Back in October, Delta Faucet invited a few food and DIY bloggers to Birmingham, Alabama to tour the Southern Living Magazine Test Kitchen and hang out with Test Kitchen Director Robby Melvin. Ummm….hello!
We spent some time in the Southern Living Test Kitchen with Robby Melvin and his team. They are responsible to creating, testing and ensuring that the recipes that come out of the Test Kitchen are fool-proof and perfect. As you would expect, the recipes are tested over and over again and go through an entire process of cross-testing. They are then taste tested and critiqued over and over until they have passed rigorous standards in taste, ease of preparation, appearance, texture, etc.
And of course, they are working several months ahead and when we were there they were working on their Spring recipes. We were able to watch and participate in one of their taste testing sessions with the Southern Living Test Kitchen team. It was a fun experience to sit among them and I can’t wait for the recipes we tested to come out in the Southern Living Magazine!
We were also given a tour of the Photography Studio where all the food photography for the magazine happens. And the prop room…you guys…the PROPS!! I need a prop room. These are just a few of the pictures I took of this amazing room.
The Southern Living Building is hidden away in a forest of trees in this beautiful setting…and the building is practically all windows. It’s beautiful and full of amazing natural light…which is perfect for taking amazing food photography. I need more windows!
And this atrium…can you imagine eating lunch here on your lunch break everyday?
Now…this trip was not all work (hehe)…we did take a little bit of time to play and we were able to visit the Birmingham Botanical Gardens. We were given a personal tour of the Gardens and the surrounding buildings. It was amazing and totally free! If you haven’t been there…you should go!
Delta also gave each of us our very own Delta® Touch2O Technology Faucet. I know!! I absolutely love it. The whole family does and it is quite the attraction when a visitor comes into our home.
Now, I am a Western girl…born and raised. I LOVED getting a taste of some real Southern food. We ate biscuits and grits and had some amazing BBQ from Saw’s BBQ! I realized I have been missing out! The only “Southern” food that we eat at our house is corn bread and my Grandmother’s Dumplings…and that needs to be remedied stat. I thought I would share Grandma’s Dumpling recipe with you today.
We make these Dumplings for our Chicken Noodle Soup in place of the homemade noodles sometimes. The whole family LOVES these dumplings and I love them because they remind me of my Dad’s Mom, Grandma Donna. The Chicken Noodle Soup, homemade noodles and the dumplings are the only recipes I have of hers.
Dumpling Recipe
1.5 to 2 cups of Flour (dough should be a little sticky)
2 tsp. Baking Powder
1/2 tsp. Salt
1 tsp. Parsley, finely chopped (or dried)
1 Egg (slightly beaten)
1/2 cup Milk
2 Tbsp. Shortening, melted
Combine dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Cut in egg, butter and shortening with a pastry cutter. Makes a moist, slightly sticky batter. Grab a small teaspoon full of dough and roll into a ball. Drop one by one into soup. Be sure to drop one at a time so they dumplings don’t end up in one big clump. Cook in soup for about 20 minutes until thoroughly cooked. (If cooking in a crock pot you may need up to an hour depending on the temperature and your crock pot).
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Mique says
It looks absolutely beautiful Amy- what an amazing trip! And I LOVE dumplings. I need to make these asap!
Kristyn says
Looks like a great event, and the recipe looks delicious. Pinned!
Amy says
Thank you Kristyn! It was a lot of fun!
laura says
Directions say to Cut in egg, butter and shortening. Butter is not listed on the ingredients list. is the amount of shortening correct? how much butter? Did you mean to write Cut in egg, milk and shortening? I’m ready to add the dumplings to my soup so this is urgent.