We Can Do Dumplings!

I was recently the joyous recipient of a cookbook titled Rosie's Riveting Recipes, a collection of WWII-era recipes.  This is pretty neat.  There's something about that era that really appeals to me-- the can-do spirit and patriotism, maybe, or that balance between the modern era and traditional values…  There's something about the home front that I really think I wouldn't mind experiencing.  And at this point, I think we know I love a cookbook under any circumstances.

I got excited about the following recipe, and my husband agreed that it would be a good dinner.


Saucy Cheese Dumplings
3 Tbsp bacon fat (or butter)
3 Tbsp chopped onion
3 Tbsp flour
3 C canned tomatoes
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 tsp pepper
2 C flour
1 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 C crisco
2/3 C milk
2/3 C grated cheese


Begin by melting the fat, browning the onion, and making a roux with the 3 Tbsp flour in a large pot.  The width of the pot isn't an issue; the sauce doesn't need to be deep.  Add the tomatoes and juice, breaking them up as you do.  Mix well and bring to a boil.  Add water if needed to achieve and keep a sauce consistency.

Mix flour, salt, and baking powder.  Add 2 Tbsp of the cheese, followed by the crisco.  Blend thoroughly, a bit like pie dough.  Add milk, and knead into a ball.  Roll out (a bit like pie dough) to 1/8-inch thickness and cut into ~3-inch rounds.  Wet the rounds with cold water, then place a Tablespoon or so of cheese into the center of the rounds and pinch to seal shut.

Drop the stuffed dumplings into the boiling sauce.  Cover tightly and steam for 15 minutes without lifting the cover.  Serve hot.

Well, these were a learning experience for me.  I added above that the depth of the sauce isn't an issue. Dumplings steam, so they don't have to be in the sauce the whole time.  The sauce just needs to maintain a simmer.  I didn't use a big pot, thinking I should keep it deep enough to submerge everything.  Turns out, dumplings also expand, and my poor husband was left trying to shove the lid shut as dumplings tried to defy the laws of physics and forced the sauce out over the rim of the pot.

I also thought rounds weren't the best choice.  I had a lot of scraps (which I steamed along with the dumplings), and I had trouble getting the rounds to seal around the cheese, and wound up shorting the cheese.  That was a bummer.  It seems to me that squares would be easier to seal with more cheese in them.  

But they were DELICIOUS!  I used 4 C home-canned, whole-packed tomatoes for this, which was a wonderful choice.  They taste so much better than-store bought tomatoes (which I do also enjoy).  It's hard for me to put in words exactly the difference.  Earthier and more mellow, perhaps?  They really made the recipe for my husband and I, but I imagine it would be yummy either way.  If you use store-bought canned tomatoes, you may need to chop them before adding them; home-canned tomatoes are pretty tender, too, and easily mashed.

I also love the texture of dumplings.  These are nice and light (even if you spent the whole time shoving them down).  The cheese was also a great treat, even though I shorted it.  It would have been preferable, I reckon, to have more cheese, but life goes on.  

The dish was filling as well as tasty, and we had plenty of leftovers.  This is certainly a make-again recipe!