Chicken and Dumplings + prep for next three days

It's official: school with a capital S has started now that we are in first grade.  There is homework, there needs to be a healthy dinner every night, good breakfast must be served before I'm even really awake every morning, and lunch needs to be packed for two.  It used to be easy for me to browse the markets, examine the veggies, muse on my ingredients and put together a recipe for the blog.  Those were the days...  Now I have less time for shopping, cooking or writing.  So here's the new strategy: shop on Sundays and prep on Mondays for dinners Monday - Thursday.  Let's give it a whirl.

Menu:  Chicken and Dumplings; Pasta and Meat Balls; Miso Black Cod; Easy Coq au vin

Shopping List:  

Whole Chicken

1/2 pound black cod

1 pound ground white meat turkey

2 onions, 4 carrots, 1 bunch celery, pearl onions, 1 cup button mushrooms

a vegetable you like which you can steam to serve with miso cod and rice -- i like bok choy

parsley, thyme, bay leaves, sage

Sake, Mirin, White Miso

1 bottle dry red wine

1 medium jar pasta sauce

corn meal

milk, buttermilk

grated parmesan cheese

From your pantry:

olive oil, salt, pepper, baking powder, baking soda, flour, pasta, rice, chicken stock

Monday Prep:  

Marinate cod in miso:  Combine 2/3 cup miso, 1/3 cup mirin and 1/3 cup sake in a saucepan, mix over medium heat until combined.  Cool completely before adding black cod, which should be cut into 4 equal segments.  Marinate up to three days.

Prepare meat balls:  Follow recipe on post titled "No-fuss Pasta and Meatballs" in July

Marinate chicken legs, thighs and wings for coq au vin:  Cut 1 onion, 2 carrots and 2 stalk celery in 1/4-inch dice.  Add with 1 sprig parsley, 1 sprig thyme, 1 bay leaf, 1 teaspoon peppercorns, 1 teaspoon salt and chicken parts to a large bowl.  Pour a bottle of red wine to submerge the pieces.  Cover and refrigerate.

Monday follow recipe below for chicken and dumplings.

Tuesday put on a pot of water, cook pasta and reheat the meatballs.  Serve with a salad.

Wednesday cook a small pot of rice (I prefer black rice).  Remove the black cod pieces from the miso marinade and wipe most of the marinade off.  Broil, skin side up for 7-8 minutes until cooked through.  Serve over rice with a side of you favorite steamed vegetable.

Thursday recipe for coq au vin will be posted.

Chicken and Dumplings:

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 yellow onion, diced

1 stalk celery, sliced

1 medium carrot, diced

2 sprigs parsley 

1 small bay leaf

1 chicken breast (both halves), cut in bite-size pieces

1/4 cup white wine (optional)

4 cups chicken stock, vegetable stock or water

Dumplings:

1 cup flour

1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon dried herb of your choice, rosemary, basil, sage, thyme (optional)

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 tablespoon olive oil

Heat the oil on medium heat in a 5-quart casserole.  Add the onions, celery and carrots and cook for 3-4 minutes to sweat.  Add the chicken, salt and pepper, raise the heat to medium high and cook until the chicken looks opaque on all sides and all the liquid has evaporated.  The flavors are now concentrated.  Add the wine, if using, and stir to dislodge any stuck bits.  Cook until the liquid evaporates again.  If you're not using wine, simply add the stock or water and scrape up the stuck bits.  Cover and cook for 10 minutes to cook the chicken through and marry the flavors.  Taste and adjust seasoning.

While the chicken is cooking in the stock prepare the dumplings.  Combine dry ingredients, mix in buttermilk and oil just until mixture comes together.  When the chicken is cooked through drop the dumplings, by rounded tablespoons, into the liquid.  Cover and allow the steam to cook and fluff up the dumplings for about five minutes.