Shop Notes:
If you've lived in North Carolina at any point, you have probably seen Anne's Old-Fashioned Flat Dumplings in the freezer section of your local supermarket (truly, they make a fine bowl of chicken and dumplings). This cookbook is both autobiographical and a lovely collection of Southern recipes from Anne herself.
Since chicken dumplings have a very wide regional variance across the United States, an explanation of " flat dumplings" might be needed here to avoid confusion. Where I live in Central North Carolina, "flat dumplings" or just "dumplings" are also called "pastry" two counties over. Furthermore, up North where I grew up, dumplings are often a stiff biscuit dough dropped into a pan of chicken and gravy with vegetables, turning the dough into fluffy biscuity pillows. Anne Grimes' flat dumplings resemble a thick pasta that absorbs just enough broth to be chewy and also thickens the remaining broth enough to make it good for the soul. At the end of the day, don't worry too much, it's all delicious. Just take the bowl, thank the cook, and dig in.
From the Publisher:
Dumplings summon memories of life in an earlier America and so it is with this cookbook. Fans of flat dumplings will love this author's homegrown wisdom, her nostalgic look back at her Southern childhood.
