Fantastic Mr. Fox Dinner

We did a dinner for Fantastic Mr. Fox that ended up being a pre-Thanksgiving celebration with my mother-in-law.  This was one of the best dinners we have ever made!

For dinner we had Boggis' Boiled Chicken and Dumplings, Rabbit's Brussels Sprouts, Brown Sugar Glazed Carrots, Blueberry Patch Blueberries, Beans' Alcoholic Cider, and Mrs. Beans' Nutmeg Ginger Apple Snaps.

Boggis' Chicken and Dumplings
I got this fabulous one pot (though I had to cook the chicken in a pan) recipe from the incomparable Martha Stewart. 

Ingredients:
5 Tablespoons of cold butter, divided
1 yellow onion, minced
2 stalks of celery, sliced
3 carrots, diced
1.25 cups of flour
3 cups of chicken broth
1 pound of boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into one inch cubes
1 Tablespoon of olive oil
1/2 cup of frozen peas
Salt and Pepper
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 Tablespoon of parsley
1/2 cup of whole milk

Directions:
1. Add olive oil to a skillet and cook chicken on medium high heat.  When it's done, set aside.
2. For dumplings: whisk together 1 cup of flour, baking powder, parsley, 1 teaspoon of salt.  Cut in 2 tablespoons of butter and stir in milk.  Knead together to create a dough.  Make balls of dough and set aside. 
2. Melt 3 Tablespoons of butter over medium high heat in a large pot
3. Add onion, celery, and carrots and cook until onion is translucent, about 4 minutes. 
4. Add 1/4 cup of flour and cook for one minute
5. Add broth and bring to a boil
6. Reduce heat and simmer for five minutes. Stir in peas and chicken and season with salt and pepper.
7. Drop in dumplings on top of the chicken mixture. Cover and simmer until dumplings are cooked, about 12 minutes. 
8. Serve in a bowl and enjoy!

Rabbit's Brussels Sprouts
This is a tweaked version of Iron Chef Mario Batali's Brussels Sprout recipe.  He was the voice of Rabbit in the film and made this recipe as an homage to the movie.

Ingredients:
1.5 pounds of Brussels sprouts, halved and trimmed
4 ounces of pancetta, cut with a scissor
Zest of one lemon
Salt and Pepper

Directions;
1. Preheat the broiler
2. In a large pan, cook the pancetta over medium heat, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes
3. Add Brussels sprouts to the pan and stir to combine.
4. Transfer to baking sheet and broil until the vegetables are brown, about 15 minutes
5. Zest a lemon into the bottom of the serving dish and toss Brussels sprouts into a bowl
6. Salt and Pepper to taste

Brown Sugar Glazed Carrots
I used this recipe here.

Ingredients: 
1 16oz bag of baby carrots
1/2 cup of water
1.5 Tablespoons of butter
1.5 Tablespoons of brown sugar
Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions: 
1. Bring carrots, water, butter, and brown sugar to a boil over medium-high heat
2. Turn to low and simmer for five minutes
3. Turn to high and cook until carrots are tender (about 5 more minutes)
4. Remove from heat and season with salt and pepper

Blueberry Patch Blueberries

Beans' Alcoholic Cider
My mother-in-law, Cindy gets the apples from her tree processed into cider.  We used this amazing cider and added whiskey to taste. It was incredible!

Mrs. Beans' Nutmeg Ginger Apple Snaps
I found the recipe for these amazing cookies here.

Ingredients:
1 cup of butter, softened
1 Tablespoon of molasses
3 Tablespoons of brown sugar
1/4 cup of white sugar
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon of ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1 teaspoon of ground ginger
2 Tablespoons of grated fresh ginger
2 cups of flour
1 teaspoon of cornstarch
1 pinch of salt
2 apples

Directions:
1.Preheat oven to 325 degrees
2. Cream the butter in a stand mixer until it forms peaks.
3. Add molasses, brown sugar, white sugar, spices, grated ginger, and vanilla extract and blend.
4. Add flour, cornstarch and salt to the butter mixture on low speed until fully combined.
5. Roll dough into balls and place on a greased baking sheet.
6. Slice apples as thing as you can.  I purchased large apples and had to cut each of the slices into pieces.
7. Place apple pieces into the cookie
8. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes until the edges are golden.

A great dinner for a great movie!