Dumplings In Soup

Adding dumplings to soup is easy and makes it oh so good!

Soup is what you should make when you need to clean out your fridge in preparation for your Thanksgiving Feast. And, adding dumplings will make your soup extra special.

Drop dumplings couldn't be easier and besides adding fluffy goodness to your soup, they add a creamy richness to the broth.

Last night I made a quick soup using leftover chicken, carrots, onion, celery and kale and my family didn't even for a second think that I cleaned out the fridge because the dumplings made it soooo much better.

Before: Soup without dumplings.

After: Soup with dumplings. The dumplings add a creamy richness to the broth.

Here's the recipe:

Drop Dumplings
(Note: The recipe calls for shortening but you could also use olive oil)

1 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4  teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons shortening
3/4 cup milk

Sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Cut in the shorting. Add milk stirring only until blended.

Drop by tablespoons into simmering hot soup. Cook 10 minutes uncovered and then cook 10 minutes covered. 

Turkey Sugar Cookie Video

Here's a quick video to show you how to create the turkey sugar cookies in my November 11, 2012 post.

Getting Creative

Both guests and volunteers at the Wednesday Community Meal loved these cheesy pigs in a blanket. Yum!

It was one of those days at the Wednesday Community Meal when we needed to use some creativity to make a little of this and a little of that go a long way.

From Good Samaritan Hospital our gleaners had brought us large containers of soup, a tray of Spanish rice, three trays of enchiladas, a large container of plain rice, a tray of sweet and sour shrimp and chicken, a small pan of spare ribs, a small pan of a vegetarian tofu and garbanzo bean dish and a small pan of peas and carrots— wonderful food but not enough to feed the more than 250 guests we were anticipating.

Fortunately we had shredded cheese, refried beans, diced tomatoes and tortilla chips in the pantry so using the rice, we were able to make five hotel pans of a layered Mexican casserole. We of course added seasoning - chili powder, cumin, garlic and salt - and in the end made a tasty and homey dish that our guests loved. After all, who doesn't like a cheesy casserole topped with crushed tortilla chips?

We also had nearly 60 all-beef hotdogs left over from the week before so I made a gigantic batch of cheesy focaccia dough (I multiplied the recipe by 16) so we could wrap the hotdogs in the dough and make pigs in a blanket. And with the extra dough we made rolls that we could serve as a side.

Thankfully volunteer Kate brought in some beautiful tender skinned yellow potatoes from her garden which we roasted with diced onion until they were golden brown. We served the potatoes as a side when the rolls were gone.

Our roasted potatoes made with home grown yellow potatoes and diced onion, tossed in olive oil and seasoned with salt, black pepper, garlic, and Italian herbs.

In the end we served 263 meals and had just enough for everyone.

Here is the focaccia recipe we used for the pigs in a blanket. In the past I've made crescent dough for the pigs in a blanket but this recipe is easier and the cheese adds a nice touch.

 Cheesy Focaccia Dough
1 package active dry yeast
1 cup warm water
2 tablespoons sugar
31/2 to 4 cups flour
1 Kosher salt
1/4 cup olive oil
2/3 cup shredded sharp cheese

In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Add the sugar and let set for 5 minutes until the yeast begins to bubble. Add the salt and olive oil. Mix well.

Finally, add the cheese and flour, 1 cup at a time until a soft dough forms. Knead the dough four 5 to 10 minutes until it is smooth and elastic. Cover the dough and let it rise until double in bulk, about 1 hour.

To make the pigs in a blanket, divide the dough in thirds. Roll each third into a large rectangle that is about 8 x 12 inches. Cut the dough into long strips and roll each strip around a hot dog. Set the wrapped hotdogs on a sheetpan to rise for 30 minutes.

Bake at 400 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes until golden brown.

Dinosaur Sugar Cookies

My daughter Eleanor suggested I buy this dinosaur cookie cutter and I'm glad she did because I love these cookies. Just two icing colors are needed to make this simple design.

Prepare two colors of royal icing - one for the body and one for the details. Both icings should be flood consistency and be fitted with a  #1 pastry tip. I use this smaller tip because of the small face and narrow tail of the cookie.

Outline the dinosaur.

Fill the outline with more royal icing. I use a skewer to ease the icing towards the edge.

While the base icing is still wet, use your other color of royal icing to drop different sized dots along the dinosaur's back and add a small dot for the eye.

That's all there is to it. If you notice, the tails of the dinosaurs are positioned differently. Before baking the cookies, you can gently shape them to get the look you want.

Turkey Sugar Cookies

Here are my finished turkey cookies. I used the brushed embroidery technique to add the feather details. It took me a while to figure out a design that would add dimension to a pretty nondescript cookie cutter but it was worth the time and effort. I really like how these turkeys turned out.

Here's how to decorate them:

Flood the cookies with white royal icing and let it dry completely before moving onto the next step.

With black royal icing that is piping consistency, outline the tips of the feathers on the back of the turkey.

Use a damp brush to pull in the black icing. Be sure to wipe your brush off every now and then. Add grey feathers and use the brush to pull that icing in as well. Finally pipe white lines on top of the back feathers.

Keep working until all of your cookies are finished up to this point.

Add three rows of lower front feathers in black and gray and rows of top feathers in gray.

Add feet and a beak with orange royal icing that is piping consistency.

Outline the turkey's head and wattle with red royal icing and use a brush to pull it inward and fill in the outline. Be sure to leave an open spot for the eye. To give the eye a raised look, pipe a white dot and then pipe the black eye on top.

Turkey Cookies Are Coming

I'm getting set to decorate turkey cookies for Thanksgiving.

The undecorated cookies look like pale blobs but hopefully with some creative decorating they'll come to life. I wish I could have found a cookie cutter with more detail but I'm up for the challenge.

I've been sketching and trying to figure out a design.

 

Stay tuned.....

Pie Day

Pear Raspberry Pie from Baker & Spice Bakery.

Beautiful whole pies ready for slicing.

Thanks to the generosity of Baker & Spice Bakery (6330 Southwest Capitol Highway, Portland, Oregon) our guests at the Wednesday Community Meal got an extra special treat for dessert today - fresh pear raspberry pie.

The independently owned bakery is so kind to donate to our program and the pie couldn't have been better. The filling was made with local pears and raspberries and the all butter crust was flaky and light. What a treat!

In addition to the pie, we served pigs 'n' a blanket. Instead of the usual crescent dough wrapping, we made a homemade cheesy focaccia dough which turned out great. The focaccia was so cheesy and delicious that no condiments were needed.

We also served bowls of steaming hot soup, a Waldorf inspired salad made with apples, celery and grapes and crispy roasted potatoes.

In the end we served 235 meals and made a lot of hungry people happy.