3 tablespoons unsalted butter

5 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (1 1/2 pounds), cut into 1-inch pieces

Coarse salt and ground pepper

1/2 bunch scallions, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

1 medium green bell pepper, seeded and diced medium

2 celery stalks, diced medium

2 medium carrots, diced medium

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1/4 cup all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)

2 bottles pilsner or another light- or medium-bodied lager (12 ounces each)

1 can (28 ounces) whole peeled tomatoes

1 to 2 tablespoons red-wine vinegar

Cornmeal dumplings

2/3 cup all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)

1/3 cup fine yellow cornmeal

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon coarse salt

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1/2 cup buttermilk

1. In a large Dutch oven or heavy pot with a tightfitting lid, melt 1 tablespoon butter over medium-high heat. Season chicken with salt and pepper, add to pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned on all sides, about 5 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer chicken to a medium bowl. Add 2 tablespoons butter, scallions, bell pepper, celery and carrots to pot. Cook, stirring occasionally, until scallions and celery are soft, about 4 minutes. Stir in thyme and flour and season with salt and pepper; cook 1 minute. Return chicken to pot and whisk in beer. With your hands, roughly tear tomatoes and add to pot along with juices. Bring to a rapid simmer and cook, uncovered, about 30 minutes. Season to taste with vinegar.

2. To make the cornmeal dumpling dough. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cornmeal, baking powder, sugar and coarse salt. Using your fingers, work in unsalted butter until small crumbs form. Stir in buttermilk to form a dough.

3. Reduce heat on the chicken to a medium simmer and drop dough by rounded tablespoons on top of stew. Cover and simmer until dumplings are cooked through, about 7 to 10 minutes.

Ken's Rating: *****

Chalsea's Rating:*****

This was so delicious!!!! And it was perfect because we had a few bottles of beer that kept hanging around in the fridge and I was getting quite sick of rearranging them every time we restocked. You'd think that such a heavy amount of beer as the stock for this stew would be gross...I was worried...but the cornmeal dumplings and the tomatoes seem to give it great balance. HIGHLY recommend trying this recipe. Simple and soooo good.