Every once in a while we all need comfort food, and when that happens, I make chicken dumpling soup. It's not only the bowl of warm, delicious chicken soup filled with cheery vegetables and soft little dumplings, although that is wonderful. It's also the soothing process of being in the kitchen, the heart of the house, going through the familiar process of chopping carrots and leeks, kneading together flour and eggs and butter, stirring the pot and knowing with absolute certainty that no matter what, within the hour you and your loved ones are going to be tucking into that first spoonful. Cooking is comfort.