The recipes included are universally appealing, not in a way that made me think “Oh, I’d love to make that someday,” but in a way that made me add three recipes to my weekly menu after only 20 minutes flipping through the book. The fact that the food is simple but also interesting makes it easy to visualize incorporating into your everyday routine. Recipes such as Tartiflette Muffins, Onion Creme Brulee, and Cassoulet Soup with Duck-and-Sausage Dumplings are examples of the hearty, soul-warming food in this book that will probably be on my dinner menu soon. There are plenty of lighter, more elegant recipes that caught my eye as well – Champagne Sabayon with Strawberries and Cherry Tomatoes, Rosemary, Lavender, and Chevre Fougasse, and Cherry-Tomato Vanilla Jam are a few. In general, there’s a nice balance.

Book Club: The Little Paris Kitchen // Chicken Dumpling Soup

To test out the food, I started with two recipes – a roast vegetable salad with goat cheese mousse, and a chicken-dumpling soup. The dumplings, also called quenelles, are made from ground chicken, soft white bread, and cream, and are then simmered for just a few minutes in a pot of chicken broth. The only other ingredients are a handful of just-cooked carrots and mushrooms and a sprinkling of fresh parsley. The result is a lovely bowl of super-comforting soup filled with soft, fluffy, deeply savory dumplings, the kind of soup that you wish someone would make for you every time you’re feeling down. It reminded me of matzoh-ball soup, but richer and more chicken.

Book Club: The Little Paris Kitchen // Chicken Dumpling Soup

Chicken Dumpling Soup

Serves 4.

  • 6 1/2 c. chicken stock
  • 2 large carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
  • 7 oz boneless skinless chicken breast or ground chicken
  • 3 1/2 oz. white bread, no crusts (I used burger rolls)
  • 6 1/2 TBS of half and half
  • 1 egg plus 1 egg yolk
  • 1 tsp salt
  • a pinch of pepper
  • a pinch of nutmeg
  • 5 button mushrooms, thinly sliced
  • 1/2 bunch of fresh parsley, leaves roughly chopped
  1. Bring the chicken stock and chopped carrots to a boil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Boil for 10 minutes, or until carrots are tender.
  2. In a blender, combine the chicken, bread, half and half, egg, egg yolk, salt, pepper and nutmeg, and blend until you have a smooth and sticky paste. Use a spoon to form the paste into dumplings of about 2 TBS apiece, and drop the dumplings into the boiling broth. Cook the dumplings for 4 minutes, stirring occasionally, then add the mushrooms and cook for 1 minute longer. Check the inside of a dumpling just to make sure it is cooked all the way through. Serve the soup immediately, with a generous sprinkling of chopped parsley stirred in.

Dining and Cooking