This is a delicious spin on chicken and dumplings, a classic comfort food, that I made for my friend Kim. It takes a Spanish angle — with chorizo, saffron and sherry — and instead of a traditional dumpling, uses my favorite Jiffy cornbread for a topping, which made this almost like a pot pie. The chicken dish itself is thick and hearty, with lots of yummy mushrooms, onion, garlic and thyme, and it was great reheated for leftovers. Credit goes to Rachael Ray for the recipe.

TW’s Tips

• I’m a mushroom lover, so I threw in more than the recipe called for
• I actually used vegetable stock (homemade of course) instead of chicken for this — still delish
• Careful when choosing the chorizo, especially on the West Coast — you want Spanish chorizo, not Mexican, which is uncooked. If you can’t find Spanish chorizo, use linguica or a chicken sausage (spicy is best). The key is that it isn’t crumbly. You should be able to slice through it and keep it intact.

Spanish-Style Chicken & Dumplings

Ingredients

• 1 quart chicken stock
• 2 pinches saffron
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 3/4 pound chorizo, casings remove and chopped or crumbled
• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breast tenders, diced
• 3/4 pound medium to large white mushrooms, quartered
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 to 3 large cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 bay leaf, fresh or dried
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme leaves
• 2 rounded tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/3 to 1/2 cup dry sherry
• 1 small box biscuit mix or mix to prepare 8 drop biscuits, prepared to package directions, (recommended: Jiffy)
• 1/4 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 1 teaspoon paprika

Directions

In a small sauce pot combine the stock and saffron, bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer to allow the saffron to steep.

In a large deep skillet with a lid or a Dutch oven heat extra-virgin olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the chorizo and render and brown for 2 minutes, then add the chicken and lightly brown. Stir in the mushrooms, onions and garlic as you chop them and add the bay leaves, salt and pepper, to taste, and thyme. Put a lid on the pot and increase the heat to high for 5 minutes to soften the vegetables. Stir in the flour, add the sherry and stir a minute more, then add the saffron broth.

While vegetables soften, put the biscuit mix in a bowl and stir in the parsley and paprika. Add the liquids to package directions for the biscuits.

Drop 8 small mounds of biscuit dough onto the surface of the chicken and sauce. Cover with tight fitting lid and cook for 5 to 6 minutes.

Ladle into shallow serving bowls and serve.