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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
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9-09-2007 @12:39PM Marguerite Hannon said... My mother taught me to mae a close version of this wonderful dish when I was a little girl (I am now 77), We cut the dough in diamonds and used some rendered chicken fat for part of the shortening. How great to see this old recipe again. I hadn't made it for years, but this brought back so many memories.
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9-16-2007 @5:09AM Paul J. Merritt said... I would like all of the recipes The goulash and ythe chiken and dumplings- my mother made the chicken and dumplings when we were growing up. Her recipe was great-I don't have it. My mother was Pen. dutch German
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9-15-2007 @7:25PM janeth chavez said... I GREW UP IN KENTUCKY AND HAD CHICKEN AND DUMPLINGS EVERY SUNDAY. THEY ARE DELICIOUS BUT I DON'T HAVE THE TIME OR ENERGY TO BE ROLLING OUT DUMPLINGS. I FOUND A PRODUCT CALLED "PLANTATION DUMPLINGS" WHICH WORKS GREAT. IT IS IN THE FREEZER SECTION. I USE SKINLESS/BONELINES CHICKEN THIGHS AND BREASTS SIMMERED FOR 45 TO 60 MINUTES IN CHICKEN BROTH WITH CHOPPED ONION AND CELERY, SALT AND PEPPER. I THEN REMOVE THE CHICKEN, RETURN THE BROTH TO A SLOW BOIL, DROP IN THE FROZEN DUMPLINGS BROKEN INTO THIRDS, A FEW AT A TIME STIRING GENTLY. NEXT CHOP THE CHICKEN TO BITE SIZE PIECES RETURN IT TO THE POT, COVER AND SIMMER ON LOW FOR 25 TO 30 MINUTES. I RECOMMEND USING A LARGE NON-STICK POT AND STIRING OFTEN TO PREVENT STICKING. TASTES GREAT AND A MUCH EASIER TO MAKE EQUALLY DELICIOUS VERSION.
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9-25-2007 @2:17PM Christe said... This recipe is NOT dumplings....chicken and noodles ( home made). Dumplings are when youtake the dough and you form a spoon full and you get the stock boiling and you DUMP,,,them in and they are like eating a biscut but with chicken and soup around it. But this is a very good chicken and noodle recipe.
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10-07-2007 @10:23AM cynthia said... Hello Kat,
this souds like one good tasting recipe with lots of love put into it. I have never liked chicken and dumplings. The only version that I have tasted is the one where the dumpling is made by dropping off a spoon. I thought they tasted doughy and uncooked. However, I have a sister who is going to have a operation this week and I would sure like all of you to pray for Deborah.
One the her favorite dishes I have heard her talk about is chicken and dumplings. So believe me be, I am going to try and make your version.
Thanks so much for sharing this recipe. I will write you back and let you know how they turned out. I am sure they will turn out well.
Cynthia at 9:19 october 7 2007
Ps ...If you are praying for debra please drop a line. Just say "praying for Chicken and Dumpling"
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10-07-2007 @11:31AM cynthia said... Hello kat, this sounds like one good tasting recipe with a dose of love added. I have never tasted any chicken and dumplings that I have liked. The only version I have tasted is the one where the dumpling is dropped from a spoon and they tasted doughy and undone. However, I have a sister who is going to have a operation this week and this is one of her favorite foods (so I have heard her say). So I am going to try and make your version. Thanks so much for sharing one of your treasured recipes. I will write you back and let you know how it all turns out (the recipe and the operation). I ask everyone for their prayers. If you have prayed for my sister Deborah, just say "Praying for Chicken and Dumplings".
PS..I love to collect recipes so i will be keeping in touch with this site.
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10-10-2007 @6:12PM Connie M said... This sounds like how my mom & mamaw made chicken and dumplings. I'm
47 yrs. old but remember this recipe & the aroma that filled the kitchen. I
think we used to have this at Thanksgiving made with turkey instead of chicken. I know we also had garden raised green beans cooked with a sliced onion & country ham hock. Mmmm! So Good!!!
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10-14-2007 @11:57AM jolena harris said... i had forgotten about cookinjg dumplings until your article this a m. i can't wait to get in the kitchen and make some for my dinner tonight!!!! i will use the buttermilk biscuits for the dumplings, thanks for the suggestion
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10-21-2007 @11:24AM donna said... Try using bisquick instead of the flour and shortening. Ummmm good. So easy and I drop teaspoonfuls into the boiling broth until I cant fit anymore into the pot. Fried chicken is also delicious when dipped in egg then rolled in bisquick. Brown it first on high heat, then cover and cook on medium until well done. Before you turn it over, turn up the heat and remove the lid so the crispy comes back. Good Sunday dinner for the whole family.
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11-05-2007 @5:59AM Shure pets Rep said... A Southern Dumpling recipe,
If you use a broiler hen you don't have to use butter because the flavor and fat content, yes drop dumplings or rolled cut ones are what we all use.
only other seasons are salt,pepper and milk at end of cooking time. They are best if you cook the chicken real tender and cook the dumplings in with them.
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11-07-2007 @2:50PM DONNA said... I WOLD ALSO LIKE TO HAVE THE CHICKEN AND DUMPLINGS RECIPE, MY MOTHER USED TO MAKE IT WHEN I WAS GROWING UP. I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO HAVE THE HUNGARIAN GOULASH RECIPE. IF ANYONE HAS THESE PLEASE SHARE IT WITH ME. THANK YOU
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11-07-2007 @5:40PM Jim Schilling said...
"Minnesota Dumplings" indeed are different. I grew up in Canby. My Grandmother used to make them Egg, flour, salt and I think a little baking powder. They come out a little chewy. I've never been able to get them quite right. Anyone have a recipe?
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11-07-2007 @6:23PM susie said... i would never make chicken and dumplings without a can of cream of chicken soup. i also put a small amount of the chicken back in while they simmer a few min. i have also added a small can of peas and carrots. sometimes i do that. mine are good good. i think. thanks susie
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11-07-2007 @7:18PM kasandra said... Your dumplins sound good but with our family recipe we use a can of cream of chicken soup and half and half instead of water. it gives it a richer and more flavorful taste.
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11-07-2007 @8:36PM ROY L. TUCKER, SR. said... I am 76, and i was born in Greenville, N.C. And i remember my mother's chicken & pastery , not Dumplins. BUt i can still taste it.
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11-08-2007 @3:47AM maryann darr said... In the South, if you want chicken and dumplings, it is a sin to use biscuits! Us Southern babes do it the hard way and make fresh dumpling dough with baking powder added into regular white flour and roll the strips out. If you use self-rising flour, do not add baking powder. You want your dumplings about an l l/2" wide and about 3" long before you drop them in the extremely hot broth. You drop them in slowly into a rolling boil chicken broth (you may have to add 2 or 3 cans of chicken broth or one of the great big cans) and make sure each one of those babies rise to the top of the "rolling boil" chicken broth. Incidentally, it is best to use a large stock pot because you will have lots of hot chicken broth to drop the dumplings into. Always find the largest whole fryer or the largest hen you can find at the grocery store. Wash it well and boil it whole in lots of water in your stockpot. Absolutely do not skim the liquid fat from your chicken broth because that is what makes it so good. Remove the whole chicken and put it on a large platter. Let it completely cool. Remove all of the bones and all of the skin. I give the skin to my dogs...they love it. I do not give my babies chicken bones! Then break the chicken up into good size pieces...not little bite sizes. Never have your chicken pieces in the hot chicken broth when you are adding your dumplings because that does not give your dough strips any room to rise to the top. Take your chicken broth and drain it because you do not want skin or bones in your chicken broth. Then put it back on the stove and bring it to a rapidly "rolling boil". The most important thing is to make sure that that chicken broth is at a rolling boil when you start to add the dumplings. Stir after dropping 4-6 dumplings making sure they come to the top. If you don't make sure they come to the top, you will have a bunch of dough at the bottom of your stockpot. After your dumplings come to the top of your chicken broth, they will be about l/4" thick-that's what you want. After you have added all of your dumplings and cook them for about 10 minutes, you then add your chicken pieces and let everything cook on a slow simmer for about 20 minutes. Then, the thing you want to do is add one quart of half and half. Then slow simmer for about 10 more minutes or until piping hot. Add lots of pepper. Serve in large size serving bowls. Watch your husband smile as he is eating. There is going to be a lot of snoring in the house that night after eating these babies because this is good old SOUTHERN COMFORT FOOD!
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11-10-2007 @5:29PM Rhonda Brown,ODENVILLE,AL. said... good lord bless you all it all sounds good ill try them all out.keep them coming ill check in on yall
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11-10-2007 @6:04PM Jean said... Tips for Chicken & Dumplings:
Strips of dough (like for topping apple or fruit pie ) about 1/8 - 1/4 inch thickness X 3/4 inch wide make much better dumplings than balls of dough that are always undercooked in the middle. Always add milk at the end. Never have used skimmed milk so don't know how recipe would taste. Use lots of chicken. Some people like all white meat, but my grandmother used some dark meat off drumsticks combined with white meat chicken. She said this added flavor to the cooked product.
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11-11-2007 @12:12PM Ron Ladwig said... Re: chix & dumplings. Am a transplant to the South from Rocky Mtn. region. Love it here, especially the fantastic foods. However, am more than dissappointed by the "down South" interpretation (at least to my taste buds) of Chicken and Dumplings. First time I ordered it here, was exceptionally dissapointed when I got the chix with "wide" noddles--rather than dumplings. "Dumplings" are fluffy flour concotions - NOT "noodles." Also, my grandfather (from Virginia) insisted on a "broth" that was rather thick, not the wan, watered-down version I've had here in so many "down home" diners.
Hey--am full aware that : when in Rome do as the Romans do--and generally willing to try something new. But do miss my granma's and mother's TRUE chix and dumplings. (Must admit, am not an ardent admirer of either chitlins nor collard greens, but--as a result of a fantastic restaurant in Mobile--have loved to like fried spinach!!!!)
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11-30-2007 @10:28PM anna corum said... Please email the wonderful sounding chicken & dumplilngs &
meatballs, & tuna & noodles. Would love to try them soon, my
mouth is yumming it right now. Thanks AC
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