Ras-el-hanout and Cottage-fried potatoes

I am back, still with a bajillion things I want to try. Two new foods tonight, though one won't be posted right now. But anyhoo... I at some point and for some unknown reason decided to cook chicken and turned to TasteSpotting for inspiration. I came across this man's recipe for (previously unheard of) ras-el-hanout. It sounded like a tasty spice combination and I've never tried anything Moroccan before. I too chose to rub the ras-el-hanout on chicken thighs, which I have never cooked with before.. Come to think of it, I'm not sure I'd had a chicken thigh before tonight; I'm a breast girl. At the grocery store and driving home, I had all sorts of ambitious plans, but after prepping tea eggs (more on these later) and the chicken, I decided to go with an old favorite from the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook we got for the wedding - cottage-fried potatoes. They are simple and easy, but I find potatoes don't need a lot of pizazz to taste delicious.

Cottage-Fried Potatoes:
3 medium potatoes, thinly sliced. (peeled or unpeeled... I leave them with the peel)
2-4 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium onion
3 tbsp butter

Melt the butter in a large skillet; add garlic and heat for 15 seconds. Layer the potatoes and onions in the pan, add salt and pepper every few layers.


Pretty layers, right? I usually cut the onion into thin rings, but for some reason did not this time. It doesn't matter. Cook, covered, over medium heat, STIRRING OCCASIONALLY. Not only do you not want the bottom to burn, but you also want to make sure all potatoes have a wee bit of butter and that they cook evenly. After 8 minutes of covered cooking, uncover and cook for 15 minutes or until all of the potatoes look thoroughly cooked. Some of the potato slices will crumble. That's alright; it adds variety. And extra deliciousness.


Ready for the chicken? I bet you are...

Ras-el-hanout
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon cayenne (I would advise using less - like 1/4 tsp)
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

4 chicken thighs or whatever else you want to spread the mix on.

Combine all the spices in a bowl. You can keep the skin on the chicken or remove it. I removed the skin from 2 thighs and left skin on the other two. Hubby ate the skin; I did not. Rub the mix onto your meat; I probably rubbed in a bit too much. Bake at 350F for 30-45 minutes. Tada! It's super easy.


The chicken received mixed reactions. Hubby loved it; I thought the cayenne dominated the flavor and prevented me from tasting anything. I feel like some activating ingredient is missing that would really bring out all of the flavors that went into the rub. I'm not sure what could do that though. Sad. I'll probably make this again, tweaking the recipe.

Tea eggs coming soon!