Chicken and Broth

3 quarts water
1 3-4 pound chicken cut up
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 small onion sliced
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 clove garlic, peeled and quartered
1 bay leaf
4-6 whole parsley leaves
1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Dumplings

2 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoons of salt
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons milk

1. Bring the water to a boil in a large pot. Add the chicken, 1 teaspoon of salt, onion, celery, garlic, bay leaf, and parsley to the pot. Reduce the heat to simmer and cook the chicken, uncovered, for 2 hours. The liquid will reduce by about one third.

2. When the chicken has cooked, remove it from the pot and set it aside. Strain the stock to remove all the vegetables and floating scum. You only want the stock and the chicken, so toss everything else out.

3. Pour 1 1/2 quarts (6 cups) of the stock back into the pot (keep the leftover stock, if any, for another recipe-it can be frozen). You may also want to use a smaller pot or a large saucepan for this. Add coarsely ground pepper, the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and the lemon juice, then reheat the stock over medium heat while preparing the dumplings.

4. For dumplings, combine the flour, baking powder, 1 1/4 teaspoons salt, and milk in a medium bowl. Stir well until smooth, then let the dough rest for 5-10 minutes. Roll the dough out onto a floured surface to about a 1/2 inch thickness.

5. Cut the dough into 1/2 inch squares and drop each square into the simmering stock. Use all of the dough. The dumplings will first swell and then slowly shrink as they partially dissolve to thicken the stock into a white gravy. Simmer for 20-30 minutes until thick. Stir often.

6. While the stock is thickening, the chicken will have become cool enough to handle. Tear all the meat from the bones and remove the skin. Cut the chicken meat into bite-size or a little bigger than bite-size pieces and drop them into the pot. Discard the skin and bones. Continue to simmer the chicken and dumplings for another 5-10 minutes, but don’t stir too vigorously or the chicken will shred and fall apart. You want big chunks of chicken in the end.

7. When the gravy has reached the desired consistency, ladle four portions onto plates and serve hot. Serve with your choice of steamed vegetables, if desired.

Directions
Place chickens in large saucepan, cover with water and bring to a boil.
Simmer until chickens are tender.
Remove chickens from pan and set aside. Remove backbones.
Add chopped carrot, celery and onion and simmer 30 minutes.
Add chicken stock base and remove from heat. Strain and reserve stock.
Melt butter and stir in 1 cup flour until smooth.
Add to straine reserved chicken stock.
Simmer 5 minutes.
Add sherry and lemon juice, salt to taste and, if desired, food color.
For dumplings, combine 1 1/2 cups flour, baking powder and 1/4 tsp salt in mixing bowl.
Cut in shortening until mixture resembles cornmeal.
Stir in milk until just blended.
Place about 1/2 inch water in saucepan with wire rack that comes 2 to 3 inches above water line. Cover rack with lightly oiled waxed paper, oiled side up.
With water gently simmering, drop dumplings by tablespoon onto waxed paper, leaving room in between for expansion.
Steam 8 minutes, uncovered, then cover and steam 7 minutes longer.
Meanwhile, remove skin from cooked chicken and bone, if desired.
Cut in large pieces.
Place chicken pieces in casserole. Arrange dumplings on chicken.
Cover with sauce and sprinkle with peas for color.

SERVES 8 (change servings and units)

4 chicken thighs, trimmed of excess fat, about 2 pounds total
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 cup coarsely chopped onion, plus 1 large onion, cut into 1-inch chunks
3 carrots, cut on the diagonal into 1/2-inch slices, plus 1/4 cup coarsely chopped carrot
1/4 cup coarsely chopped celery plus 2 stalks celery, cut on the diagonal into 1/2-inch slices
4 sprigs fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
6 cups chicken broth
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup frozen peas
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley leaves
For the dumplings:
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 teaspoon salt

Season the chicken thighs on both sides with the salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a cast iron Dutch oven and, when hot, add the chicken thighs, skin side down, and cook until golden brown, about 4 minutes. Turn the chicken thighs over and add the chopped onion, carrot and celery and cook until the thighs are lightly browned on the second side, about 3 minutes. Add the thyme, bay leaf, and chicken broth. Cover the pan and cook on medium heat until the thighs are tender and the meat pulls away from the bone easily, 25 to 30 minutes.
While the chicken is cooking, combine the butter and flour in a small heatproof bowl and, using your fingers or a pastry blender, blend until smooth. Set aside.

Using a slotted spoon, remove the chicken thighs and chopped vegetables from the cooking liquid and transfer to a plate to cool. Ladle 1 cup of the hot cooking liquid into the bowl with the butter-flour mixture and whisk to combine. Add this mixture to the pan along with the onion chunks, sliced carrot and sliced celery and stir to combine. Cover and cook for 10 minutes over medium heat, or until the vegetables are just tender.

While the veggies are cooking, make the dumplings by combining the flour, baking powder and salt in a small mixing bowl. Heat the milk and butter until warm and the butter is melted. Add the warm milk mixture to the flour mixture and stir until just combined. Transfer to a floured work surface and knead lightly once or twice. Using a floured rolling pin, roll to a thickness of 1/8-inch. Using a knife, cut the rolled out dumpling batter into 1 1/2-inch strips.

When the chicken has cooled enough to handle, remove the meat from the bones and discard the bones, chicken skin and cooked vegetables. Reserve the meat separately.

When the veggies are crisp-tender, uncover the pan and add the reserved chicken meat, peas, and parsley to the cooking liquid. Stir to combine, increase the heat to medium-high and, when the mixture comes to a boil, add the dumplings, 1 strip at a time, to the pan, using a spoon to gently submerge the dumplings in the hot mixture. Cook, uncovered and undisturbed, until the dumplings are cooked through, 7 to 10 minutes. Stir gently and serve in wide shallow bowls