Grandma Ford's Chicken and Dumplings

Grandma Ford's Chicken and Dumplings

It's cold, really cold. And nothing will warm you up like home-cooking! I'm going to give you my memories of Grandma Ford's dumplings, but I know my parents, sister, aunt and cousins (and probably even more extended family and friends) all have recollections of Barb's dumplings. And I encourage anyone with memories, to PLEASE add them to the comments below! This is a lengthy post, so bear with me :) It's worth it!

Nothing warms your heart, and tummy, like
Grandma Ford's dumplings

My dad seems to think that the dumpling recipe was handed down by Great-Grandma Ford, but I have to think my Grandma Barb perfected it. Dumplings were a tradition at almost every holiday - we didn't discriminate - Christmas, Easter, 4th of July, birthdays...any occasion was an occasion for dumplings. In fact, Grandma was so well-known for them, she was even commissioned to do large church events and fundraisers, over-seeing the production of a whole mess of them.

Grandma taught all of us at one time or another how to make dumplings, she made it a point. It was something that she could pass down, and she was proud of that...and her dumplings. Even Grandpa was a student at some point, and he got pretty good at it. She'd first tell you, "you have to start with a good, fatty chicken." And over time she realized that today's chickens were nothing like those from the farm years ago, so she got to the point where her local butcher would have to save some "good fat" for her in order to get a great end result.

We all craved them, and they were always the highlight of any Ford family gathering. It was always the first question asked, too: "Well, is Grandma making dumplings?" The answer might determine if you showed up for dinner or not!

I probably have 1000 memories tied to Grandma Ford's dumplings, but my favorite are just of her - working on them in the kitchen, and the satisfaction she got out of having her family there to enjoy them. Making this brings all the memories back, it's like getting a hug from heaven...in a bowl. Love and miss you Grandma!

*Note - this "recipe" is an approximation game and depends on how many you're making! Getting it right takes time, and practice.

**Great tips:

1. You can freeze the dough ahead of time (my family has even cut the dumplings in advance and frozen them on cookie sheets)
2. Our new tradition is using the leftover Thanksgiving turkey, drippings and meat to make dumplings

Grandma Ford's Chicken and Dumplings

(the recipe below serves about 6 adults, plus seconds, because everyone will want them. adjust the proportions to make more or less as needed)

1 Fatty chicken (4-5lbs)
Water (8-10+ cups to cover chicken)
2-3 Cups flour
2 eggs
Salt and Pepper

Plan to cook your chicken in advance, you'll need the stock for the dumpling dough. Season your fatty chicken with the salt and pepper, place in large stock pot (the oblong one we use is a family favorite and vintage, Aunt Debbie has made sure we all find one to love). Cover the chicken with water and boil ~90 minutes to cook through. Remove chicken from the stock. Set aside to cool - also allow stock to cool slightly. 

Once the stock temperature has reduced to where you can touch it (and not burn yourself), you're ready to make the dumpling dough. You have two options, make the dough in a bowl, or, on a flat surface where you can work to roll out the dough. Measure out your flour, add a Tsp of salt and Tsp pepper (it's to taste really, and you can certainly season afterwards, so go easy); create a well in the middle and crack your eggs in the well. Using your hands/fingers begin to mix the eggs into the flour. 

After initial mixing, you can slowly start to add in the stock - careful not to scramble the eggs! This is a combination of enough premixing and being sure your stock has cooled enough. Add the stock 1/2 Cup at a time, working it into the flour/egg mixture until a true dough forms. You will know when it is done when you have a slightly tacky ball of dough - something my Grandma taught me, and the "touch" you'll have to learn as you go. If you add too much stock, just add a bit more flour. Once your dough is mixed and slightly tacky to the touch, go ahead and turn up the heat on your stock (you can add more water or canned stock if needed).

Then...get rolling! Flour your rolling surface and work on one 3-4" ball of dough at a time. You can vary the thickness of the dumplings as you like, and cut out the squares. Grandma used a knife, but I've found a pizza cutter does awesome! Drop the dumplings in one at a time to avoid sticking and getting a huge ball of gooey dough. The dumplings will drop to the bottom, and eventually float. Put the lid on and let them cook for 45-60 minutes (if your pot is really full, it could take longer. One must know trick, do NOT stir them! 

Once they drop back down....they're done! Serve hot with chicken on the side (now Barb always served the chicken on the side, divided white and dark, but some like to add it back in - your choice).

Grandma Barb would be so proud of you :)

A few simple dry ingredients

Make a well, add eggs

Careful when adding the warm stock, don't scramble your eggs!

Bring your stock back to a boil

Work quickly to avoid sticking

Drop them in one at a time, quickly!

Hmmm, no room for dropping back down in this full pot!

You can peek, but don't stir!

DID YOU TRY IT? LET US KNOW!! LEAVE A COMMENT, 

WE WANT TO KNOW WHAT YOU THINK!

HAVE A STORY TO SHARE ABOUT GRANDMA FORD'S DUMPLINGS? OR YOUR
FAMILY STORY AROUND A SIMILAR DISH? PLEASE SHARE IN TH COMMENTS!!!

30+ Years of Jane's Sugar Cookies

Jane's Sugar Cookies - by Jane Ford

In 1980 my sister, Sandy Parker, gave me a cookbook* from her sister-in-law’s church. The cookbook was called Church Mission Cook Book and contained recipes from the women of the St. John Lutheran Church of Sparta, IL. The cookbook was a fundraiser this church did to help sponsor their missionary fund.

In this book were several cookie recipes that I have used ever since, including this one. The sugar cookie recipe happens to be from Christa Parker, Sandy’s sister-in-law. I can bake these cookies by heart because I have been making them for almost every holiday or special occasion over the past 32 years. Aunt’s Jane’s cookies have always been a hit with nieces, nephews, my daughters’ friends, and now the children of those who loved them growing up.  Every Halloween, Christmas, Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, Easter…..you have the picture, there would be a big serving platter with decorated cookies on it.

I have even made them for a few weddings to put on the snack tables. For one wedding, I made about 800 small heart cookies….now that was a lot of cookies! And, it took 3 batches of dough to boot! People will say to me, ‘That’s too much trouble.’ But, really it isn’t and just knowing how good they are with all that butter in them makes it worth it anyway!

My decorating isn’t the best. I do not do fancy by any means. I simply spread the icing on the cookies and then add colored sugar or other small candies depending on the cookie. 

The icing recipe was given to me by my mother, Lula Heape. I do not know for sure from whom she got it, but it is simple to make and good on these cookies. When using the decorator icing, one thing to note is that it takes about 12 hours for it to dry enough to be able to stack the cookies without them sticking together. 

*Side note from Jenny - check out the last photo on the post, you'll notice that the cookbook my mom mentioned above no longer has a spine. It is held together by a large rubber band, and love :)

Sugar Cookies

The latest batch - Lula's 2nd Birthday, Crown Cookies

Church Mission Cook Book, Sparta, IL

Recipe entered by Christa Parker

5-5 ½ cups flour

2 tsps baking powder

1 tsp salt

3 sticks room temperature butter (no substitutions)

2 cups sugar

4 eggs…room temperature if possible

1 tsp vanilla or 2 Tbls grated orange rind

Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. Cream butter; add sugar little at a time and beat on high until light and fluffy. Blend in eggs one at a time and then add vanilla or orange rind. Add dry ingredients; mix well. Chill dough in refrigerator several hours or overnight. Roll dough out on lightly floured area to desired thickness. Cut with favorite cookie cutters. Place on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake at 350* for 8-10 minutes depending on your oven. Cool completely before icing.  Makes about 5-6 dozen cookies with medium-sized cookie cutters.

Basic ingredient make the best cookies :)

Start with a small ball of dough...

Roll out to about 1/4 inch thickness.
This can vary based on how you like them,
thin and crisp, or thick and dense.

Choose your cutter, the smaller the design the more cookies you get!

After baking, allow to cool before icing.

Bake 'em!

Decorator Icing

1 ½ cups Crisco

2 lbs. powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

½ tsp salt

1 egg white

½ cup milk 

Beat on high for 6 minutes.

Can be kept in refrigerator 3 weeks or can be frozen for use later. Adding liquid or paste color is no problem.

Line them up, and start icing!

Enlist help to ice them!

The well-love recipe!

Home-made Ice Cream!

Home-Made Ice Cream - A Heape Family Favorite circa 1961

It is HOT. I don't even think that describes it adequately - we need another word for it. Like, cantankerous. Which by definition means "difficult or irritating to deal with." So this weather is cantankerous! It sounds so much more dramatic than just plain, old hot; and no, I have no idea if this is grammatically correct, but I am too hot to care.

So - that being said...due to the cantankerous heat wave, I decided last week to make my mother's home-made ice cream. Traditional vanilla - cool, smooth and refreshing! This recipe, I learned, has been used since the mid-20th century - starting with my Grandma Lula.

Although my grandmother's twin, Luther, had a hand-cranked machine, my mother and aunts remember being lucky to have an electric one (probably from Tru-Value, where grandma worked for years). The recipe, we believe, originated in a Better Homes and Gardens cookbook, but we're unsure of the original publication date. When my parents were married, my mom received the 1972 version and began using it going forward since it was virtually identical - and that is pretty much the recipe we have below.

Over the years home-made ice cream became a regular favorite for birthdays and special occassions. Both my grandma Lula and my father's parents enjoyed the tradition of making it on a hot day...even for no reason at all. Grandma Barb always wanted my mom to make it - "she makes it the best," grandma Barb would say!

Vanilla Ice Cream

4 quart recipe                          6 quart recipe

4 eggs                                         6 eggs

2 1/2 c sugar                              3 3/4 c sugar

5 c milk                                      7 1/2 c milk

2 c half&half                              3 1/2 c half&half

3 c heavy cream                         4 c heavy cream

2 1/2 TBLS vanilla                      4 1/2 TBLS vanilla

1/2 tsp salt                                 3/4 tsp salt

2-3 bags 7# ice

ice cream salt

Beat eggs till really light. Add sugar gradually, beating till thick. Add remaining ingredients; mix well. (Eggs could take several minutes to get light. All of the liquid may not go into the mixer bowl so after transferring it to the freezer, add what you have left and stir before freezing.)

This recipe is for a 4-6qt freezer.

Put container in with lid and motor on first. Then begin alternating layers of ice and salt. After first layer of each, you can turn the motor on. Be generous with the salt. As the ice melts, add more, of course. If you are churning this outside, the humidity and temperature will effect how long it takes. It could be anywhere between 20-40 minutes. When it is finished, take the paddle out. Then you can either put the container in the freezer, or, you can drain some of the salt water off and 'pack' the bucket by adding additional ice to the bucket then cover it with a towel or rug. 

 So I totally FAIL on photos of the canister and paddles as I was starting the freezing process...and during the freezing process. But what's really important? The outcome, right? It was delicious!

When the ice cream is done, it is soft serve - just put it
in the freezer if you want it thicker!

DID YOU MAKE IT? LET US KNOW WHAT YOU THOUGHT BELOW!!