Kitchen Conundrum

Boeuf a la Ficelle (Beef on a String) – French Fridays with Dorie

by

This week’s French Fridays with Dorie recipe is a bit extravagant. Dorie says Boeuf a la Ficelle is her choice for New Year’s Eve dinners. I would have to agree- it’s quite elegant and celebration worthy. Which is perfect as I am celebrating taking a new job. I’ve been home with my little people for nearly five years after working in the tv ad industry for the whole of my adult life. It’s been a truly wonderful, extended sabbatical, I am extremely grateful for the time and experiences I have had,  (I still worked- could never not – designing websites and handling social media for a few small businesses) but it will be fantastic going back to full time out of the house, work. I’ve been waiting for the right opportunity (this one in particular, actually) and am so happy I did, as it finally arrived.  When I met Dorie a few months ago and we talked about the job I wanted, she had a saying for being unemployed-  “in between chairs” and now, I thrilled to say, I have a chair again!

So we are celebrating with a bottle of wine, and this lovely filet with vegetables and broth.

The dish takes quite a bit of time to prepare. But it is so worth it! First you make the bouillon, which is a beef stock accented with vegetables. According to the recipe, the bouillon takes an hour or so to make. However, we wanted more than just bouillon and wanted to have more of a flavorful stock so we made it the traditional way- roasting the bones in the oven and simmering for eight hours (or overnight as we did). This long, slow simmer really extracts all of the flavors from the bones, vegetables and herbs. The result is a deeply infused bouillon.

Next, a melody of  vegetables- carrots, turnips,  potatoes, leeks and shallots- are cooked in the broth and set aside while you make the filet.  The filet is tied with butchers string leaving a long loop of string so you can easily lower the meat into the boiling liquid and remove it minutes later.  It emerges from the pot quite bleu (rare), but with a douse of hot broth, it cooks even a bit more in the “soup”. Any reservations about poaching the filet that I had was quickly extinguished with the first bite. Everyone, including the kids (even the picky one!)  loved it.

It’s a hearty, rich dish, soothing with it’s broth, luxurious with the filet and very fulfilling with the vegetables. A perfect celebratory meal.  We served it with a warm, fresh baguette which we used to soak up every last bit of broth.  A dollop of horseradish sauce (or mustard) and a sprinkle of fleur de sel is all it needed!

Beouf a la Ficelle-2

I also found this terrific interview with Dorie discussing this very dish… check it out!

While I cannot share the actual recipe, you can (and should!) buy the book and cook along with us. It’s great fun! Every Friday we make a new recipe. Looking forward to next weeks! For details and to see how others are recreating the dishes from this awesome book, check out the FFWD site.

Buy the book:

greenspan

frenchfridayswithdorie16

 

 

Chicken and Dumplings Recipe

by

Chicken and Dumplings-2510It’s near 20 degrees in NYC today and the girls and I spent the day in the city at a blogging holiday party. We had tons of fun and afterwards, we wandered up Fifth Avenue to check out the holiday windows of the large department stores. They are always so lovely! But sadly, the cold was just too much for us and we had to call it quits before we turned into ice pops.

We made our way back to Penn Station and headed home shivering the entire time!

The best cure for cold weather is serious comfort food. Knowing that we are having roast turkey and mashed potatoes later in the week, we opted for a stew instead. But I didn’t want beef. Chicken and Dumplings seemed to be the perfect next choice and it was!

My aunt, in North Carolina, made the best Chicken and Dumplings growing up. She is a real down home, Southern kind of a lady and makes everyone feel welcome the moment they arrive, sweet tea in hand. Not only was her fried chicken the best, but the homemade bacon that they cured in their smokehouse was out of this world and I have never had better. But the real treat was her Chicken & Dumplings.  I remember how she rolled out her dumplings thin and cut them like pasta rather than dropping balls of dough by spoonfuls into a boiling cauldron of chicken stock. The result was a hearty stew with bite fulls of dense, dough, creamy sauce and chunks of herbed chicken. A very filling and a very comforting bowl.

I don’t have her recipe but I’ve been making them this way for years and they are reminiscent of the ones she made. I may not remember or know if they are as good as hers, but my family loves them and a 6.3 quart French Oven yielded just enough tonight that there was only one small bowl left over. But next time, I’ll have to make more dumplings- because that’s the first thing to go as everyone spoons them out of the pot and it’s good to have some leftover because  the dish is always better the next day!

Chicken and Dumplings Recipe
 
Print
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Chicken and Dumplings
Serves: 6-8
Ingredients
For the Stock:
  • 1 3-4lb Whole Chicken ((You can use ¼'s or ⅛'s as well))
  • 2 stalks Celery (Chopped in large chunks)
  • 2 large Carrots (Chopped in large chunks)
  • 1 medium Onion (Diced)
  • 2 Bay Leaves
  • 2 sprigs Thyme (Leave whole)
  • 2 sprigs Rosemary (Leave whole)
  • 2 sprigs Sage (Leave whole)
  • 3 cloves Garlic (Finely chopped)
  • Salt and Pepper (To Taste)
  • Water (To Cover)
For the Dumplings:
  • 3 cups Self Rising Flour
  • 1½ cup Chicken Stock (Use the just made stock)
Method
  1. For the Stock. In a large pot (I used a 6.3 French Oven) over high heat, add the chicken, herbs and chopped vegetables. Add enough water to cover and submerge the chicken. Bring to a boil and lower the flame to medium-low heat and simmer for an hour and a half or until the chicken is fork tender. At this point, remove the whole chicken from the broth and set it aside to cool. Leave the broth on the low flame to continue simmering.
  2. Once you are able to touch the chicken, go ahead and remove the meat from the bones. Set aside the meat and discard the carcass.
  3. From the broth, remove the stems and stalks of the herbs. If you want, you can now also skim the top of the broth to remove any impurities. Add salt and pepper to taste.
  4. For the dumplings. Remove 1½ cups of stock from the pot and set aside to cool. In a large bowl, add the self-rising flour* and the stock. With a fork or your hands, knead the liquid into the flour to form a dough. Continue kneading until all the flour is incorporated. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and roll the dough out with a rolling pin until it's about ¼" thick. Cut the dough into 2" squares with a knife.
  5. Turn up the heat on the stock and once it is boiling, drop the squares of dumplings into the pot, stirring so they do not stick together.
  6. Return the chicken pieces to the pot and stir to combine. Continue cooking for another 5-8 minutes until the dumplings are cooked through and the stock has thickened some.**
  7. Serve in large bowls.
Notes
* Self Rising Flour- If you don't have, you can make your own. For every 1 cup of ap flour add 1½ teaspoons Baking Powder and ¼ teaspoon Salt and mix well.

** If your sauce is not as thick as you would like, in a separate bowl, make a slurry consisting of 2 teaspoons Corn Starch and a 2 tablespoons of Stock. Mix well to remove any lumps and add this mixture back to your stock which should continue boiling for another minute or so. Keep stirring to combine. Lower the flame back to a simmer and the sauce will become thicker as it continues to cook.

 

Chicken and Dumplings-2502

Enjoy and Stay Warm!