I check the kitchen. I am confident I can oblige, not with the typical Southern-style flat-dough-noodle-clear-broth kid bait that worked me over as a child (sorry, Gramommy), but with a new spontaneously iron-cheffed version based around the limited stock involved in my Tuesday night fridge situation.
In said fridge I find...
+ 3 skinless chicken thighs + self-rising flour + half a bunch of dill + eggs + 2% milk + whipped cream cheese + 1 Spanish onion
I decide to work up something I've never tried before, which is my own version of a knedlach, just like the ones I was completely obsessed over when I studied in Vienna. Quicker than my G-mommy's flat dough noodles but less time consuming and equally impressive.
First I chop the onion and fry it up in some olive oil in a smallish stock pot. I add the chicken thighs, salt and pepper and give'em 5 minutes to brown before adding water to cover, bringing it to the boil and then lowering the heat to poach the chicken and develop a broth.
4 cups of the self-rising flour go into a large mixing bowl with a healthy shaking of sea salt and white pepper in addition to the finely chopped half bunch of fresh dill. I heat 1.5 cups of milk and the small tub of whipped cream cheese on the stove until melted, then I stir the hot mixture into the flour. At this point it should still be a bit dry. Beat 2 eggs very well with a fork and then add them to the dough and stir a bit to combine. Turn the dough onto a floured board and work it a teensy bit but NOT TOO MUCH. I rolled dough chunks into long "snakes" and then cut the "snakes" into equal pieces. There ya go. Boil the dumplins (knedumps? dumplachs?) in salted water and drain.
By now those chicken thighs should be broken down and the broth should have luscious schmaltz pooling on its surface. Try and spear a whole thigh, break it up into pieces in a bowl, throw out the bone and add some dumplins. Ladle some of the broth on top. Kids will run from down the street to accost you and steal your dinner.
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