Chicken n' Dumplings

I made this for the first time (which was also the first time I ever ate it) so I'm clearly not an expert on chicken and dumplings, however, everyone that ate this, loved it.  I still prefer chicken and noodle soup, but Jeff prefers the dumplings.  Jeff likes to eat this over a bed of mashed potatoes, but you can just eat it as is.

Cook Time: 1 hour 40 minute   Yield: 6 servings


Ingredients

Chicken and Stock:

• 2 Cornish game hens (or a small chicken)
• 3 bay leaves
• 6 sprigs thyme
• 4 to 5 black peppercorns
• 1 head garlic (I did about 8 garlic cloves), pealed
• 2 tablespoons salt
• 1-2 stalks of celery
• a handful of fresh parsley

Sauce:

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 2 carrots, diced
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 6 cups chicken stock
• 1-2 vegetable bouillon cubes
• 1 cup frozen pearl onions or 1 -2 chopped onions
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• Freshly ground black pepper, for garnish 

Dumplings:

• 2 cups cake flour (or regular)
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup milk
• 4 tablespoons oil

For the stock:
Place the hens and all stock ingredients in a large pot or dutch oven and cover with water. Set over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 1 - 2 hour until the chicken is tender. (if you poke the chicken, the juice should run clear) Skim the surface of fat and scum as it cooks.
When done remove the chicken to a cutting board. Stain the stock and shred the meat into big pieces - the stock will be used for the sauce and the chicken will be folded into it.


For the dumplings:
In a mixing bowl, combine dumpling ingredients and mix well to form a stiff dough. (we didn't think the dough seemed all that stiff)

To prepare sauce: In a Dutch oven/large pot, over medium heat, add the butter and oil. Add the carrot, celery, garlic, and bay leaves and onions if using chopped onion (wait if using pearls) and saute until the vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in the flour. Continue to stir and cook for 2 minutes to coat the flour and remove the starchy taste. Slowly pour in the chicken stock you just made, 1 cup at a time, stirring well after each addition.  Add vegetable bouillons.  If using pearl onions, add now. 


Let sauce simmer until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 15 minutes (ours didn't get that thick). Fold the reserved shredded chicken into the sauce. Add water if soup is too thick (I added a couple of cups).  Adjust seasonings as needed (maybe you'll want more thyme, pepper....)   Remove bay leaves.  Stir in heavy cream and bring to a simmer.  Using 2 small spoons, carefully drop heaping tablespoonfuls of the dumpling batter into the hot mixture. The dumplings should cover the top of the sauce, but should not be touching or crowded. Cover the pot.  Let the dumplings poach for 15 minutes until they are firm and puffy. DO NOT PEAK, LEAVE THAT LID ON. Also, you don't want it to full on boil, just a simmer.  After 15 minutes, you can peak and if they aren't done, then cook longer.  Season with freshly cracked black pepper and serve.

Note:  I couldn't use all the dumpling batter, or my dumplings would have started to touch each other, maybe my pot just isn't as wide as the pots being used.  And it turned out fine without all the dumpling batter being used.  However, next time I'm going to try something different.  After the soup is all made, I'm going to split it up between 2 pans, then add batter to both pans.  That should be enough room I think.