0:00
we're gonna start on with my chicken and dumplings.
0:03
So I've got our pot getting hot here
0:05
and we're gonna add our water and we wanna add enough
0:09
for it to more than adequately cover our chicken.
0:12
So, we're just gonna put our chicken into our water.
0:17
Alright, now we're gonna add onion to our pot and celery
0:24
and a cup of chicken bouillon cubes.
0:27
And I'm gonna put in maybe a teaspoon or so,
0:33
Now my favorite part to the celery are the leaves on it.
0:37
So I'm just gonna snap that off, stick those down in there.
0:40
And the last thing that's going in our pot is bay leaves.
0:44
So I'm gonna put our lid on there
0:45
and I'm gonna leave the lid cracked.
0:48
Now I've already got a pot of chicken ready right here,
0:52
and I'm gonna go ahead, pull our chicken out of here.
0:55
My mother and grandmother made their chicken and dumplings
0:59
with whole pieces of chicken.
1:01
Now, some people don't want any part of the bone,
1:05
but like I said, I love it just like this.
1:08
Now we're gonna move on over here and make our dumplings.
1:12
Now I've got a bowl of just plain flour here,
1:15
and I'm gonna use about a teaspoon of salt.
1:18
I lost my beautiful daddy when I was 19 and he was only 40,
1:24
but his favorite food was chicken and dumplings.
1:27
And it meant so much to me to be able to make
1:31
his favorite dish, even though he wasn't around to eat them
1:34
but it was just real important in case he came back,
1:38
I could make him chicken and dumplings.
1:40
So I'm gonna start by using my hand and I can already
1:43
feel that dough getting real, real hard.
1:46
And I'm gonna add my ice water,
1:48
just a couple of tablespoons at a time,
1:50
and then I'm gonna come around,
1:52
and I'm gonna keep building my bowl of flour.
1:56
Okay so I'm gonna come back and get me a couple of more
1:59
tablespoons of water and just keep working that dough,
2:04
until all that flour is in there.
2:07
All right, we've worked up almost every bit of that flour.
2:11
I'm gonna pick it up, kind of work it like that,
2:14
and then I'm gonna bring it over here
2:16
and I'm gonna put down plenty of flour.
2:20
So here we go, if this dough is like it should be,
2:24
this should be a fairly hard job.
2:26
So this process does take a few minutes,
2:28
but, have patience or call in your man
2:32
and just keep working it, and working it and working it.
2:37
All right, now I'm just gonna dust that
2:40
with a little bit more flour.
2:42
I'm gonna let that sit and dry for a few minutes.
2:44
And while I'm waiting on that to dry, I'm gonna put in,
2:47
a can of cream of celery soup.
2:50
And it's just amazing, the kick that,
2:53
that can of soup is gonna give our broth.
2:56
All right I'm just gonna stir those up.
2:58
I like my dumplings seasoned up with a black pepper
3:02
so we're gonna add some of that.
3:06
Can you know what I'm gonna do?
3:07
I think just to make sure those bad boys
3:09
are peppered enough, I'm gonna come over here and do this
3:12
'cause I really do like those flavored with the pepper.
3:17
Now we're gonna take just a butter knife,
3:21
and then we're gonna start stripping our dough.
3:23
Ain't that pretty beautiful is that dough?
3:28
I can't think of one other dough
3:30
that's prettier than that kind (laughs).
3:35
All right, look at that beautiful, thin.
3:41
Though we're just gonna break it in two,
3:43
and drop it into our pot.
3:45
And the most important thing y'all about
3:47
making your dumplings, is you don't wanna stir your pot.
3:51
Because if you do, there's a great chance
3:54
could tear up your dumplings and you don't wanna do that.
3:57
So this will take just about 10 minutes
4:01
and when they're done, we're just gonna lay our chicken
4:04
back on top of our dumplings.
4:10
I'm ready to finish up our pot, and all I'm gonna do,
4:14
is take a little fresh parsley and give them a few whacks,
4:19
'cause I do love what the green does to it.
4:24
And now I think it's safe for me to put my spoon in the pot.
4:28
These dumplings look just wonderful.
4:34
All right, now this is ready for our chicken to go back in,
4:37
and we're just gonna lay it on top of our dumplings.
4:41
So I think they're ready for me to sample.
4:47
Look how good that does look,
4:49
look at that nice fat dumpling.
4:56
And there is, there's been a bird out here raising Cain.
5:01
Think I'm gonna go out there and see,
5:04
he may be after my cat.
5:06
What a perfect day for chicken and dumplings.
5:13
Hmm, they bring back so many wonderful memories.
