Pantry staples... spice blend

Salamwalikoum,
It's been a while since I last posted something... Hope everyone is still alive and kicking. It's been crazy for me as usual. I thought I would start off with something way simple: my go to spice blend. I found this spice blend online on a site that shares "secret recipes". So this spice mix was listed as the KFC secret spices. I did omit one or two things to make is a bit more general and also so it appeals a bit more to my husband's taste.

I really like this blend, I've tried it on beef, chicken and lamb and it works great with all of them so far. I also use this to make home-made shake and bake(add bread crumbs) or use it to make a roux(add flour) for gravy. O.K.,so enough gushing about the recipe. Here goes!

Ingredients:
1 tbsp Rosemary
1 tbsp Oregano
1 tbsp Sage
1 tsp Ginger
1 tsp Marjoram
1 1/2 tsp thyme
3 tbsp dried Parsley
1 tsp pepper
1 tbsp paprika
2 tbsp garlic powder
2 tbsp onion salt or powder
2 tbsp or 4 cubes (crushed) either chicken or beef bouillon.

Directions:
Put all the spices in a blender and pulse a few seconds.

To cook a whole chicken you only need about 1 tsp of the spices.
When I make fried chicken I usually put 1 heaping tbsp of spice mix with 1 cup of flour and this is more than enough for a whole chicken.

I usually make up a double batch of this at a time. It keeps really well in a spice jar of plastic container.

So there you have it, Enjoy!

till next time!

Morroccan recipe... Chicken Pastilla

Salamwalikoum,

Wow! long time no blog....It's been a very long time since my last post. As they say, time flys when your running around like a crazy fool having fun  ... So anyhoo, in all the excitement of my dad's birthday party last weekend I forgot to post my next recipe. So today I will be showing you how to make chicken pastilla.

This recipe is a traditional morrocan dish that is made during special occasions like weddings. It's a bit more time consuming than most of the other wedding dishes but I personally think it is probably the yummiest I have tried so far.

Ok so let's get down to business.
Ingredients:
1 whole Chicken
2 onions chopped
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1tsp salt
saffron
sprig fresh cilantro
toasted almonds
sugar (yes, you read that right)
phyllo dough
powder sugar
5-4 eggs

Directions:
In a large stock pot, boil the chicken with the spices and the onions until thoroughly cooked.

Remove the chicken from the pot and let cool.

Once the chicken is cooled, de-boned and shredded- set aside.

Now strain the solids from the sauce, like so:

Once the sauce is separated return the broth to the pot and boil until it's reduced enough to get thicker and richer.

With the onion add the eggs and cook like scrambled eggs.

Set aside the egg mixture and the reduced sauce.

The last thing left to prepare before assembling the pastilla is the almond mixture.

In a food processor combine the toasted almonds with a bit of cinnamon and powdered sugar. This is really to taste depending on each cooks' preference.

Chop coarsely.

Now that all these steps are done, here comes the easy part!

To assemble simply layer 

sheet of phyllo

almonds

phyllo

chicken and a bit of sauce

phyllo

eggs

phyllo

almonds

and finally more phyllo dough to make the surface smooth.

I made my pastillas into little packages, but they can also be layered like you would lasagna in a dish.

Just before baking in the oven brush the tops with a bit of egg yolk.

Bake in the oven at 350F until the pastry is golden and crispy.

Just before serving sprinkle with a bit of cinnamon and powdered sugar. And enjoy!

Now as I do with almost all of my recipes.... I forgot to take a picture of the final product... I guess I'm still getting into the habit of having to pause and take a picture every step of the way.

I will eventually wrap my head around the concept and get some pics for you guys. In the mean time, bon appetit!

Until next time

Rebecca