fall off effects of the alcohol. Only the flavor is left. And it is the hint of that flavor that we pay tribute to with this International recipe for this weeks Tuesday theme.

Today's menu: Oven Glazed Caribbean Chicken served over Rice with uncut Green Beans. (Thanks to Mace for donating the rum (for flavoring)

Oven Glazed Caribbean Chicken

Prep time: 15 Minutes

Cook Time: 15 Minutes

Serves 8

1/3 cup raw sugar (like demetara or turbinado sugars, can substitute a brown sugar blend like Splenda)

1/4 cup ketchup

1/4 cup dark rum (or 2 Tbsp rum extract)

1/4 cup lime juice (or 1 fresh lime, squeezed, can add lime zest if desired)

2 Tbsp butter, melted

1 Tbsp finely chopped ginger

2 tsp unsweetened cocoa

1/4 tsp ground allspice

9 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

4 large cloves garlic, crushed

2 tsp olive oil

1 tsp Sea Salt

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

Combine raw or sugar blend, ketchup, rum, lime juice, butter, ginger, cocoa and allspice in small sauce. Bring to a gentle boil; stir until cocoa and sugar are dissolved. Remove from heat and set aside.

Trim chicken of any visible fat. With sharp knife, make two diagonal slits about 1/2 inch deep on the top of each breast.

Combine garlic, oil, salt and pepper in small bowl. Rub mixture all over chicken. Arrange chicken slit side up on shallow baking pan. Brush with glaze, reserving remaining glaze. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Preheat broiler.

Broil chicken on top shelf in oven for 5 minutes. Turn chicken over and brush with reserved glaze. Broil for an additional 5 minutes. Turn over once again, brush with glaze and broil for 2 minutes. Turn and glaze every 2 minutes until internal temperature is 170 degrees. (1 or 2 more turns).

Enjoy