The Chicken and Dumpling Sundae

Is it a sundae? "No." Is it Chicken and Dumplings? "N0." IT'S A CHICKEN AND DUMPLING SUNDAE! Eat this and prepare to be spoiled rotten by the ultimate comfort food. During the winter months, I'm all in to the one-pot wonder meals. This Chicken and Dumpling recipe is rich, warm, creamy, chunky, savory and simple. Hold the applause for the fantastic plating and presentation. (Actually, this came out of necessity due to picky eaters.)

The Chicken and Dumpling Sundae

4 boneless chicken breast

32 oz less sodium chicken broth

5 garlic cloves

4 carrots, cut in to chunks

1/2 onion, grated

1 tablespoon McCormick's Worcestershire pepper

1 tablespoon butter

juice of 1 lemon

4 cups hot water with 1 tablespoon chicken soup base

3 tablespoon flour

1/2 cup half-n-half

Dumplings

2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

salt to taste

2 tablespoons melted butter

1 cup milk

1 teaspoon sugar

(1) Bring chicken broth, water and chicken soup base to a rolling simmer. (2) Add Chicken and garlic, poach until cooked thoroughly. Cool chicken and slice. Remove garlic and smash and return to broth (3) Add chicken, carrots, grated onion and simmer until carrots are cooked. (4) Add pepper, grated onion, butter and lemon juice. (5) Mix the flour and half-n-half and add the broth to thicken. (6) Gently mix all dumpling ingredients and form small dumplings. Drop in simmering broth and cover. (7) Cook dumpling for 15 to 20 minutes. No Peeking!!

Some recipes are worth repeating and I guarantee this is one of those. This will be on your menu time and time again. Of course, you don't have to serve this Chicken and Dumplings in a sundae cup. I did this for my nieces and nephews. For your ladies luncheon, ladle it in to soup bowls and sprinkle with fresh parsley. I have served this with a white wine fruit Sangria, a loaf of fresh baked bread and homemade butter to rave reviews.

It's okay. Admit it, you want your Chicken and Dumplings served in a sundae cup!!!

Explosively Colorful Couscous in a Edible Pepper Bowl

I got a call yesterday from a friend of my Mother's. Would I help her with a luncheon that she would be having at her home? Of course, I was ecstatic about this event, because it is my undying dream to own a small cafe and cater small affairs like this one. She wanted the menu to be light and healthy, but unique in it's presentation. I immediately went to my kitchen and got busy.

This was my moment and I stared eagerly at my pantry. My eyes scanned and my mind started developing the menu. I came across a box of Couscous and knew that I wanted to include this in the luncheon menu.

Couscous is one of those deliciously versatile ingredients that can be served as a side dish, a salad, a main course and EVEN a dessert. Depending on your recipe, it can be sweet, savory, spicy, or (heck) all of the above. One big problem with Couscous is the presentation! It can be colorful, robust and dense in flavor, but served in a bowl it really isn't a "sight to behold." That brings me to the "Edible Pepper Bowl."

Explosively Colorful Couscous in a Edible Pepper Bowl

1 box Couscous, flavor of your choice

2 cups vegetable broth

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/2 cup matchstick carrots

1 cup chopped broccoli

1 cup chopped cauliflower

1 cup mushrooms

1 can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed

1 small cucumber, diced

6 oz feta cheese, crumbled

juice of 1/2 lime

fresh cilantro

salt and pepper to taste

4 fresh yellow peppers

Prepare couscous according to directions. Bring a small pan of water to a boil and add carrots, broccoli, and cauliflower and cook until crisp tender. Remove to a bowl of ice water, cool and drain. Saute mushrooms until they are golden brown. Add couscous, all veggies, beans, and cucumber and gently mix. Add feta cheese, juice of the lime, cilantro to your taste (I use a lot because this is my favorite herb), salt and pepper. Cut each pepper in half and remove seeds. Mound the couscous in the small edible pepper bowls and garnish with additional cilantro. To serve, drizzle with a small amount of olive oil.

I am definitely going to serve these with a side of soup. To make the soup presentation unique, I am bringing out my collection of small coffee cups ( I have about one hundred.) Considering that my recipe collection does includes about a million soup recipes, I better get busy figuring out what soup would be perfect with this couscous!