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1
Chicken: Place chicken pieces into a large pot. Add water, salt and pepper and bay leaf to the chicken pieces, enough to cover the chicken.
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2
Partially cover your pot and cook on medium until tender. Simmer gently, do not allow the pot to boil! The chicken will take 3 or 4 hours. When tender, remove the pieces from the broth, and keep warm.
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3
Gravy: There should be 3-4 cups of broth in the pot. Skim off the fat and measure the broth. For each cup of skimmed broth, mix 1 1/2 teaspoons of the fat with the same amount of flour.
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4
Stir several spoonfuls of the hot broth into the fat-flour mixture, and then pour the mixture back into the broth in the kettle.
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5
Cook the gravy until it is slightly thickened. Add sage, rosemary, and thyme, and salt and pepper to taste.
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6
Dumplings: Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt together. Beat the egg, add the milk to the egg, and mix with the dry ingredients.
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7
Drop by spoonfuls into the simmering chicken gravy, or roll out to a 1/4 inch thickness and cut into 1 inch by 2-inch pieces and drop into the gravy.
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8
Cover tightly and cook for 15 minutes. The cover must NOT be removed, while the dumplings are cooking.
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9
Debone the chicken, add back to pot. Add white wine and Gumbo File (ground sassafras leaves), stir and let heat for 8 minutes.
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10
Serve.
