Any side dish suggestions for a Chicken and Dumpling meal

[DemExpat]

with friends?

I have such a hard time thinking up good meal plans...and just serving a bowl of soup seems a little too simple for a meal together.
:shrug:

Thanks!

DemEx

[Frogtutor]

1. My all-time favorite stand-by: Salad

I have this same problem, so whenever I can't think of something else that would go well, I serve a salad!

[wryter2000]

2. You have the meat and the starch

All you need is the vegetable. Salad's good as Frogtutor has pointed out.

I figure that while the dumplings cook, I have 20 or so minutes without having to worry about the meal, so I'd use the time to make something that takes last minute attention. Wok some veggies (the color and crunch will be a nice contrast to the softness and and paleness of the chicken and dumplings). Or make a veggie that takes a sauce that would be too much of a hassel if you had to attend to the rest of the meal at the last time. Hollandaise or cheese sauce.

[NMDemDist2]

3. green beans

that is what we always had with C & D

served al dente with almonds and butter, sprinkle of Romano cheese, Parmesan or bread crumbs (anything to "brown" on top)

[DemExpat]

4. Thanks for your responses!

:thumbsup:

DemEx

[grasswire]

5. it's almost a one-dish meal...

...if you have carrots and celery and peas in your pot. But I would make a quaint old crunchy waldorf salad with an update of dried cherries in it. Diced red and yellow apples with skin on, sliced celery, chopped walnuts (or some other kind of nut could do), dried cherries or cranberries (I use golden raisins), a dash of lemon juice, and some Hellman's mayo and a spoon of sugar if the apples are real tart. I think the crunch and the flavor is the perfect accompaniment.

[NMDemDist2]

6. yum!! you gave me an idea to go with my pork chop dinner for guests

tomorrow

THanks!

[DemExpat]

7. Great idea, grasswire....thanks so much

I think I will follow your suggestions of adding more veggies to the pot, and the waldorf salad DOES sound like a great accompaniment to Chicken and Dumplings! :thumbsup:

:hi:

DemEx

[grasswire]

8. re: the veggies

...I usually simmer celery carrot and onion in a cup of chicken broth on the side, and then add them with frozen peas to the thickened chicken mixture before putting the dumpling stuff on top. That way you can control the "doneness" of the veggies better. Don't forget a bit of chopped parsley, too.

Maybe we should define the dish itself. I'd like to know how other people make it. My aunt used to steam her dumplings on a rack above the "stew" but I put the dough right in it.

Oh, and another dish that's great has the same chicken stew but uses a buttermilk and sweet potato biscuit topping. Yum. That's a Bobby Flay recipe. Lots of cream.

[NMDemDist2]

12. can i use Cool whip or sour cream in addition to the mayo? n/t

[DemExpat]

15. I often use a fat free fromage frais (kind of like a thick yogurt)

mixed in with mayo for salad dressings like this.

It is good!

DemEx

[NMDemDist2]

18. it came out great, I ended up using about half mayo and half sour cream

yum!

[Swede]

9. Tell us your recipe for chicken and dumplings,please.

nt

[DemExpat]

10. My southern grandma's recipe was very simple, but oh, so delicious.

Cook a chicken in water until done, add seasonings. Remove the chicken and bring broth to a low simmer.

Slowly add strips of dumpling dough, put top on the pot to steam them until all dumplings are cooked, then add the chicken back to the pot.

She only added salt and lots of black pepper to hers.

Her dumplings were also a mix (she never followed recipes or wrote them down) of flour, salt and pepper, Crisco, and a little milk. Rolled out pretty thin and cut into strips to drop into the soup.


I would love to hear any other tried and delicious recipes for this scrumptious and comforting dish!

DemEx

[politicat]

11. Oh! Those are Amish potpies!

That's my chicken pot pie recipe to the life, save that my dough has an egg in it. I now add a bit of sage, oregano and basil when I cook the chicken, and sometimes tarragon.

Pcat

[grasswire]

16. strips of dumpling dough...

..how interesting! So the dough was probably like a biscuit in consistency. What I'm used to is a wetter dough than that. Quite sticky, in fact. The resulting dumplings are not flaky like biscuits, but light.

[DemExpat]

19. Her strips of dumplings were not flaky/biscuity at all, grasswire...

more a tender, slightly chewy, slippery strip of dumpling in the broth. Decadent and heavenly! :D

Mine come close to hers - but I don't have (or wish to use) Crisco, so I substitute oil/butter for the fat. I also use half whole wheat.

DemEx

[lpbk2713]

13. Add some collard greens

and some black eyed peas and you've got one dandy meal.

[DemExpat]

14. I do think that my grandma served collard or mustard greens

with her chicken and dumplings, maybe black eyes too, and cornbread.

Thanks!

For my Continental friends I think I'll stick to the celery, carrots and peas in the broth and a salad on the side....:-)

DemEx

[grasswire]

17. ever had blackberry dumplings?

We make them in the summer. Simmer fresh blackberries with sugar to taste and some water until the berries are broken down and soft. Put your dumpling dough on top and cook as usual. Serve as soon as the dumplings are cooked through. Ice cream would be good, but not necessary.

Oh my.

[DemExpat]

20. Oh....my....

n/t