Yosemite Chicken Stew and Dumplings

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Yosemite is one of the most beautiful places to go in the world. The Awahnee is an historical hotel built in 1929.

Yosemite Chicken Stew and Dumplings

This dish uses skinless chicken and low fat dumplings.

Stew:

1 pound skinless, boneless chicken meat, cut into 1 inch pieces
1/2 cup onion, coarsely chopped
1 stalk celery, thinly sliced
1/4 teaspoon salt
black pepper, to taste
1 pinch ground cloves
1 bay leaf
3 cups water
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 package (10 oz.) frozen peas

Dumplings:

1 cup yellow cornmeal
3/4 cup sifted all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoons salt
1 cup low-fat (1%) milk
1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Making the stew:

Place chicken, onion, carrot, celery, salt, pepper, cloves, bay leaf and water in a large saucepan. Heat to boiling, cover and reduce heat to simmer. Cook about 1/2 hour or until chicken is tender.

Remove chicken and vegetables from broth. Strain broth.

Skim fat from broth; measure and, if necessary, add water to make 3 cups liquid.

Mix cornstarch with 1 cup cooled broth by shaking vigorously in a jar with a tight fitting lid. Pour into saucepan with remaining both; cook stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil and is thickened.

Add basil, peas, and reserved vegetables to sauce; stir to combine.

Add chicken and heat slowly to boiling while preparing cornmeal dumplings.

For the Dumplings:

Sift together cornmeal, flour, baking powder, and salt into a large mixing bowl.

Mix together milk an and oil. Add milk mixture all at once to dry ingredients; stir just enough to moisten flour and evenly distribute liquid. Dough will be soft.

Drop by full tablespoons on top of braised meat or stew. Cover tightly; heat to boiling. Reduce heat (do not lift cover) to simmering an d stream about 20 minutes.

Yield: 6 servings Serving size 1 1/4 cup stew and two dumplings.