The Best of Dinner Club, Part 2

In addition to chicken and dumplings, we also made 2 other dinner club hits - peach cobbler and cheddar chipotle scones. Recipes below, with my deviations and comments.

Cheddar Chipotle Scones (from Serious Eats)

Cheddar Chipotle Scones

- makes 8 servings -
Adapted from Cooking Light.

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour (about 9 ounces)
1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons chilled butter, cut into small pieces
3/4 cup low-fat sour cream
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded reduced-fat sharp cheddar cheese
1 tablespoon water
1 minced chipotle chile, canned in adobo sauce I usually use 2-3.
1 large egg, lightly beaten
Cooking spray

Procedure

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk. Cut in butter with a pastry blender, 2 knives, or a fork until mixture resembles coarse meal. In a separate bowl, combine sour cream, cheddar cheese, 1 tablespoon water, chipotle chile, and egg; stir into dry ingredients until just moist. Knead in bowl with lightly floured hands just until dough forms.

3. Shape dough into an 8-inch circle on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Cut each circle into 8 wedges; arrange wedges 1 inch apart on pan. Bake at 350°F for 30 minutes or until browned. Serve warm.

Chicken and Dumplings

From Staff Meals, a great homey cookbook

For the stew
2 chickens (3-3 ½ lbs each)
2 T. canola or other vegetable oil
2 small onions, diced
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1 cup dry white wine
8 cups chicken stock, chicken broth or water I use more, about 1o cups
1 tsp dried thyme leaves
3 bay leaves
10 grinds black pepper

Small pinch of cayenne pepper
4 carrots, peeled & cut into ½" rounds
3 large white turnips, peeled and diced You can substitute potatoes or parsnips, or a combo
Coarse (kosher) salt, to taste

For the dumplings
2 cups all-purpose flour
4 tsp baking powder
1 ½ tsp salt

1 tsp snipped fresh chives
1 tsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
1 cup milk
Walnut-sized piece of beurre manié*


*Beurre manié (kneaded butter) is a mix of equal parts softened unsalted butter and all-purpose flour, thoroughly worked together to form a paste. It should be whisked quickly into the liquid and allowed to simmer until the flour loses its starchy taste, at least 15 minutes. I use 1/2 tbs of butter and 1/2 tbs of flour.

1. Rinse the chickens, inside and out, under cold running water, removing any excess fat. Cut each chicken into 10 pieces and pat dry with paper towels.
2. Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven or large, wide, flameproof casserole over medium-high heat. When it just begins to smoke, add only enough chicken pieces to fit into the pot without touching and sauté until well browned on all sides, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer the chicken to a platter and set aside. Cook and remove all chicken.
3. In empty pot, add the onions and garlic and reduce the heat to medium low. Sauté, stirring occasionally, until the onions are softened but not browned, about 5 minutes.
4. Return chicken to the pot, add the wine. Turn heat to medium high and bring to a boil. Cook, uncovered, until the wine is reduced by half, about 5 minutes. Add the chicken stock, thyme, bay leaves, black pepper and cayenne. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and barely simmer, partially covered, until chicken is almost done, about 1 hour. Skim any foam. Prepare the beurre manie.
5. Add the carrots and turnips and continue simmering for 15 minutes.
6. Meanwhile, prepare the batter for the dumplings. Combine the flour, baking powder, salt, chives, and parsley in a medium-size bowl and whisk thoroughly to mix. Pour in the milk and stir to make a thick batter. Set aside.
7. Transfer the chicken pieces to a platter and set aside. Discard the bay leaves. Taste the broth and add salt as necessary, then add the chilled beurre manié and whisk until it is completely incorporated and the liquid is somewhat thickened, about 15 minutes. While the beurre manie is incorporating, debone the chicken and shred it in medium chunks. Return chicken to the pot and bring to a simmer.

8. Drop the dumpling batter by the teaspoonful directly onto the stew. The dumplings will expand, so leave about 1" between them. Cover and simmer over low heat for exactly 15 minutes. Don't peek!

Peach Cobbler

from the Food Network

I have no alterations to this recipe. It is awesome.

Ingredients
For the peach filling:

* 1/4 cup brown sugar
* 1/4 cup white sugar
* 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
* 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 10 cups frozen peaches, thawed, about 3 pounds prepared
* 1 teaspoon cornstarch, dissolved in 1 tablespoon water
* 1 lemon, juiced
* 1 teaspoon butter

For the crumb topping:

* 3/4 cup brown sugar
* 1/4 cup sugar
* 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
* 3/4 cup oats
* 1/4 cup slivered almonds
* 1/2 cup dried cranberries
* 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
* 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into 8 pieces
* Vanilla ice cream or whipped cream, for serving
* Special Equipment: 12 by 8-inch oval stoneware dish or 13 by 9-inch rectangular glass or stoneware dish

Directions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

To make the peach filling: In a large bowl, stir together sugars, flour, cinnamon and salt. Add peaches and gently toss to coat. Mix together cornstarch slurry and lemon juice and stir into peaches to incorporate. Butter a 12 by 8-inch oval dish and add peach mixture.

To make the crumb topping: In a medium bowl, combine dry ingredients, add in butter pieces and combine with hands until crumbly.

Top peaches with half of the crumb topping. Place in oven and immediately reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes, then add remainder of the crumb topping. Reduce heat to 325 degrees F and bake until golden and bubbling, another 45 minutes. Remove from oven and let sit for 15 minutes before serving.

Serve with vanilla ice cream or fresh whipped cream.