Chicken with Dumplings and Miami Beach Birthday Cake

It was Richard's birthday today, a special one, his fourth cycle birthday in the Year of the Tiger. I wanted to make something hearty but flavorful. Fall, regretfully, is here, and it has been raining all week. This recipe for Chicken and Dumplings just hit the spot. Now, mind you, these are not Jamaican nor Chinese style dumplings. This is all-American Chicken and Dumplings from America's Test Kitchen--with some variations. My departure from ATK included using seasoning salt, onion and garlic powder to season the chicken, and increasing the thyme to two teaspoons.

5 pounds bone-in skin-on chicken thighs
Seasoning salt, onion powder, garlic powder, and black pepper
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 carrots, washed and scraped and sliced into 1/4 inch pieces
2 ribs celery, washed and chopped into 1/4 inch pieces
10 tiny onions, whole, peeled with ends trimmed
6 tablespoons flour
1/4 cup dry sherry
4 1/2 cups chicken broth
1/4 cup milk
2 teaspoons fresh thyme
2 bay leaves
1 cup frozen peas
3 tablespoons chopped parsley or cilantro (optional)

First, I trimmed the chicken thighs of excess fat and skin. Then I patted the chicken pieces dry and liberally seasoned each one with seasoning salt, onion powder, garlic powder, and pepper. I put 2 tablespoons oil to heat in my Calphalon Everyday Pan over medium-high heat. In the heated oil, put half the chicken pieces in, skin-side down for five minutes to brown up. Then I turned them over and let them brown for 5 more minutes. I put the chicken pieces in a plate then I poured off the excess oil, leaving the browned bits, or fond in the pan. I added more oil and repeated the process with the remaining chicken. Then I removed and discarded the skin then set aside the thighs to cool. Reserve the chicken fat, if you wish, to make the dumplings.

To the pan, I added the butter and the  prepared vegetables.  Cook until softened, about 7 minutes. Remove the vegetables to a bowl and set aside. To the pan, stir in the flour and whisk in the sherry, incorporating any fond. Add broth, milk, thyme, and bay leaves. Whisk until smooth. Nestle the chicken in the sauce and return the vegetables to the pot. Cover and simmer for one hour.

Discard bay leaves. Transfer chicken to a cutting board, and, using two forks, shred the chicken into pieces. Adjust the seasonings if necessary. Discard the bones. Make the dumplings.

2 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup skim milk
3 tablespoons unsalted butter or reserved chicken fat

Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. In a small bowl, put milk and butter. Microwave about 1 minute to melt the butter. Gradually add milk mixture to flour mixture and stir until the dough is soft and sticky. Using a teaspoon, drop golf-ball sized dumplings on top of the stew, spacing them about 1/4 inch apart. Reduce heat to low, cover and cook until dumplings have doubled in size, about 15-18 minutes. Serve hot with steamed rice or steamed vegetables.

Vegetable side suggestions:

• Steamed broccoli with lime juice and fresh ground black pepper
• Steamed sugar snap peas with sweet red pepper sprinkled with soy sauce and pepper

Crunchy Baked Pork Chops and Pasta with Sun-Dried Tomatoes, Ricotta, and Peas

The Hearty Bread

Like any good foodie, I went to check out the new Trader Joe's that opened at 72nd and Broadway. Looking for what America's Test Kitchen calls "a hearty white bread" I chose this one as a likely candidate. In the package the slices were 1 inch thick and were substantial, without that Wonder Bread softness. When the cashier told me it makes excellent French toast I knew I was in the neighborhood. The menu tonight was entirely from America's Test Kitchen. I had to make some adjustments since Fairway, just 2 blocks up Broadway from Trader Joe's, does not sell center cut pork chops 2 to a pack but 3 to a pack. This recipe requires you to make your own breadcrumbs but after that, the pork chops cook very quickly in less than 20 minutes. In this recipe you must soak the meat in brine before baking.

Crunchy Baked Pork Chops

 3  center cut boneless pork chops, 3/4 to 1 inch thick, trimmed of excess fat

Brine

4-6 teaspoons table salt (down from 1/4 cup)

4 cups water

1 gallon size ziploc bag

Dipping Mixtures:

breadcrumb mixture

3 slices of "hearty white bread", shredded into 1 inch pieces

1/4 cup onion

3 large cloves garlic

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped (parsley in the original recipe but I like cilantro)

1 teaspoon fresh thyme

flour

1/4 cup 

egg white mixture

6 tablespoons unbleached all purpose flour

3 large egg whites

3 tablespoons Dijon mustard

3 lime wedges for garnish

Combine all the brine ingredients in the gallon ziploc bag. Put the pork chops inside, close it, and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Remove from the bag and pat dry. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 350˚F. 

The reason why the pork chops crunch

While the pork chops are brining, prepare the bread crumb mixture. Pulse the bread pieces in a food processor or blender until you get coarse crumbs. If using a blender, do a handful at a time. Spread the bread crumbs on a tray. I like onion and garlic, so I increased the amounts from 2 tablespoons onion to 1/4 cup, and I used 3 large cloves instead of 2 medium. Pulse the onions, garlic, and oil together, about 6 times. 

Clockwise from left: egg white mixture, flour, and breadcrumbs

Add the onion mixture to the breadcrumbs and mix well. Bake until golden brown and dry, about 20 minutes, stirring twice. Remove the breadcrumbs from the oven but do not turn it off. Let the breadcrumbs come to room temperature. Toss the crumbs with Parmesan, thyme, and chopped cilantro. Transfer to a pie plate and set aside. In another pie plate, pour 1/4 cup flour and set aside. In a third pie plate, add the egg whites, mustard, and 6 tablespoons flour. Whisk until there are pea sized particles. 

Three little pork chops are ready to go in the oven

Increase oven temperature to 425˚F. Spray a wire rack with cooking spray and put it in a baking tray. Dip each pork chop in the following sequence: flour, egg mixture, and breadcrumb mixture. Place about 1 inch apart on the prepared wire rack. Bake 17-25 minutes. I baked the 3 chops for 17 minutes and they came out juicy and slightly pink but cooked through. According to ATK, the internal temperature should reach 135˚F. Then let the chops rest 5 minutes until they reach an internal temperature of 150˚F. Now ATK did not say resting inside or outside the oven, but I turned off the oven and left the chops inside for 5 minutes. They were indeed crunchy, as promised, and not at all salty.

Simple avocado and lettuce salad, pasta with etc. etc. and the crunchy pork chop

Here's the recipe for the pasta. Now, when I cook, I don't run and and buy everything exactly as the recipe says for one very simple reason: economy. I make substitutions especially if they won't alter the taste or the appearance of the finished product. Instead of pasta shells, I used an open package of elbow macaroni from my pantry cupboard.

Pasta with Sun-dried Tomatoes, Ricotta, and Peas
2 cups pasta shells
1 cup frozen green peas
3 large cloves garlic (up from 2 cloves)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (I didn't increase this because these pepper flakes are potent--they're home-made by my sister-in-law's cook in Bangkok)
1 1/2 cups whole milk ricotta cheese
1  8.5 oz. jar sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil, drained, rinsed, and chopped coarsely
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
2 teaspoons fresh mint, chopped thinly
salt and black pepper to taste

Boil the pasta according to package directions. In the last 15 seconds, add the frozen peas. Drain and return to the pot.

In a small skillet, heat the garlic, oil and pepper flakes until sizzling but not browned. I accidentally browned the garlic, but I think it tastes better that way. I like the strong burned flavor. Set aside to cool slightly.

In a medium bowl, combine the tomatoes, ricotta, Parmesan cheese, mint, salt and pepper to taste, and the garlic oil mixture. Add to the pasta and peas and mix thoroughly.

Tomatoes, ricotta, mint, salt and pepper