The Unexpected Tourist
My mother is an unexpected tourist in this life, and I, an unexpected guide. For a series of reasons that are far more Thelma and Louise than an 86 year old should be able to pull off, I have her here in my care. I must admit it is challenging but after a day of head spinning chaos, I reminded myself of what I do know, and that is how to mother. So we are on a schedule; there is a bed time and meals and snacks. I made chocolate chip cookies earlier today and suggested they might be nice with tea before bed. She scowled. “No,” she said. “Before bed have a cracker or water.” It was then that what I had long suspected to be true was confirmed. Mom has a rather Dickensian relationship with food. I mentioned that her cracker idea sounded rather prison forward and she let me know that when you are married you just have a cracker and go to bed……………
I let her know that she was not making a case for getting married, like ever, and also recognized it explained so many many things about myself.
To keep a woman with Alzheimers busy is key. Otherwise there is a never ending obsession with the curtains, or lack of curtains, and the lights and the bathroom and the spot of peanut butter on my shirt, that I got by the way, because she insisted we have peanut butter, and and and and and and and. So we decided to make soup. I reached into Thomas Kellers Ad Hoc at Home cookbook and found the perfect chicken and dumpling soup. Together we roasted chicken and taught ourselves how to make dumplings with a pate a choux. We made roux and sauted onion, leeks, carrots, and celery while we talked about my grandfather. She remembers him. She remembers the smells and his request for a little more onion and a little less celery in the thanksgiving stuffing. She sang the songs he would sing my grandmother while she was diligently watching the dumplings rise to the top of the pot when they were done. “They’re ready!”, she would exclaim, “but wait.. this ones not, no it is, no its not”….. I am learning to breathe, take asprin, get up early, plan ahead and pray. I am requiring myself to stand in the window facing east over the creek and light a candle each morning and say thank you. God you know the rest.
This is a halfway light and dark is coming fast. At night she lays in bed and holds my hand and talks to Dad. She said through tears in her sleep that she did not know what she was doing here. Mom is still at the garden gate waiting for him to come and take her along the path. When he left this plain she said she felt like if she held his hand tightly or kissed him long enough he would just take her too, but they came and got him and she had to stay. So while we wait, we are going to cook. We are going to make things that smell like childhood and invite guests to hear the stories. This is what I have to offer. This is all I know.
Recipe from Thomas Keller’s Ad Hoc at Home / Photo Styled by Mom
The Broth
Ingredients
1 tablespoon (1/2 ounce) unsalted butter
1 cup thinly sliced carrots
1 cup coarsely chopped celery
1 cup coarsely chopped onion
1 cup coarsely chopped leeks
Kosher salt
Directions
Melt the butter in a 8-10 quart stockpot over medium heat. Add the carrots, celery, onions and leeks then season with salt and pepper. Cover with parchment lid and reduce the heat to low and cook very slowly, stirring occasionally for 30-25 minutes until the vegetables are tender. Rove and discord parchment lid.
The Dumplings
Ingredients
1/2 cup water
4 tablespoons (2 ounces) unsalted butter
11/2 teaspoons kosher salt
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon minced chives
4 quarts Chicken Stock
5 stalks celery
3 large carrots
1 teaspoon honey
1 bay leaf
2 thyme sprigs
1 large garlic clove, crushed, skin left on
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup (about 4 ounces) Roux (see below)
2 cups cooked shredded chicken (dark or white meat)
1/4 cup minced chives
1 tablespoon champagne vinegar
Flat-leaf parsley leaves
Now Make The Dumplings
Fill a wide deep pot with salted water and bring to a simmer. Set up a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.
Combine the water, butter, and 1 teaspoon of the salt in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium, add the flour all at once, and stir rapidly with a stiff heatproof or wooden spoon until the dough pulls away from the sides of the pan and the bottom of the pan is clean. The dough should be glossy and smooth, but still moist; enough moisture must evaporate from the dough to allow it to absorb more fat when the eggs are added.
Continue to stir for 4 to 5 minutes, adjusting the heat as necessary to prevent the dough from coloring; a thin coating of dough will form on the bottom and sides of the pan. When enough moisture has evaporated, steam will rise from the dough and the nutty aroma of cooked flour will be noticeable.
Immediately transfer the dough to the mixer bowl. Add the mustard and the remaining teaspoon of salt and mix for a few seconds to incorporate the ingredients and release some of the heat. With the mixer on the lowest speed, add the eggs one at a time, beating until the first egg is completely incorporated before adding the second and incorporating it. Then add the chives and incorporate. Remove the bowl from the mixer.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Shape the dumplings using two soupspoons to make a quenelle shape (see Note), dropping them into the simmering water. Cook the dumplings in batches of about 6 to avoid crowding the pot and allow them to cook evenly.
Once the dumplings rise to the surface, it will take about 5 minutes for them to cook; remove one and break it open to make sure it is cooked. With a slotted spoon, transfer the dumplings to the baking sheet, and cook the remaining dumplings. (You will have about 18 dumplings.)
Once the dumplings have cooled, trim any uneven edges with scissors.
Finish The Soup
Add the chicken stock to the vegetables and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 30 minutes, then strain the soup base into another pot and discard the vegetables.
Peel the celery stalks with a peeler. Cut each stalk crosswise on the diagonal into thin slices about 1 1/2 inches long. As you get to the wider lower part of the stalk, adjust the angle of your knife to keep the pieces relatively the same size. You need about 1 1/2 cups celery for this recipe (reserve any extra for another use). Cook the celery in a large pot of boiling salted water until just tender.
Drain, cool in an ice bath, and drain again.
Cut the carrots lengthwise into quarters and then crosswise into bite-sized pieces. As each carrot widens, adjust the size of the cut to keep the pieces bite sized. You need about 1 1/2 cups carrots for this recipe (reserve any extra for another use). Put the carrots in a saucepan, add the honey, bay leaf, thyme, garlic, and a pinch of salt and pepper, and cover with cold water.
Bring to a simmer and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, or until the carrots are tender but slightly resistant to the tooth. Drain and transfer to paper towels.
Bring the soup base to a simmer and whisk in the roux a little at a time until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon; you may not use all the roux. Simmer for 30 minutes, skimming often—this is necessary to remove all impurities from the roux. (The soup will continue to thicken as it simmers.)
Add the dumplings, chicken, carrots, celery, and chives to the soup and heat through. Season with the vinegar and salt and pepper to taste. Transfer to a large serving bowl and sprinkle with parsley leaves.
Notes
To form a three-sided quenelle using two soup spoons, start by using one spoon to scoop up a portion of dough that is slightly smaller than the bowl of the spoon. Hold the second spoon in your other hand, place the side of the spoon against the far side of the dough, and scoop it onto the second spoon, forming one smooth long side.
Continue transferring the dough between the spoons until you have the desired oval football shape. (With practice, this should take no more than three transfers, but it may require more when you are first getting started.)
Before you begin, set up a container of hot water in which to regularly dip the spoons—this will make it easier to form the quenelles.
Roux (Makes 2/3 cup)
8 tablespoons (1 stick; 4 ounces) unsalted butter
1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Keller uses a roux, the traditional thickener made by cooking equal parts by weight butter and flour, for sauces and other dishes. For the smoothest sauces, add room-temperature or cold roux to a simmering liquid, or add cold liquid to a hot roux, to prevent the roux from seizing up.Put the butter in a small skillet or saucepan and set it over medium heat. When it is almost melted, whisk in the flour and cook, whisking constantly and adjusting the heat as necessary so the roux bubbles but does not brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a bowl or other container to cool, then store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.