Recipe - Nate Pennells Mulligan Stew With Blueberry D

1 3 One half 4 lb. chicken
cut in pieces
1 tablespoon Unsalted butter
1 tablespoon Mild vegetable oil such as
safflower
Salt and fresh ground pepper
2 Bay leaves
4 Fresh thyme sprigs
4 Allspice berries
1 md Rutabaga; peeled
cut in 1/2" cubes
1 lg Potato; peeled
cut in 2" cubes
4 small Carrots; peeled
cut in 1/2" cubes
2 cup Allpurpose flour
1 tablespoon Baking powder
One half teaspoon Baking soda
One fourth teaspoon Freshly grated nutmeg
1 Egg; beaten
3 tablespoon Unsalted butter; melted
2/3 cup Buttermilk
One half cup Wild blueberries
fresh or frozen
or
One fourth cup Golden raisins
coarsely chopped
2 cup Green peas; fresh or frozen
3 small Parsnips; cut in 1/2" cubes

Rinse chicken well and pat it thoroughly dry.

Heat the butter and oil in a large (at least 8 qt.) heavy stockpot or Dutch
oven over mediumhigh heat. When it is hot, add the chicken pieces, season
them generously with salt and pepper, and brown on both sides, seasoning
the other side when you turn the pieces. Brown the chicken in several
batches to avoid crowding the pan, 8 minutes per batch.

Transfer chicken to a plate or bowl, drain off half the fat in the pan, and
then return the chicken to the pan. Add enough water to just cover the
chicken. Then add the herbs and rutabaga. Cover, and leaving the heat at
mediumhigh, bring to a boil. Cook until rutabaga is nearly soft through
but still somewhat crisp, about 10 minutes. Add the potato and the carrots,
cover, and cook until carrots are nearly tender, about 15 minutes.

While the stew is cooking, make the dumpling dough. To do this, sift the
flour, baking powder, 1 tsp. salt, baking soda and nutmeg together into a
mediumsize bowl. Make a well in the middle and add the egg, melted butter
and buttermilk; mix them together in the well with a small whisk, a fork or
your fingers. Working quickly, incorporate the dry ingredients to make a
fairly stiff dough. Fold in the blueberries or raisins.

Adjust the seasoning of the stew and make sure it is boiling merrily; then
stir in the peas and parsnips. Next, one heaping tablespoon at a time, drop
the dumpling dough on top of the stew so the dumplings are not touching.
Cover, and cook just until the dumplings are puffed and cooked through, no
longer than 15 minutes. Check them occasionally to be sure they don't
overcook and become dry.

To serve, cut through the dumplings with a serving spoon, and ladle the
chicken and vegetables into warmed shallow soup bowls (remove the thyme and
bay leaves). Place the dumplings on top; serve immediately.

Pinot Noir goes well with this.

From _Farm House Cookbook_ by Susan Herrmann Loomis. New York: Workman
Publishing Company, Inc., 1991. Pp. 159160. ISBN 0894807722.

From Gemini's MASSIVE MealMaster collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini