Denise Landis
Denise Landis is the founder and editor in chief of The Cook's Cook. She tested recipes for the New York Times for over 25 years.
Photo credit: DepositPhotos

Adapted from the recipe for Chicken and Pepper Dumplings in Nathalie Dupree’s cookbook New Southern Cooking (Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. ©1986)
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp fresh ground pepper
- ¼ cup shortening
- ⅓ cup milk
Preparation
Combine the flour, baking powder, salt and pepper. Cut in the shortening with a knife or pastry blander until it resembles coarse meal. Add the milk until a soft dough is formed. Drop spoonfuls of dough on the top of your chili or soup. Cover, and simmer on low heat for 10 minutes.
Denise Landis had been employed as an archeologist for seven years before a food editor hired her to test some recipes from a cookbook manuscript. This short stint led to longer assignments, and two years later she began testing recipes for the New York Times. She has been a professional recipe tester and editor for over 25 years, is the author of a New York Times cookbook, and has written for numerous publications. She is a member of the New England Chapter of Les Dames d’ Escoffier.
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