Roasted Chicken with Moroccan Spices & Sauteed Vegetables

Roasted Chicken with Moroccan Spices &

Sauteed Vegetables

 

This is probably the most exciting and wild blog I have written about as of yet! It was so random, and so unorganized, yet the end result was more than I could have hoped for, and then some. I don't know why, but my house always is a hub for friends stopping through town. OK, I know why. It's because my apartment and rooftop are to die for, but anyways, I knew I had friends coming in to town for a show they were playing at the Independent Theater in San Francisco. 

My good friend from high school has done some big things, and is currently traveling around with his friend Austin as a duo group called Supreme Cuts. If you haven't heard of them, you are behind the times my friend. Please please please check out their music. They are amazing. And on top of that, my best guy friend in the entire world, Jimmy Fargo, is their tour manager. Double whammy! Supreme Cuts are currently on a West Coast tour with the band Polica, and were coming through San Francisco to play a sold out show. I happily took them in, and started thinking up recipes to make them a home cooked meal. Life on the road can leave you with a lot of junk food meals, so I was happy to have them. Obviously, it is a pleasure of mine to cook for friends and family.

I was first thinking I would make soup, and then I decided French Onion Soup. Then my mom suggested roasting a whole chicken, which I've never done before, and that sounded good. But I still wanted to make the French Onion Soup, so I decided the chicken could wait. Once I got to the grocery store, though, I completely forgot, and had already had the butcher wrap up a whole 5 pound chicken when I realized I wanted to make soup. WOOOOPS. I wasn't going to be rude about it and send the wrapped chicken back, so Roasted Chicken it was. I didn't have a recipe, but figured I could find one when I got home. Tyler Florence's book Real Kitchen had a great Moroccan chicken recipe, so I was sold.

I also knew that I wanted to make a lot of vegetables, because I assumed the boys hadn't been eating a lot on the road. I figured a simple butter saute would suffice for them. Cheesy polenta would be a perfect starchy side to finish up the meal. 

All was going well, until I got home and got a phone call from Jimmy, informing me that they had to be in Oakland working in the studio with two up and coming rappers named Main Attrakionz. I was pretty bummed at this point, because I had bought all of the ingredients and was so excited to cook for them, and started thinking it just wasn't going to happen. I was already well under way in cooking, so I decided to f*** it and just keep cooking anyways. They could come if they wanted, and if they couldn't make it, more for me!

Coming through the clutch, Jimmy, Mike, and Austin told Main Attrakionz they were welcome to come to dinner at my place, but they weren't going to bail on me. To my pleasure and surprise, they agreed to come. If you haven't heard of Main Attrakionz, it is a duo from Oakland made up of two guys named Squadda B and Mondre. Seriously, I couldn't have made up those names if I tried. They are gaining a lot of attention in the bay, and also have had songs produced by Clams Casino, as well as done songs with ASAP Rocky. Look them up.

The closer it came to them coming over, the more nervous I got. Seriously, these super gangster, awesome, and intriguing rappers from Oakland...were coming to my house...for a QueensofBay dinner!!! HOOOOOLYYYY TOLEDO!! I didn't think it was actually happening, until I opened my door to find two smiling faces, one complete with a gold grill. They were incredibly nice and generous, and I am so happy that my friends brought them over. I offered them something to drink, and to my pleasant surprise, Squadda B told me he would take some red wine. They went APE over my wine caraffe. Seriously, my insides were bursting with joy, but I had to keep my cool. They kept calling my polenta grits, which seriously made me giggle, and they kept thanking me for everything. They all ended up kicking it at my place until about 10 o'clock, and then they had to bounce out to go do some work. Monday night at their show was AWESOME, and so tight. We got to hang out with Main Atrrakionz, again, and ALL night, in Supreme Cuts' dressing room. Boom baby.

It was a night I won't ever forget. I am more sure than ever that cooking is something I love to do for anyone, at any time, and anywhere I can.

I doubled a lot of the spices, because I was using a 5 pound chicken instead of a 3.5 pound one, like Tyler's, so I put my recipe below. His can be found online.

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken, 5 pounds 

1 cinnamon stick, broken in pieces

12 whole cloves

2 teaspoons cayenne

4 teaspoons cumin seed

2 teaspoon fennel seed

2 teaspoons coriander seed

2 tablespoons paprika

2 teaspoons sea salt

I keep mine in a butter dish I got at Boudin, for affect

2 teaspoons brown sugar

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 lemon, halved

4 garlic gloves

4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

New goodies I just got:

Mortar and pestle I just got, a vintage avocado slicer, a butter dish filled with sea salt, and a creamer pot

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees

2. Rinse the chicken with cool water inside and out; then pat it dry with paper towels

3. Combine the cinnamon stick, cloves, cayenne, cumin, fennel, coriander, and paprika in a dry skillet over low heat and toast for just a minute to release the fragrant oils; shake the pan so the spices don't scorch

4. In a spice mill or clean coffee grinder, grind the toasted spices together with the sea salt and brown sugar (I used a mortar and pestle because I just got one and wanted to use it)

5. Massage chicken skin with the spice rub; make sure you don't miss a spot. Season the inside of the chicken generously with salt and pepper. Stuff the lemon halves, cilantro, and garlic in the cavity

 

6. Place the chicken in a roasting pan fitted with a rack. Fold the wing tips under the bird and tie the legs together with kitchen string

7. If you have time, let the chicken sit for 30 minutes to really get the flavors deep into the meat

8. Roast the chicken for 1 hour, then pop and instant-read thermometer into the thickest part of the thigh; if it reads 160 degrees, you're gravy

9. Allow the chicken to rest for 10 minutes before carving so the juices can settle back into the meat. Squeeze the lemon halves that have cooked inside the chicken over the meat for added POW

I would add a recipe for sauteed vegetables, but I honestly just cut them up, put 3 tablespoons of butter in a large pan over medium-high heat, and cooked them for about 20 minutes. Pretty simple. I used a red bell pepper, sugar snap peas, two florets of broccoli, an onion, and a zucchini.

Listen to my awesome friends!

Supreme Cuts- Issues

From left to right: Jimmy, Mike, Austin, Riley, Mondre, and Squadda B