Dumplings
- to go with chicken, turkey or anything else with juice leftover
Aunt Nell
Measure, then sift 3 times:
1 cup cake flour
2 teaspoons double-acting baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
break into a measuring cup 1 egg then fill to half cup with milk or buttermilk (buttermilk is better but not necessary)
roll out and let rest for 20 minutes.
Cut into strips and drop into the stock. Continue doing this until the dumplings are barely touching. Then cover them and simmer for 5 minutes, turn them, cook them 5 minutes longer. They should be served at once.
About Dumplings: The secret of making light dumplings is to keep them steaming on top of the simmering liquid. And be sure the temperature of the stock, gravy or water in which you are cooking them never goes higher than a simmer. Most dumplings are bound together by egg, and the problem in the egg must not be allowed to toughen. Use ample liquid in a wide-topped cooking vessel, giving each ball or drop a chance to expand. Never crowd the pan. The minute the batter is floating in the liquid cover the pot, so the steam can begin functioning. Do not lift the lid until the dumpling is done. This is not as hard to do as it sounds if you cover the pan with a tight-fitting heat-resistant glass pie pan or lid, so you can watch the swelling of the batter. When the dumplings look fluffy test them for doneness, as you would a cake, by inserting a toothpick. If it comes out clean, the dumplings are done.