Chicken with Pan Gravy and Cornmeal Dumplings

yield: Makes 4 servings
active time: 40 min
total time: 1 3/4 hr
When our executive food editor, Zanne Stewart, was growing up, her family spent summers in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. This recipe was inspired by a dish of chicken and dumplings she remembers well from those vacations.

For chicken
1 (3- to 3 1/2-lb) chicken, quartered and backbone removed
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 cup chopped shallot (6 oz)
1/2 cup dry white wine

For dumplings
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup yellow cornmeal
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into bits
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh chives
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
2/3 cup well-shaken buttermilk

For gravy
3 cups chicken stock or broth
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Cook chicken:
Preheat oven to 200°F.
Pat chicken dry and season with salt and pepper.
Heat butter and oil in a 12-inch deep heavy skillet over moderately high heat until foam subsides, then brown chicken well, about 8 minutes total. Arrange skin-sides up, then sprinkle with shallot. Add wine and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, until chicken is just cooked through, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer chicken with tongs to a heatproof platter, reserving juices in skillet. Cover chicken with foil and keep warm in oven.
Make dumplings:
Sift together flour, cornmeal, baking powder and soda, salt, and pepper into a bowl. Blend in butter with a pastry blender or your fingertips until mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in 2 tablespoons chives and 1 tablespoon parsley, then add buttermilk, stirring just until dough is moistened (do not overmix).
Make gravy and cook dumplings:
Skim fat from juices in skillet. Add 2 3/4 cups stock and bring to a boil. Whisk together cream, flour, and remaining 1/4 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, about 2 inches apart to allow dumplings to expand. Reduce heat and gently simmer dumplings, covered, until tops are dry to the touch, 15 to 20 minutes.
Sprinkle chicken, dumplings, and gravy with remaining herbs.


From epicurious.com