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| Great Grandma Wright's front porch in "Beefhide, KY" |
To be frank right out of the gate here, this is only about me so much as the knowledge and wisdom that I have gleamed from the vast life experiences of the people who have been imprinted in my heart and soul. It is their lives that I hope and pray to chronicle. As I pilfer through the days and weeks attempting the know how that was handed to me by them, and to them from generations prior, I am encouraged to share their memoirs and mine as well. May you get lost in their history and there by encouraged to delve into the lives of those around you.
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| The Hills & Hollers |
For my inaugural post I have decided to do nothing different then what I have done a thousand times before, Listen. Only this time I recorded too, shhhhhhhh, don't tell. It usually doesn't take much to initiate a grade "A" rendition of yore. Occasionally I'll ask about "how this" or "when that" but most often the stories spontaneously assimilate. In this particular instance a simple "tell me a story" did the trick.
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| The Way to Grandma's House |
Were you able to figure out who got the Chicken & Dumplings? It took me a listen or two. I gather it was Uncle Ben's "hefty" wife, Becky. In a time where electricity is a rarity, leftovers or even meals in general for that matter, must have been an event.
Chicken & Dumplings
What I love about many of my Nana's recipes is how basic they are. If you are a novice there are many a cheat sheet here in, making this a great place to start. As a busy working mother of three I don't have hours to slave over a meal and I don't have a $50 pressure cooker that I picked up at the local soot meet. If, however, you are a black diamond cheiftastic star, don't despair, utilize these basic recipes and alter to your heart's content. Share with us how you took this mountain meal and turned it into a gourmet classic.
According to Nana: this recipe can be used to make Chicken Ala King and Chicken Pot Pie as well. I was told to "just use a different dough".
This is a wonderful recipe for leftovers. If you happened to slave over a whole roasted chicken you are better off then the rest of us. Separate what is left of your chicken from all that gelatin like goo at the bottom of the pan. (If your anything like me, you probably shoved the whole roasting pan in the fridge last night and went to bed). Shred up the chicken meat and place it to the side. Same goes for your goo, you'll need that later too. Proceed.
As for the rest of us, the following is an unofficial ingredient list.
P.S. CAN ANYONE GUESS WHAT ITEMS I LEFT OUT OF THIS PICTURE
(give up; the salt, pepper, and frozen peas)
Please keep in mind none of Nana's recipes have actual ingredient amounts. She uses the time honored tradition of "eye-balling it"and since I have learned from the best, I usually do to.
- Left over chicken of your choosing. Today I will be using a rotisserie chicken I picked up at the local grocery store on the way home BUT if you have dark meat your dish will have a little more flavor.
- Some form of broth be it veggie or chicken. This is where the left over stock from the roasted chicken fits in nicely
- flour - the boring run of the mill kind - just put the bag out on the counter.
- butter - 2 tablespoons and 2 more tablespoons. - NO ONE SAID THIS WOULD BE HEALTHY
- carrots - 2 thinly sliced
- peas, the frozen variety will work just fine.
- dough/dumplings: this is where we can all get a little creative. If you are Suzie Q. home maker and you have a famous family recipe for made-from-scratch-biscuits or dumplings, well by all means insert here. As for the rest of us... there are many acceptable applications. For example your favorite box dough will work nicely. My Nana is loyal to Bisquick - she alters it slightly I'll get back to that later. I really do like to cheat, so for this recipe I will be using pre-made gnocchi (those are the little potato pasta you usually find in the Italian section of your grocery).
We will begin with the trifecta of most savory dishes: Ladies and Gentlemen please welcome Onion, Celery, and Carrots. Sauté them up with a little butter until slightly tender. About 3-5 minutes
- {Sauteing is a method of cooking food, that uses a small amount of oil or fat in a shallow pan over relatively high heat. Ingredients are usually cut into pieces or thinly sliced to facilitate fast cooking.-- Thank you Wikipedia}
- Okay, so your new at this and still not sure if they are "slightly tender". No worries. Use your spatula and fish one of those little carrots out of the pan. Now, blow, and bite. If the carrot crunches, give it another minute or two. if it is firm but no crunch your there, proceed to "GO" and collect $200.
- *remove veggies from the pot and set aside, return pot to the stove.
Okay, here is where we shake things up. We are going to make a roux. Insert Wiki-explanation here. Throw your butter (about 2TBS) in the pan over medium heat and allow to melt. Begin gently adding flour by spoon fulls. You will notice little pea shaped flour globs forming. (It took me about 4 soup spoonfuls)
You will want to be sure your broth or chicken goo is handy and ready to whisk in. Slowly and gently whisk broth into roux until a thick soupy consistency presents.**Add your salt and pepper to taste
Add your veggies and your "dumplings". My version only needed an additional 3 minutes to simmer, If you plan on applying the box or home made dumpling method remember that simmering times may vary. <<NOTE>> I'll add a side note at the end about Nana's preferred dumpling method for you die hards.
It's time to welcome the peas to the party - as many or as few as you like. Fold in shredded chicken, and now, drum roll please....I would estimate (very unofficially) that this is 8 servings, but my family of four finished this off, licked their bowls and asked for more.
Congratulations! Enjoy your magnificent down home country meal. Let us know how yours turned out and what interesting ways you added your own twists.
<<NOTE>> Nana's Dumplings are basically the biscuit instructions on the back of the Bisquick box with one alteration. For every 1cup of Bisquick in your recipe add 1/2cup of all purpose flour. It should be on the very thick side when all mixed up. Roll pecan-walnut sized balls and simmer 5-10 minutes.
