I wouldn't say that I married my husband for his family's Chicken & Dumplings recipe -- but I made darned sure to get my paws on a heaping helping within a couple hours of our saying "I do." As long as we'd been together, Douglas had waxed rhapsodic about Saturdays spent in his beloved Memama's kitchen in Plymouth, North Carolina; his mother and grandmother side-by-side rolling wide strips of shortening dough as a freshly-stewed chicken cooled on the countertop. His eyes would mist and voice hush as he described, in loving detail, the silken dumplings drenched in meaty, butter-rich broth. Tantalized, I'd suggest that we could attempt to recreate the dish in our own kitchens, but he'd demur -- it's too complicated, and no one ever wrote the recipe down, and Memama had passed on back in 1991, and his own mother (now in her 80s) probably hadn't made it in years, and so on. There were a million reasons why not, until he asked me to marry him.
Early in our planning, we made a pact to have all of the details of our wedding be reflective of the things that made us, well, us. One of the many things that unites us is our deep passion for food -- we make an event out of the preparation and sharing of it. It's a means of warm, intimate, daily connection that didn't just come from out of the blue -- it was nurtured by our families.
So, without explaining why, I asked my dad for his Hungarian goulash recipe, and
Reader, if I could have married him right there and then in that warm, lovely, friend and food-filled kitchen, I would have.
Now, nine months into our marriage, our guests still speak rapturously of that dish -- how it's simultaneously luxurious and homespun, rich, but not heavy, and just simply soul-satisfying. It is comfort food in every sense of the term, and now I want to share this part of my family with yours.
Get Memama and Mimiwag's Chicken & Dumplings Recipe
2-01-2008 @12:32PM Joan said... I remember my moms chicken and dumplings cooked with the whole chicken and the dumplings were dropped by spoonfuls . Couldn't open the pot till they were done so they would be fluffy. I am 76 years old now. I would try using Bisquick if I tried to duplicate hers..
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2-07-2008 @10:05AM Margaret said... No one is talking about what to use for shortening. Back in the day, lots of people used bacon grease or lard. I'm interested in both what's most flavorful and what's the healthiest choice that doesn't hurt the flavor.
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2-08-2008 @11:17PM Sue said... There are two types of dumplings , depending on where you have lived...One is rolled., flat.. the other is dropped.. into the < pot>...I prefer dropped.. I cook my dumplings in broth. After I cook the chicken (simmer ) NOT BOIL ( boiling makes ALL meats tough).., and use Only boneless chicken breasts, I brown the breasts quickly for flavor in a hot skillet. till dark brown..(.after I simmer them a few minutes)..when the chicken is ready , I pour half the liquid out of that huge pot & then add some half & half & lots of chicken broth, (enough to fill the pot 3/4 .) add diced /chopped onions , carrots and frozen pea's.. for more flavor, I also add fresh black pepper & sea salt. and a pinch or two of fresh nutmeg, to taste...then add the chicken cut up in chucks or bite size..put back into pot & then I drop my dumplings.( I make my dumplings with bisquick)..cook uncovered 10 min & covered 10 min...I make approx.. 40-50 dumplings each & every time. & there is never any left ( family of four)..Sorry but a rarely measure...trust your judgement..
I've also made this with (Golf ball sized.).Balls of dressing(stuffing) dropped in and cooked about...5 min to warm the stuffing..instead of dumplings. MY family likes it both ways...I also dropped balls of stuffing in My home made turkey & chicken soups...Enjoy~! Sue
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2-08-2008 @8:13PM Cheryl said... These dumplings can be made ahead and frozen. Works great and a lot less work and mess at dinner time. Just roll and cut dumplings. Place in a single layer on several pans or cookie sheets and place in freezer just until frozen, Remove from freezer and place loosely in a freezer bag. At meal time remove the amount you need and place in chicken broth as usual. I make several batches at one time. That way I only make a mess once.
Cheryl
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3-04-2008 @8:11PM Don Cosby said... So where is the recipe?
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3-06-2008 @7:56PM Don Cosby said... No password recieved and still no recipe for chicken and dumplings? So far, with this site, I have minimal luck with obtaining recipes. Just the comment page... All I wanted was the chicken and dumpling recipe! Sorry I bothered you
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3-06-2008 @7:58PM Don Cosby said... My, still no replies!
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3-21-2008 @9:56AM J Don Van Dusen said... I am glad to find these (Chicken & Dumplings and the Goulash. I tried to make dumplings a few years ago from my Mothers recipe, but I think something was left out. Hers were not rolled they were rounded and droped in. Mine when dropped in fell apart and just made the water muddy. I will try both of these for sure.
I would like to know if any one has a recipe for Salt rising bread?
Our family used to have bakeries and pie shops in the quint cities of Davenport,Bettendorf Iowa,Rock Island and the Molines, Illinoise back in the 40s & 50s, but my cousins cannot find the salt risin bread file.
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7-02-2008 @8:13PM rich said... WE have used eggs,flour,salt and pepper for drop dumplings.You should also try it with broth from beef roast,butturkey broth is still the best.Grandma always rolled out for noodles but dumplings are much quicker to make.40 years and still my favorate.
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5-30-2009 @5:28PM mary said... That recipe is how I always made ckn & dumplings, usually using leftover chicken from a previous meal. I frequently add a little Carnation milk at the end after it's all cooked completely, it make a richer broth. Add yeast rolls and it's a meal.
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5-30-2009 @6:01PM JAN said... WE BOIL THE CHICKEN, ADD ONIONS, GARLIC POWDER, SALT PEPPER, I MAKE MY DUMPLINGS WITH SELF RISING FLOUR, AND WATER, DROP INTO POT AND YOU ARE GOOD TO GO, IT ONLY TAKES 5 OR 10 MIN FOR THE DUMPLINGS TO GET DONE ONCE THE CHICKEN IS DONE. I LIKE TO ADD SOME CONDENCED OR I SAY PET MILK, IT MAKES IT RICH, THIS IS OPTIONAL. MY NORTHCAROLINA RECEIPE
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5-30-2009 @6:09PM JAN said... RECIPE FOR VEGETABLE SOUP, IN A LARGE POT, ADD 1 LARGE CAN STEWED TOM. MASHED, HALF POT OF WATER, 1 OR 2 ENVELOPES OF MRS. GRASS OR WHATEVER BRAND ONION SOUP MIX, CUT UP CARROTS, ONIONS, CELLERY, FROZN PEAS, FROZEN CORN, OKRA IF YOU LIKE GREEN BEANS CUT UP POTATOES, BOIL,I ADD TOMATOE JUICE LRG. CAN AND YOU CAN PUT CUT UP CELENTRO IF YOU LIKE THE FLAVOR, I LOVE IT, OR LEAVE OUT I ADD GARLIC POWDER, ONION POWDER,SALT AND PEPPER, THE ONION SOUP MIX GIVES IT A GOOD BEEFY FLAVOR, I COOK MY MEAT ANY KIND OF BEEF, AND I SHRED IT IN FOOD PROCSSOR, SOMETIMES, AND SOMETIMES I CUBE IT JUST DEPENDS ON MY MOOD IT IS DELICIOUS YOU WILL LOVE IT ENJOY JAN
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7-10-2007 @8:58AM Myra said... sounds like my grandmother's chicken ' dumplings, but she left the chicken in the pot while gently boiling the dumplings .... no need for butter.
Have you all a recipe for Lane Cake make with rum?
Myra
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7-12-2007 @10:04AM Myrtice said... HOT RISE FLOUR is very important for the best silky dumplins!
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7-12-2007 @10:33AM Kat K. said... Myra - I have a recipe for Lane Cake, but haven't tried it yet. Any chance you'd be willing to share yours? I'd me most grateful!
Thanks so much.
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7-14-2007 @3:28PM Teresa said... My family has made this for yrs But we always add milk at the end to make the whole thing creamy. After you put the cubed chicken in the pot. We add milk after the dumplings are cooked. Not water try it that way tastes much better
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7-14-2007 @3:40PM Carol Nichols said... I love to get good old fashioned recipes and would love to get the
ones discussed here. I love chicken and dumplings but the recipe
I use seems very heavy and not at all how your recipe is described.
Thanks, Carol
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7-14-2007 @4:04PM Betsy said... Sundays were always chicken and dumpling days. Mom made our a little different. She would cut up the chicken and boil it with water, milk , butter and onions... After the chicken had cooked she would dip it in buttermilk then shake it in a bag of flour salt and pepper and fry it in Criso. She called it dry fried chicken and boy was it good. Her dumplings always had a bit of baking powder in the and she dropped them by spoonful into the boiling chicken broth , covered and cooked on low for ten minutes then uncovered and cooked ten minutes more...YUMMMMMMMMM I can taste them now.
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7-14-2007 @4:34PM Judy Castaldi said... Your chicken and dumplings sound wonderful,in this area it souinds like what the Penna. Dutch call chicken pot pie. They do not use a pie crust they use homemade noodles or wide Pa dutch noodles and it is also wonderful.Sure making my moth water.
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7-14-2007 @4:54PM Betty Schwartz said... I want that Hungarian Goulash recipe!!! The chicken was delicious. Have never tried it from scratch. Was not as difficult as I thought it would be.
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