Comfort Food with a Twist, Recipe: Apple Cider Chicken and Dumplings

While traditional bed & breakfasts may not offer in-house lunch and dinner options, some inns, typically those designated as country inns or restaurants, do. And of those, some do it very well (merely reading the sample dinner menu of The Swag Country Inn will make your mouth water).

While meals served at The Swag Country Inn are professionally prepared and overseen by Chef Bryan Kimmett, who blends “slow cooking and innovative presentations” to create  “comfort food with a twist,” it remains a fact that comfort foods are among my favorites.

Until I can get away for a rejuvenating stay at The Swag Country Inn and dine from Chef Kimmett’s menu myself, it’s up to me to discover fabulous comfort foods for preparing and dining at home.

Fortunately, with the following recipe, I have done just that.

Apple Cider Chicken and Dumplings is the newest addition to my comfort-food repertoire. Perfect for the cooler months with its hint of cider, this dish bakes up beautifully and produces tender, moist chicken that nearly melts in your mouth, not to mention a tasty broth of medium consistency which I like very much.

Another aspect of this recipe that I liked, was that the dumplings are of the biscuit variety instead of the more noodle-esque:

1. This saves me oodles of time (no pun intended), and
2. The heartier biscuits were the ideal complement for the broth base of this dish

In my opinion, you need (and want) the biscuit-style dumplings to soak up this delicious broth. You won’t want to miss a spoonful, and using the dumplings to soak up all the flavor is far more refined than slurping it from your spoon, or worse yet, your bowl.

If perhaps, this winter season, you find yourself longing for a touch of comfort food, you’ll consider making this dish. It’s approachable and requires little fuss, just some extra time and attention towards the end of baking. The rest of the recipe, as they say, is a snap.

Enjoy!

Apple Cider Chicken and Dumplings

(recipe adapted from Taste of Home’s Holiday & Celebrations Cookbook, 2002)

For the Chicken and Broth

• 5-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (or 8 chicken thighs, skin removed)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 medium red onion, chopped
• 3 ribs celery, chopped
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
• salt to taste
• pepper to taste
• 3 & 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup apple cider (or apple juice for substitute)

For the Dumplings

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon cold butter
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 2/3 cup milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F for baking.

Assembly

In a Dutch oven (or large, deep, non-stick skillet), brown chicken in olive oil and butter; remove and set aside. In the same pan, combine the onion, celery, parsley, salt and pepper; cook and stir until vegetables are tender. Sprinkle with flour and mix well. Add broth and cider. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Add chicken to Dutch oven (or if you’ve been cooking in a deep skillet, add the chicken to an over-sized, oblong, greased baking dish and cover thoroughly with the cooked, broth mixture), cover and bake at 350 degrees F for 45-50 minutes.

Increase heat to 425 degrees F. For dumplings, combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl; cut in butter until crumbly. Combine the egg and milk; stir into dry ingredients until just moistened. Remove Dutch oven (or baking dish) from oven; drop batter into approximately 12 mounds onto hot broth (mounds should be about the size of your cupped palm). Let the mounds rest where dropped, you do not have to push them down into the broth. Bake, uncovered, at 425 degrees F for 10 minutes. Cover and bake approximately 10 minutes longer or until a toothpick inserted into a dumpling comes out clean.

Yield: Approximately 4-6 servings.

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Tagged as: apple cider chicken and dumplings recipe, biscuit dumplings, chicken and dumplings recipes, comfort food recipes