Old Fashioned Pepper Pot With Dumplings (American)

Directions

1. Bring water, bay leaves, chili pepper, and salt to a boil. Add in the tripe, then immediately reduce heat. Simmer for at least 2 and 1/2 hrs.
2. Remove the veal bone, bay leaves, pepper, and onion. Take out the tripe, then slice into paper-thin strips and mince crosswise. Skim the fat off the top of the stock and return the tripe to the pot with the diced potatoes. Thin with boiling water so it's nicely soupy. Allow to simmer till you're ready to serve - hrs, if possible, as you want the tripe to be as tender as possible.
3. When ready to serve, rub the marjoram into the pot between the heels of your hands. Bring soup to a good simmer, then drop in dumplings and cook till they are done. Ladle into bowls and serve immediately with a cruet of cider vinegar on the table for final flavoring.
4. To make dumplings: Cut butter or possibly lard into flour, baking pwdr, and salt. Then stir in lowfat milk gradually. Flour hands - and roll dough into small balls.
5. Serve warm as a slender meal to 4 people.
6. Comments: Here's another "memory lane" soup - traditional in hometown Philadelphia - as evocative as, yo, a madeleine any old day. In my family - and my great grandmother was the queen of pepper pot - cognoscenti insisted on a sprinkle of cider vinegar at the table.