Genuine Southern Recipes

Okay, so the other night I braved the heat and made Chicken and Dumplings. It was good, fine - nice, but here's the thing - I don't think it was `Southern' enough. In fairness, I didn't have enough time to do a `proper' job. No all day simmering and all that jazz - it was done and dusted in about an hour.

So, here's the thing - I have to master the absolute quintessence of this dish and knock it clean out of the park. The chicken part seems okay, but I really am keen to hear your dumpling recipes. I put herbs in mine and it was really tasty - but I'm not sure if that is common [read: Southern]. I also put vegetables in with the chicken - which again seems sacrilegious. Any hints or tips on this would be very much appreciated .

Also, what I'm really hoping for [along with your Chicken and Dumpling recipes] is some solid, `tried and true' Southern recipes. Anything that you `must have' or are family favourites.

Thanks in advance - I will try most [if not all] of them - thank you!!! .

 

I'm pretty sure my mom didn't put any herbs and veggies in her chicken and dumplings, just a bit of salt; no veggies, for sure.

I didn't eat them, well, only occasionally. She fixed them often because my dad scoffed them up.

 

I like'em with salt, pepper, and a dash of Texas Pete.

 

Hey, Honey--

Did you see my C&D recipe from back in October of last year? Very traditional, very Southern.
3128 About time for some Chicken and Dumplings

PM me if you have any questions or if I can be of help!

 

I don't know any recipes, but I do know you are gonna need some lard for the dumplings.

Preferably some lard that has been collected during the cooking of bacon over a 10+ year period - usually in a nasty trough on the griddle of an old stove or in an equally nasty lard can.

Ask Plu to hook you up with some. Or maybe Grid. Just don't eat what Grid sends you.

 

just serve whatever with a side of grits to make it 100% southern

 

You can use the whole chicken if you want, I use breasts because I don't like dark meat on a chicken. I really don't even like the white meat...but I digress.

For arguments sake, let's say you care cooking dumplings for 2 people...here's the recipe.

2 chicken breasts
butter
Knorr chicken boullion
salt
Celery Stalks
seasoning of your choice, but lay off the italian seasonings unless it's just fresh parsley

Wash out your pot. (remember that's how mom always starts a recipe)
Wash chicken breasts and put them in a heavy stock pot, cover with water about an inch over chicken. Throw in 2 chicken boullions, salt and some butter and a few celery stalks. Cook for a couple of hours. Save the broth.
Take the chicken out and pull the meat off the bone. Strain your broth-and take the celery out (I just use a slotted spoon with tiny holes)
Take a glass out of the cabinet and put two fork fulls of flour in it (any kind of flour will do)
Pour milk up to almost the top and add about one cup of broth to it.
Stir until it's not clumpy. Put that mixture of flour/milk in the pot and reheat broth on low until it's the thickness you want it.
While it's cooking-make dumplings.
If you have bisquick down there... use that. Just put bisquick in a bowl ( don''t know what size bowl) I'm guessing about 3 cups of bisquick and put milk in it until it is like dough, but a little bit thinner than say a pie dough, a little stickier. Stir that up.
Check the broth and make sure it's about the consistency of a thinner version of turkey gravy at thanksgiving.
Put the chicken back in the pot and drop the dumplings on top by the spoon fulls.
Put stove on low or a tish higher.
Put lid on pot and check it in 15.
When you can open a dumpling up with a fork and it's not sticky-they are done.

By the way- if you cook a whole chicken, don't use the boullion. That's to give it extra oomph but you don't need it with a whole chicken.

Different versions of same:
You can roll out the dumplings like a pie crust and lay them on top and let them cook as well. You can also take this off the top of the stove and brown it in the oven...momma does that sometimes but I'm not a fan really as it's more like chicken pie then.

If you don't have bisquick down there, just make a thicker pie dough.
Self rising flour
Crisco (hard shortening)
Milk
Flour in bowl and cut up crisco with a pastry knife or with your hands which is how the southern people do it. Add milk and stir.

 

Southern sides would be:

Fried ocra
Pinto Beans
Creamed corn
Some variation of broccoli casseroles

I dunno what else but these things are so heavy, you need something green and fresh to offset it. They're way too rich , I can't eat them, but Zbaby loves em.


This is the meal Fred's Dad cooked for us that time-
Chicken dumplings and pinto beans. And wasn't it good?

 

GOOD OLE SOUTHERN SQUASH CASSEROLE

4 or 5 yellow squash
1 medium onion
Stick of butter
1 1/2 cups (or so) Shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 cup (or so) sour cream
1 can cream of chicken or cream of mushroom soup
Large bag herb seasoned stuffing mix

Wash squash, cut off ends, and cut in small pieces. Chop onion.
In a large, heavy pot, melt the butter and throw in squash and onion. Cover and cook on medium heat, stirring occasionally, until tender. Turn off heat.
With a potato masher, roughly mash squash. Add cheese and stir until melted. Add sour cream and soup and mix. Add enough stuffing mix to make it about the consistency of cooked oatmeal. Don't put in too much or it will be dry when you bake it. It'll probably take about half a bag, maybe a little more.
In a greased casserole dish, pour in the squash mixture. Sprinkle some more stuffing mix on top. Bake on 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until golden.
NOTE: I never measure anything when making this casserole. You can add more cheese, or more anything pretty much. Err on the side of having it too wet rather than too dry when it goes into the oven.

 

Thanks so much Scrappy! I didn't see the abovementioned thread until just now - I've had a quick squiz and it looks brilliant, as does the squash casserole recipe. Thanks lovey .