A Midsummer's Chicken with Basil Dumplings

The heat and humidity of summer doesn’t put you in the mindset for comfort food such as chicken and dumplings. Lately, the heat has abated (somewhat) and the evenings have been pleasantly cool.

Plus there is all of that great summer produce to use.

If you have a personal aversion to birds (except perhaps to Skylark by Hoagy Carmichael and Johnny Mercer), you could omit the chicken, cram it with local produce and it would be equally good.

Chicken and dumplings is usually a leftover meal. Here, I’m starting fresh. There are three parts to the recipe. First, you have to make the stock and cook the chicken. Next, you take the broth and simmer more vegetables. Lastly, you add the chicken to those simmering vegetables, make the dumplings and drop them into the pot. Cover the pot and let the dumplings cook in the simmering stock.

Chicken with Basil Dumplings

For four servings

Feel free to add any additional vegetables that you like.

3 ears corn

10 to 12 ounces boneless skinless chicken

1. Begin by making the stock. Husk the corn and remove the silk. Cut the kernels off the cob into a bowl. Save the cobs for the stock. Place the corn kernels into a container and refrigerate until needed.
Proceed with the recipe below.

2. While the stock is simmering, prepare the chicken. Fill a sauté pan with 2 cups chicken broth or 2 cups water seasoned with salt and ground black pepper. Place over high heat and bring to a boil. Add the chicken, cover and immediately reduce the heat to a gentle simmer. Turn the chicken after 5 minutes. Poach the chicken until cooked through. Set aside and let cool.

Vegetable Stock

Cobs from the corn

¼ to ½ of a large onion, cut into chunks

2 or 3 carrots, cut into chunks

8 to 10 sprigs flat leaf parsley

1 teaspoon salt

8 to 10 black peppercorns

8 cups cold water

1. Place all of the vegetables and seasonings into a large pot; break the corncobs in half if necessary. Cover with cold water. Place pot onto stove over high heat. When the water begins to boil, reduce the heat to a simmer. Skim the stock occasionally during cooking. Cook until reduced by half, about an hour. Remove pot from heat and let cool. Strain the stock, saving the liquid and discarding the solids.

Assembling the Chicken and Dumplings
If you are not using the chicken, feel free to add additional vegetables such as fresh beans, etc.

½ cup onion, chopped

1 stalk celery, sliced

½ cup sliced carrots

1/3 cup red bell pepper, diced

1 ripe tomato, diced, about 1 ½ cups

salt and ground black pepper

olive oil, for cooking

the reserved vegetable broth

the reserved corn kernels

the cooked chicken, shredded

1. Place a large pan over medium heat. Swirl in 2 tablespoons olive oil. Add the onions, celery, carrots, and bell pepper; season with salt and pepper and sauté for 3 to 4 minutes to begin softening the vegetables. Add the tomato and the corn kernels and stir to combine. Add the reserved vegetable stock and the shredded chicken (if using). Cover the pan and simmer on low while you prepare the dumplings.

2. When the dumpling dough is ready drop rounded spoonfuls of the dumpling dough into the pan; you should get eight dumplings. Cover the pan and simmer for 10 to 12 minutes, until the dumplings are cooked. Remove pan from heat. Divide between four bowls and serve.

Basil Dumplings

makes eight dumplings for this recipe

½ cup all-purpose flour

½ cup plain cake flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

dash freshly ground black pepper

2 Tablespoons vegetable shortening

¼ cup chopped fresh basil leaves

½ cup buttermilk (or ½ cup milk, “soured” with ¼ teaspoon white vinegar)

1. Sift the dry ingredients into a bowl. (You could also mix it with a fork; you want to remove any lumps from the cake flour).

2. Add the shortening to the bowl and mix until the shortening is incorporated into the dry mixture; you can use either a fork or a pastry cutter for this.

3. Stir in the chopped basil until evenly mixed; add the buttermilk (or milk) and mix until the buttermilk is evenly incorporated.



R. I. P.  Marian McPartland. You shared your love of your art and illuminated it for all of us all while bringing so many of our heroes closer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1AH4k_RvyD8

Here is one of her best interviews, with Bill Evans. Evans presents a masterclass on the tune "The Touch of You Lips." http://www.npr.org/2010/10/08/92185496/bill-evans-on-piano-jazz

Peach and Strawberry Pie

                                    “Once in a while,

                                                 In a big blue moon,

                                                            There comes a night like this.” *

                                                     Another week = another pie night.

When I was told by one of the farmers at our local market that he was planting strawberries for harvest in the summer, I began thinking of strawberries and peaches together in a pie.

Normally our growing season does not include these two fruits appearing at the same time and since the point of this exercise is to use both what is at the market and when it’s at the market, peaches and strawberries don’t normally intersect.

But they have.

It is also the beginning of freestone peach season. Around here that means peach pie time.

This is a simple adaptation of my peach pie recipe, substituting some strawberries for some of the peaches. And yes (I can’t believe I am saying this) you could use some store bought strawberries but they won’t have the same flavor.

Our strawberries were small so some were kept whole while others were sliced in half.

Peaches and strawberries are a delicious combination in a pie but not a common one for us to experience.

“This pie is like Halley’s comet. How long until we see it again?”

 We can hope it’s not 75 years.

Peach and Strawberry Pie

You will need dough for a double crust pie

4 cups peaches, pitted, peeled, and sliced (about 2 ¼ pounds)

1 ½ cups strawberries, stems removed and sliced

½ cup sugar

3 Tablespoons corn starch

egg wash-1 egg mixed with 1 Tablespoon water

1. Peel, pit and slice the peaches and place them into a bowl. Rinse the strawberries. Remove the stems and slice them in half or quarters, depending on their size. Add the sugar and stir. Set aside for 20 to 30 minutes.

2. On a lightly floured surface roll out one piece of pie dough to an 1/8^th inch thickness. Lift and place the dough into the pie dish, fitting it, not stretching it, into place. Place the pie dish into the refrigerator to chill.

3. Heat oven to 450 degrees.                                        

4. On a lightly floured surface roll out the second piece of pie dough. Remove the pie shell from the refrigerator. Brush the edge of the crust with some of the egg wash mixture. Add the cornstarch to the bowl with the fruit and mix until cornstarch has dissolved. Spread the fruit and their juices in an even layer in the pie shell. Top with the second piece of pie dough; trim and seal at the edges and crimp together. Cut a small steam hole into the center of the top crust. Brush the top of the pie with some of the egg wash mixture and sprinkle the top of the pie with some sugar. Place the pie onto a baking tray and place into the oven. Bake for 10 minutes, then lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees and continue baking for 25 minutes. Rotate the pie and continue baking for an additional 20 minutes, until the pie is golden brown and the filling is bubbling. Remove pie from oven and let cool before serving.

*Joni Mitchell  Night Ride Home

                                                                  And, in the end.....

Birthday Pie: Apricot and Sour Cherry

                       “They say it’s your birthday. It’s my birthday too, yeah.” *

I had never known someone who shares my birth date. There are several that are close, but not exact. It turns out that one of our pie night co-conspirators (we’ll call her the Equally Eminent Mosaicist) and I have the same birth date (same day, different years). Her husband, the Eminent Botanist, was born one day later.

Our youngest daughter shares her birthday with a tragedy, September 11.

When she gives out her birthday she sometimes gets an occasional look. It used to make her feel uncomfortable and your birthday should never make you feel uncomfortable.

One of Anna Quindlen’s children was born on Sept. 11. I read (or heard) that she was quick to point out that “9/11” was something that happened to the country, but “September 11 is your birthday.” When youngest daughter was old enough to understand, we explained the same thing to her.

We went out together for some Greek food and since it was pie night, pie, not cake, was in order.

I used some of the sour cherries I had put away in the freezer. Two cups of sour cherries usually require six tablespoons of sugar. The apricots were sweet so I halved the amount of sugar that I usually use for that amount of apricots so the total amount of sugar I used is ½ cup for this pie. Taste your apricots and decide if they need additional sweetening. The frozen cherries gave off a lot of juice as they thawed so you may not want to put all of the accumulated juice into the pie.

Apricot and Sour Cherry Pie

You will need pie dough for a double crust pie          

1 pint apricots (a generous 2 cups when quartered)

2 cups pitted sour cherries

½ cup sugar (maybe extra)

4 Tablespoons cornstarch

egg wash- 1 egg mixed with 1 Tablespoon water

1. Rinse and pit the apricots; quarter them lengthwise and place them into a bowl. Add the cherries to the bowl along with the sugar; mix to combine. Set stand for at least 20 minutes.

2. On a lightly floured surface roll out one piece of pie dough to an 1/8^th inch thickness. Lift and place the dough into the pie dish, fitting it, not stretching it, into place. Place the pie dish into the refrigerator to chill.

3. Heat oven to 450 degrees.

4. On a lightly floured surface roll out the second piece of pie dough. Remove the pie shell from the refrigerator. Brush the edge of the crust with some of the egg wash mixture. Add the cornstarch to the bowl with the fruit and mix until cornstarch has dissolved. Spread the fruit and their juices in an even layer on the bottom the pie shell. Cut the second piece of dough into strips and weave them into a somewhat tight lattice with little of the filling showing. Trim the edges of the lattice pieces, then seal and crimp the crust. Brush the top of the pie with some of the egg wash mixture and sprinkle the top of the pie with some sugar. Place the pie onto a baking tray and place into the oven. Bake for 10 minutes, then lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees and continue baking for 25 minutes. Rotate the pie and continue baking for an additional 20 minutes, until the pie is golden brown and the filling is bubbling. Remove from oven, let cool and serve. Celebrate.

* Birthday, by Lennon & McCartney, like you didn’t know already.

Images from the Samuel Yellin gate, Gwynedd Mercy College, Gwynedd, PA

Eat With Your Fingers! Flatbreads!

I will be the first to exhort you to make something from scratch. But there are times when even I want a break. To quote Jacques Pepin, “Let the supermarket be your sous chef.”

There are many varieties of pre-made flatbreads available in the grocery store. From rectangular, thin-crusted ones to white or whole wheat Indian naan, the toppings are only limited by your imagination. If you want to make your own flat bread dough, by all means do it. Using pre-made makes it easier to do it frequently and faster.

One night youngest daughter and I embarked on a flatbread fest, using ingredients we had on hand or had recently purchased for such a dinner. Flatbreads such as these also work as finger food with drinks when friends are over.

We set up the oven as we do for pizza, with a pizza stone that we preheated. We crisped the flatbreads in the oven before topping them. Youngest daughter acted as our sous chef, assembling them based on combinations I sketched out. She ended up styling them like a pro. Since our kitchen is small, it lead to some well choreographed cooking: “Coming behind you.” “Oven door open.” “Watch your back.”  “Reaching in front.” “Hot!”

Each flatbread made four servings but since there were three of us, it meant deciding which one we wanted again without stealing it away from someone else. Tough choice.

“But if you made four flat breads, that would have made sixteen slices so there was still one extra slice left. Who got that last piece?”

Our sous chef, of course.

Most of the flatbreads had a combination of shredded cheeses found in the grocery store which served as the base to hold the ingredients in place.

Our combinations:

Fresh diced tomato, mixed with salt, ground black pepper, and extra virgin olive oil, minced garlic, crumbled bacon, chili flakes, cheddar cheese, and shredded basil added after it came out of the oven.

         Hot sausage (precooked and sliced) on top of zucchini pesto* with crumbled goat cheese.

                       Ripe figs with crumbled blue cheese (we used some Stilton) and prociutto.

Potato (cooked, cooled, and sliced) sprinkled with some salt, chopped garlic, chopped rosemary, ground black pepper, extra virgin olive oil, and grated Gruyere cheese.

*Zucchini Pesto

2 cups zucchini pieces

1 cup fresh basil leaves

2 teaspoons chopped garlic

1 teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

1 Tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese

1 cup extra virgin olive oil.

1. Cook the zucchini pieces in salted boiling water until tender, about 5 minutes. Drain and refresh under cold water. Set zucchini aside until cool.

2. When the zucchini has cooled, place the zucchini and the remaining ingredients into a blender and process until smooth. Store the zucchini pesto in a covered container in the refrigerator. Use it as you would use any pesto.