Chicken Fricasse with Chive Dumplings

Homestyle cooking at its best, courtesy of Betty Crocker. Time consuming but worth it.

For chicken

1 whole chicken, cut up
1 cup flour
salt and pepper
paprika (at least 2 tsp)
shortening (3 tbsp plus about 2 more)
1 cup water
3 tablespoons flour
milk (about a cup, but it will depend on how much liquid you end up with)
optional ingredients: juice from half a lemon, some chopped fresh rosemary, 1 small onion, chopped, a bit of chopped parsley, splash or two vegetable broth

Dumplings

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons shortening
3/4 cup milk
3 tablespoons chives, snipped

Wash chicken pieces and pat dry. Mix 1 cup flour, the salt, pepper and paprika. Coat chicken with flour mixture. Heat thin layer of shortening in Dutch oven; brown chicken on all sides. Drain off fat; reserve (I burned my fat a little, so I just added new fat when I needed the reserved)

To Dutch oven, add water and, if desired, chopped onion, lemon juice and herbs. Cover tightly; cook chicken slowly 2-2.5 hours or until fork-tender, adding water if necessary (here, I added a bit of vegetable broth about an hour in). Remove chicken to warm platter; keep warm. Pour off liquid in skillet; reserve.

To make gravy, heat 3 tablespoons reserved fat in skillet. Blend in 3 tablespoons flour. Cook over low heat, stirring until mixture is smooth and bubbly. Remove from heat. Add enough milk to reserved liquid to measure 3 cups; pour into skillet. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and stir 1 minute. Return chicken to gravy. Prepare dough for Dumplings, drop by spoonfuls onto hot chicken. Cook uncovered 10 minutes; cover and cook 20 minutes longer.

For Dumplings: Measure flour, baking powder, chives and salt into bowl. Cut in shortening thoroughly until mixture looks like meal. Stir in milk.

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