I have a lot of "favorite" dishes, but when surveyed, my kids insisted I make and share my recipe for this down-home classic. Plain chicken and dumplings are wonderful, but a little cornmeal in the dough is what takes it from good to unforgettable. That small addition gives the dumplings a slight golden crust and a bit of texture against the soft, tender bite underneath, turning an already comforting dish into something with a little more personality. Add fresh chives and parsley, a splash of white wine in the chicken, and a rich, creamy gravy to tie it all together, and you've got a keeper... cornmeal and all.
For Chicken:
8 serving-size pieces of chicken – cleaned, rinsed, and patted dry
Salt and pepper
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 cup chopped shallots
¼ cup chopped fresh garlic
½ cup dry white wine
For Dumplings:
¾ cup all-purpose flour
¼ cup yellow cornmeal
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons cold butter, cut into bits
2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
2/3 cup buttermilk
For Gravy:
3 cups chicken stock
¼ cup heavy cream
2 ½ tablespoons all-purpose flour
Salt and pepper
Cook the chicken: Season chicken with salt and pepper. Heat butter and oil in a deep, heavy skillet over high heat until foam subsides. Add chicken in two batches and brown well on all sides, turning occasionally, about 8 minutes per batch. Arrange all chicken pieces, skin-side up, in the skillet and sprinkle with shallots. Add wine and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, until chicken is cooked through, about 20-25 minutes.
Meanwhile, preheat oven to 200F.
Transfer chicken to an ovenproof platter, leaving juices in skillet. Cover chicken with foil and keep warm in the oven.
Make the dumplings: Sift together flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and pepper into a bowl. Blend in butter with a pastry blender or your fingertips until mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in chives and parsley, then add buttermilk, stirring just until dough is moistened; do not overmix.
Make the gravy and cook the dumplings: Skim fat from juices in skillet. Add 2 ¾ cups of stock and bring to a boil. Whisk together cream, flour, and remaining ¼ cup stock in a small bowl until smooth, then whisk into boiling stock and season with salt and pepper.
Drop 8 heaping tablespoons of dough into simmering gravy, spacing them about 2 inches apart to allow dumplings to expand. Reduce heat and simmer gently, covered, until tops of dumplings are dry to the touch, about 15 to 20 minutes.
Spoon dumplings and gravy over chicken. Serve with rice and ENJOY!