Buffalo Chicken Chili with blue cheese cornmeal dumplings

This chili tastes like Buffalo wings, but it's a little better for you.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
2 pounds ground chicken or turkey
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 celery ribs, finely chopped
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 carrot, finely chopped
1 jalapeño, seeded and finely chopped
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 cup chopped cilantro or to taste
6 ounces beer (your favorite brew)
15 oz. can pinto or kidney beans
1/4 cup cayenne pepper hot sauce
One 15-ounce can tomato sauce

Dumplings:
One 8.5-ounce Jiffy-brand corn muffin mix
1/3 cup milk or enough to obtain desired consistency
1 large egg
2 scallions, finely chopped
3/4 cup crumbled blue cheese (about 4 ounces)


1. Heat a medium Dutch oven or large skillet over high heat. Add the olive oil, 1 turn of the pan, and the butter and melt together. Add the chicken and cook, breaking up the meat, for 6 minutes. Add the garlic, celery, onion, carrot and jalapeño. Season with salt, pepper, cumin and cilantro, and cook for 5 minutes. Add the beer and scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Concentrate the flavor of the beer by reducing the mixture over medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the beans, hot sauce and the tomato sauce. Reduce the heat to low and simmer the chili for 15 minutes.
2. Mix the corn muffin mix with the milk and egg. Stir the scallions and the blue cheese into the batter. Drop by large spoonfuls into the simmering chili and continue to cook until dumplings are firm.