I wrote this missive in 2017 as a blog entry, when my first nephew was still a toddler, and I was traveling to Brooklyn to help my sister while she and her husband chased adventures across the globe. I’m sharing it again now as a small flashback. I’m currently in Brooklyn visiting that same nephew, who is now ten years old and has opinions about just about everything. Since 2017, Erin and Brian have given me a second nephew, moved into a brownstone in a different neighborhood, and got a dog… Some things change. Some things don’t.
My sister Erin is not particularly skilled in the kitchen. She tries her best, but honestly, she once burned spaghetti. Not the sauce. The noodles.
Consider that for a moment. Erin dropped dried pasta into boiling water and then left it there long enough for all the water to evaporate and the noodles to burn to a crisp. She will put something in the oven, move on to another project, and forget to come back. A kitchen timer worn around the neck would be an ideal Christmas gift.
So, I wasn’t surprised when Erin texted me to say she was “cooking something,” and it was causing her husband anxiety. What surprised me was that cooking was a metaphor. Brian’s anxiety was about becoming a father.
I enjoy visiting New York City. Erin and Brian live in a glass building in the middle of a lively Brooklyn neighborhood, within walking distance of the library, the museum, Prospect Park, and Grand Army Plaza. There are good restaurants everywhere, and a beer bar I love just around the corner. Still, I feel a bit like the country mouse visiting the city mouse. Brooklyn suits me as a place to visit, as long as I know I can retreat back to my small town afterward.
When I visit, I make it a goal to cook as many meals at home as possible. Rural Nevada dollars go further at the grocery store than at New York restaurants, and when Erin and Brian cook it is usually something simple or from a subscription box. I like to give them a change of pace.
At seventeen months old, my nephew was already remarkable. He had a growing vocabulary in two languages, showed early signs of soccer promise, and possessed a dramatic flair that suggested a future in film. He was also an excellent judge of food quality. His enthusiasm for Tia Kelli’s chicken and dumplings was unmistakable.
The trip was a success. I wandered bookstores, visited museums, rode the subway, drank good beer, went to a fermentation festival, and got a tattoo. I cooked several dinners, breakfasts, and batches of cookies. There was only one bad night of fussiness. Erin and Brian returned from Sweden to find their child intact, if slightly pink-eyed, which I maintain is unavoidable with toddlers in dense cities.
To my sister Erin: you may struggle in the kitchen, but you cooked up some pretty incredible kids. Dinner can always be delivered.
Chicken & Dumplings
With apologies to Tyler Florence
Ingredients
For stock
1 chicken
1 onion, halved
2 bay leaves
2 T black peppercorns
1 head of garlic, split down the middle
2 ea carrots
4 stalks of celery
For soup
2 T butter
2 T canola oil
2 ea carrots, peeled and diced
2 ea celery stalks, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
¼ c flour
Reserved stock
1 c frozen peas
1 c pearl onions
¼ c heavy cream
For dumplings
2 c flour
1 T baking powder
1 t salt
2 ea eggs
1 c buttermilk
1 bu green onions, chopped
Directions:
For Stock:
Put all ingredients in a large pot, cover with cold water and heat slowing til simmering.
When chicken is cooked through, remove from heat.
Strain and reserve stock, shred chicken.
For Dumplings:
Combine dry ingredients. Whisk together buttermilk and eggs. Add wet ingredients to dry and stir til combined. Stir in green onions.
For Sauce:
Sweat carrots and onions in melted butter and oil. Add garlic. When vegetables are soft, add flour and whisk for about 5 minutes. Add reserved stock and cook until thickened. Stir in reserved chicken, peas, pearl onions, and cream.
Working in batches as necessary, drop large spoonfuls of dumpling batter into the simmering soup. The dumplings should cover the top of the soup - but don’t crowd them too close together. They take about 15 minutes to cook through. Flip the dumplings over after about 7 minutes and let simmer until they are firm and puffy.
Season to taste with salt and pepper.
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