Chicken and dumplings... Fresh collards.. Black eye peas and corn bread

[TuscaloosaQ]

Well it aint Bbq but it is what i had for New Year's Eve...seriously.. You could offer me the best or supposedly the best food in the country and i would take this over it everyday... Grew. Up on it and love it.....

Well i grow my own greens... And grow more than i can use bit give plenty away... The remains will be tilled into the ground this spring for natural fertilizer.. Here we go... I planted sho-goin turnip greens... Purple top which will produce big turnip bottoms.. And the dark plants are collards



Collards in the sink... I take a sharp knife and run down each side and get the big stim out... Was until water is clear





Next in a pot i boil pork neck bones... A couple beef cubes... Add a little bacon grease.. And at the end some little smokies.... Also salt and pepper





This is not coffee... Doesn't everyone keep a can of bacon grease in the cabinet!!!!!











Ok the greens are going.. Also added a whole onion cubed





Now the dumplings from scratch
Here is a photo of the recipe... It was my x sister- in law... She was beautiful but had a head full of snakes... But also a good recipe.. You can make more dumplings than this calls for and roll out as you like...












This is the chicken before it was strained and deboned...






The chicken ready for deboning... It takes just over an hour to cook chicken for deboning






Dumplings going for a swim





All i can say is cook them to your liking and consistancy





The peas are ready... Added a little ham... Some little smokies... An onion.. A tad of bacon grease..






Wow!! The chicken and dumplings are ready too





Cornbread is done... This is thinner than i was raised on.. But got the recipe from a guy at work who's mama makes it... I like it too





All plated up... I have to have a plug of raw onion with most any vegetable.. Would be in american not... Least wise we do it like this in Alabama... Now folks this is southern food... Do not knock it till u try it
The collards had several frost on them... This makes them mo better!!!! Sharon is from Ohio and never at this kind of food but loves it... It is all in the way you season stuff in my opinion... My mom lived to be 90 eating this... It was the bacon grease that kept her going. !!!!!







Got to have black pepper on them dumplings





Random pics from our farm at thanksgiving...we celebrate thanksgiving and Christmas together... With all 58 of us... This way kids can be home at Christmas
We have been doing this for 35 years.. The farm has been in the family over a hundred years and was not burned during the civil war... Much history on this place



The building on the right is the old smokehouse.. The one on the left is where my dad and some other kids went to school... In the 1920,s






The old outhouse they were rich .. It was a 3 seater









The house





My brothers and sisters.. My oldest sister was not there due to health issues
All three of my brothers were combat veterans and were gone all at one time
My poor mamma and daddy were tough... I am in the Alabama shirt the brother by me was a high school all american in football and was a redshirt Freshman on Alabama 1961 National championship team
... My brother on the far left was combat wounded twice as a marine... My momma and daddy was so worried when he came home... He was different... But today he owns his own accounting firm.. The brother beside me became a partner with price Waterhouse.. The other brother became a machinist and cabinet maker... My sister has done well too .. Both of them.. My mammals biggest wish was for us to continue the teadition








The front of the farm







Another look






The barn in this pic me and my brothers built in the early 80s






Me... Tyler Stephen... Sharon and Ashley







One of the buildings we are restoring .. The old blacksmith shop we bought a sawmill for this purpose... The cedar came off the property .. Tons of downed trees from storms





Old barns




Got these pics a few minutes ago ... Today while i am at the refinery Sharon is at the farm with my brother...

Sharon in the stand



Watching the field






Deer came out we do not shot small bucks are young deer... Well the young hunters get a couple of buys






70#s of boudin from Jerry Lees from a customer.. Also 10 #s of hog head cheese
This stuff is unreal



This was a long post hope the recipe helps someone...

 

[16Adams]

That was a great walk and glimpse of your life. Thanks for sharing.

 

[bluetang]

Great share there Brother T! Chicken n dumplings can't be beat.

 

[dwfisk]

Thanks for sharing. That meal should pretty much guarantee good luck in the coming year; y'all sure covered all the bases:clap2:

 

[Hoss]

Now THAT is some fine lookin vittles!!! Enjoyed seeing the pics of your family and "The Farm" too! Happy New Year! God Bless.

 

[Pitmaster T]

I love the dumplin's recipe and GLAD you are representing TRUE dumplins - which are rolled. Dropped dumplins are damn good to but are more correctly called chicken and biscuits.

I don't know why but I never have cheesecloth on hand but totally get the peppercorn flavor I bet is awesfirstome.

This is so very close to my grnadmothers but she chopped celery in there. I have since change a few things. I spatch cock and roast a chicken in my cast iron pot on 400 with onions and celery and even carrots, then simmer... makes a chicken stock I prefer. I will then remove all the veggies and chicken, debone, throw away the veggies and chop up new celery for the dumplin boil. The large bones went back in to keep the dumplins from sticking (which will be important when I am finished).

I am so proud you did this pictorial. Lots of people need to learn this. Oh, another thing. My grandmother's first dough ball was made into a lid sized large dumplin that she cit a few slits into and peppered. The smaller dumplins went in first and once we could make sure the dumplins were not sticking (remember the bones on the bottom) she would plop that big assed dumplin on top to press them down as they cooked.

Thanks so much for posting this. A piece of the the BIG dumplin was a much sought after part of the plate.

 

[Pitmaster T]

You know... I have to go on about this some more. This reminds me of a "Mississippi Plate" my grandmother used to refer to. I bet its called a Alabama plate but really its just a farmer's plate. You will notice meat is used for flavoring instead of being the front seat.

One of the most labor intensive charity cooks I ever did was the Netti Plate. Lots of good slow cooked veggies and I think I gave a plop of pork roast. I was never so tired. Lots of work but VERY satisfying.

The Nettie plate is on this post near the bottom.

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showpost.php?p=2105994&postcount=38

Kinda funny as Wampus gets all pissed at me on this thread.

Thanks TuscaloosaQ

 

[TuscaloosaQ]

PitmasterT... Thx and you are correct...
Some of the young guys at work said their wives make dumplings out of tortilla .. Or canned biscuits.. I said Whaaaaat that aint dumplings... That is of the devil...
Chicken and dumplings are awesome..... My mamma made them thicker... And my dad liked them tough.... I think in Northern States they make chicken and dumplings with noodles...
Not knocking it guys.. Aint no doubt i would eat it... But in the South we just do it different...

 

[chicagokp]

Wow! Great pics and thanks for the dumplin recipe. I love good southern cooking!

 

[Bludawg]

Thanks TQ for the recipe and sharing your family. Ya'll eat like royalty, that is one of my favorite comfort meals too.

 

[Pitmaster T]

PitmasterT... Thx and you are correct...
Some of the young guys at work said their wives make dumplings out of tortilla .. Or canned biscuits.. I said Whaaaaat that aint dumplings... That is of the devil...
Chicken and dumplings are awesome..... My mamma made them thicker... And my dad liked them tough.... I think in Northern States they make chicken and dumplings with noodles...
Not knocking it guys.. Aint no doubt i would eat it... But in the Aouth we just do it different...

There is something more... and I am sort of misty here. Whose hands are those holding the dumplins?

 

[TuscaloosaQ]

There is something more... and I am sort of misty here. Whose hands are those holding the dumplins?

I see did not look like a welders hand... It was



Very Very keen eye you have there sir

 

[Guest]

If that ain't comfort food, than I don't know what is. Jerry Lee's is good stuff.

Thanks for posting. Happy new year!

 

[Pitmaster T]

I see did not look like a welders hand... It was



Very Very keen eye you have there sir

Who is this?

 

[charlie d]

Great post TQ. Roll Tide, good luck tonight.

 

[Norm]

Good post, thanks for sharing your family with us.

 

[mytmouz]

Nice work!

 

[sbramm]

great pics and am gonna have to try the rolled dumplings you and T have done. only ever done drop dumplings, but these look awesome!

 

[TuscaloosaQ]

Who is this?

That is Sharon my wife...

 

[Pitmaster T]

Well I will go on. I suppose it is someone special connected to the family - which is why this photo

Means the world to me personally. I speaks volumes. I hate to break character but I have to elaborate.

You see when I was a young one I was of course a boy and boys stayed out of the kitchen. My sisters were twins and in the era of the 1970s there was a bit of a conflict about where "women" were supposed to actually be. My sisters loved their Mamaw but really did not like to cook. My mother made them cook as a chore because my dad and her were teachers so it was their job.

Thus I sat outside the small kitchen (Mamaw built and owned the Pino Alto apartmentsbut lived there too) she made the dumplins in. I did get to roll... and if I took it seriously enough I could watch Mamaw drop my little dumplins I rolled myself. She had such a sweet voice. She always hummed Amazing Grace - which is why we named our new daughter Olivia Grace - because my Mamaw's first name was Olivia and she sang that song.

Anyway.... thing stick in people's minds. Her hands did when she held the dumplins just like that. I remembered looking at the remnants of flour on her hands. I noted how old they were. I noted how young and soft and little my hands were next to hers... and I remember just how warm her hands were when she took a dumplin out of my hands and dropped it to protect me.

I am a very sensitive person to those types of things - it is what makes many of us great cooks... the details. Everytime I experienced the dumplins being made I thought back at those times and always watched the hands that were making the dumplins. I remember after my grandmother passed in 1977, my mother tried so hard to do it. She thought it would cheer him up. I remember looking at her hands... and noticing my hands were larger than before. I was still too young to cook, though.

The dumplins were never right though... I remember disappointment that my sisters (who never liked being in the kitchen anyway) could not make the dumplins to my satisfaction.


Fast forward to 1979.... I am cooking now. Dad is still not really over his mother's passing. I am at the stage where I am mixing up the dough. You see... I was able to pick up every nuance of my grandmother's dumplins from outside her little kitchen when I was only 5 or 6 years old... and retain it.

My father commented the recipe was lost and would never be found - almost angry that I would try. But then he heard me humming Amazing Grace and sat down. He Never sat down - ever... the guy was a welding teacher, auto body teacher, electronics - and had an air conditioning business. He just never sat down. He watched as I talked about how I remembered Mamaw's hands and her arms.... LOL those loose flappy arms our Mississippi grandma's get (she was from Laurel). I told him she used to tell the girls the secret was not to mix the dough too thoroughly - just to sticking together point and use REAL cold buttermilk. Mom never did that...nor did mom or my sisters remember that you use the fat you skim off the top of the stock to replace the lard.

So the moment came.... my hands.............. helping my father's hands dropping the dumplins. You almost have to have two people for this. Only you my friend would know what a contrast that is. You remember your son Tyler's hands no doubt? And your hands after years of welding? My father got excited - telling me or rather reminding me about the bug dumplin to weight the dumplins down and gleefully made up one.

That day, Mamaw's dumplins were restored. My father and I connected over food - which was interesting because we never got to connect over welding.... dad would say he taught kids all day so why would he want to teach me. Don't worry I am over that as he speaks to me when I weld today... mostly telling me what ****ty work I do. :loco:

But back to your picture of those hands.... holding tender dumplins and dusted in flour. Over the years I have put in my memory all sorts of hands as they make dumplins. My mother's have grow to look like my Mamaw's and I NEVER thought that would happen. It makes me realize the mortality of us all. As do I when I look at my hands these days... much older - with scars to boot. And the tender hands of my sons.

So.......... this photo of whoever's hand they are.................. should be turned into a painting.