Food is Cynful: Turkey or Chicken Dumplings

About the Cyn

As I have added more and more recipe's to this blog I've realized that these are such sweet tender memories for me. Just as a photograph or childhood story will bring back memories, food floods me with tons of remembrances of happy times in the past! From family dinners and times with friends to Grandma making toast in the frying pan, food has brought about a way to record my family history. Food has always been and remains a huge part of our gatherings and I feel so very blessed to be able to share my memories and such terrific recipe's with my family and anyone out there who has a few minutes to spare. It is my hope that someday my children and grandchildren will prepare these recipe's and know they were special to someone!

Cynful Explanations

Al dente – An Italian expression applied in all western kitchens to pasta cooked just until enough resistance is left in it to be felt “by the tooth.” Fresh pasta can never by cooked al dente as it is too soft. The expression is also applied to vegetables that have been cooked crisp by steaming, boiling, or stir-frying.
Baste – To moisten food during cooking with pan drippings, sauce, or other liquid. Basting prevents foods from drying out.
Bias-cut - To slice food at a steep angle increasing the surface area, makes a thinner cut easier and looks better.
Butterfly- To split a food (such as shrimp) down the center, cutting almost but not completely through. The two halves are then opened flat to resemble a butterfly shape.
Caramelize – The flavor of many foods, including vegetables, meats, and seafood, is often enhanced by a gentle browning that caramelizes natural sugars and other compounds and intensifies their flavor. Meats for stews, for example, are usually browned to caramelize juices that if not caramelized are much less flavorful. Chopped vegetables, especially aromatic ones such as carrots and onions, are often caramelized—sometimes with cubes of meat—in a small amount of fat before liquid is added to enhance the flavor of soups, stews, and sauces.
Dice – To cut into cubes (unlike chopping, which cuts foods into irregular pieces).
Dredge – To coat a food with flour, any finely crumbled ingredient, or, in pastry, with fine sugar.
Egg wash – A mixture of egg or egg white, oil, and water brushed over floured items, which are then deep-fried or pan-fried in clarified butter or oil.
Fold – To incorporate an egg-white foam into an egg yolk foam or a flour batter without deflating it so that it retains its full leavening power.
Julienne – To cut into long thin matchstick size strips.
Marinade – A mixture of ingredients used to flavor and moisten foods. May be liquid of dry. Liquid marinades are usually acidic based and dry marinades are usually salt based.
Mince – To chop very fine.
Piping - To force a food (typically frosting or whipped cream) through a pastry tip to use as a decoration or garnish, or to shape dough, such as that for éclairs.
Poach – To cook completely submerged in barely simmering liquid.
Puree – To work or strain foods until they are completely smooth.
Ramekin – A small, ovenproof dish, usually ceramic.
Render - To melt animal fat over low heat so that it separates from any connective pieces of tissue, which, during rendering, turn brown and crisp.
Resting – Roasted meats should not be served straight out of the over, but should be allowed to rest in a warm place for 20 to 30 minutes, loosely covered with aluminum foil. (The foil keeps the meat warm; loose wrapping ensures that the outside of the meat doesn’t steam and lose its crispness.) Resting allows the meat to relax so the juices become redistributed in the meat and aren’t squeezed out onto the platter during carving.
Sauté – To cook over high heat in a small amount of fat in a sauté pan or skillet.
Scald – To heat milk just below the boiling point. Or, to immerse a vegetable or fruit in boiling water in order to remove its skin easily.
Sear – To brown the surface of pieces of meats and or fish by submitting them to intense initial heat.
Simmer – To maintain the temperature of a liquid just below boiling.
Steam – To cook in steam by suspending foods over (not in) boiling water, in a covered pot or steamer.
Stew – A cooking method nearly identical to braising but generally involving smaller pieces of meat, and hence a shorter cooking time. Also, the dish prepared by using this method of preparation.
Stir-fry – Chinese technique of cooking think slivers of meat, shellfish, and vegetables in hot oil.
Sweat – To cook foods over gentle heat, usually covered or partly covered, until they release their moisture. Vegetables, meats, and seafood are often sweated when making soups, stews, and sauces so that the foods release their juices into the pan and surrounding liquid. Sweating is the opposite of sautéing.
Tempura – A Japanese method of cooking vegetables and shellfish. They are coated with a light cornstarch batter and deep-fried.
Wok – A round-bottomed pan, usually made of rolled steel, used for virtually all Chinese cooking methods.
Zest – The thin, brightly colored outer part of the rind of citrus fruits. The oils make it ideal for use as a flavoring. Remove the zest with a grater, citrus zester, or vegetable peeler. Be careful to remove only the colored layer, not the bitter-white pith beneath it.

It's an "almost"

guarantee that after turkey day, my mom will make Turkey Dumplings. If you've never had dumplings before you might think that boiled dough in broth sounds a bit on the odd side but TRUST ME it is one of those recipe's that calls you back year after year! It seems every time I think about Turkey Dumplings, my mind wanders back to my mom's kitchen where deboning the Thanksgiving turkey happened. There was always one of us kids talking with her as she sat in front of the big turkey roaster picking off every last tiny morsel of turkey for later use. Mom is almost always around in the kitchen or sitting at the table doing one thing or another and it was and still is the best place for a chat or in some cases a deep heart felt discussion. Whether at one in the afternoon or one in the morning, quite a few of the most important visits with my mom took place right there at the kitchen table. (Addendum-2015 This past Thanksgiving as things were quieting down and the turkey was settling us into a nice slumber I saw that the turkey hadn't been deboned yet so I took it upon myself to do my mothers job (as she was in Las Vegas and I was in Corinth). Sitting there in the quiet I realized that this job was not only something that needed to get done but it was so satisfying as well and memories of years past watching Momma do this job came quickly to mind. I'm was awfully thankful for the times I spent visiting with my mom while she deboned the turkey!) After those now memorable visits, and after the turkey had been deboned, those tasty morsels typically found their way into this dish and this is how she always make it so warm, homey and delicious...

Soup stock ingredients:
3-4 cups cooked chicken or turkey
2-3 Chicken Bullion cubes or to taste
Water to cover 2 inches above meat
Salt & Pepper to taste

Dumpling ingredients:
2 1/4 Cups of Bisquick
1- 1 1/4 Cups of Milk

In a large stock pot, mix the soup ingredients together and warm to taste. You will want to taste the broth before bringing it to a boil so that you can add bullion or salt and pepper if needed. After you are satisfied with the taste bring stock to a boil. While waiting for the stock to boil, mix together the dumpling ingredients. Dough should be sticky and mushy. Once the stock has come to a boil, using a large spoon, spoon medium to large dough balls into the boiling soup. When all the dough has been spooned in, lower to simmer and cook uncovered for ten minutes. Then cover the pot and cook for another twenty minutes. The dough should be fluffy not doughy and the broth should have thickened. Add salt and pepper to individual bowls to taste and its time to serve! Watch out that first bite usually burns my tongue! This recipe serves three to four people.
Note: For easier prep time, buy a precooked rotisserie chicken. They are relatively inexpensive and EASY to debone! Also if you want to cut back on the salt you can add low sodium canned chicken stock instead of the water and bullion cubes. One last thing...if you want to start from scratch you can do that too! Just boil your chicken like normal the strain the yuckies out of the stock and set it aside then add as much water and more spices as needed once your chicken is shredded and your ready to start your soup.

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Turkey or Chicken Dumplings

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