Thanksgiving Dumplings and Dressing

To Southerners, Dumplings and Dressing kind of fall in that category of main dishes.  Either one can stand on its own in a meal, even without the meat.  But at a special holiday they are served as a side dish.  Even with the chicken they are a must with ham, turkey or what ever you serve.  They are as varied as they come with every cook making them different.  At Stevens Catering we made them a little bland so you could add more poultry seasoning or sage as you like.  Some cooks use boiled eggs, some used raw.  You can make those changes if you like.  Make it yours with our recipe. 

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Chicken and Dumplings

Source:  SERVING, The Altrusa Club of Lufkin, Clarkie Brown, page 48.

•  1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups flour
• 1 stick butter
• 1 tablespoon Crisco
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 egg, beaten
• cooked large fryer with 9 cups broth

• Additional ingredients:
• 1 stick butter
• 2 to 3 heaping tablespoons flour
• 2 cups milk

Combine first three ingredients.  Melt butter.  Combine dry ingredients, butter, Crisco, milk and egg and mix until it turns loose from bowl.  Set in refrigerator for 15 minutes. 

Remove chicken and add 1 stick butter to broth.  Roll dough out on floured board fairly thin and cut into three inch strips.  Drop into boiling broth.  Add pepper as desired and salt to taste. 

When finished with dumplings, mix two to three heaping tablespoons of flour with 2 cups of milk.  Pour into dumplings.  Stir gently.  Cover and cook for a few minutes before serving.  May debone chicken and add meat back to dumplings.

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Cornbread Dressing

Source:  inspired by Paula Deen

• Cornbread, recipe follows
• 7 slices oven dried white bread
• 1 sleeve saltine crackers
• 8 tablespoons butter
• 2 cups celery, chopped
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 7 cups chicken stock
• 1 teaspoon salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon poultry seasoning
• 5 eggs, beaten
  

Preheat oven to 350 F.  In a large bowl, combine crumbled cornbread, dried white bread slices, and saltines; set aside.  Melt the butter in a large skillet oiver medium hear.  Add the celery and onion and cook until transparent, approximately 5 to 10 minutes.  Pour the vegetable mixture oveer cornbread mixture.  add the stockmix well, taste, and add salt, pepper to taste, and poultry seasoning.  Add beaten eggs and mix well.  Reser e 2 heapimg tablespoons for the giblet gravy.  Poour mixture into a greadsed pan and bake until dressing is cooked through, abouit 45 minutes.  Serve with turkey as a side dish. 

Cornbread

Source: Florence Calhoun

• 1 cup yellow cornmeal
• 1/4 cup flour
  
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons bacon drippings
  

Heat oven to 450 F.  Heat heavy 10 inch skillet with bacon drippings on top of oven.  Meanwhile, mix together all ingredients and pour in drippings.  Mix well and pour into skillet.  Cook in oven until brown on top; about 12 minutes.  

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