Moroccan Chicken Pie (B'stilla)

This is the best food you will ever eat. I have never made or tasted anything better than this chicken pie. I first had a version of B'stilla at a Moroccan restaurant in Chicago and was obsessed with finding a recipe for it, and one day while stumbling recipe blogs I happened upon Turntable Kitchen's adaptation of a Bon Appetit recipe for B'stilla (also known as Moroccan Chicken Pie). I made it and the result was heavenly. The filling is chicken that has been stewed in a variety of spices, including cinnamon, with golden raisins and onions - the result is a wonderfully rich and complete flavor that is to die for.

Then this tasty filling is sandwiched between several layers of phyllo that have been buttered and sprinkled with a cinnamon/almond/sugar mixture. The blend of savory and sweet is like nothing I have ever tasted. I could, without any trouble, eat an entire pie plate of this in one sitting. And in fact when I made it for my boyfriend and a colleague he had invited over we polished off the whole pan in one sitting.

This recipe is, without a doubt, time consuming; mostly due to the phyllo sheets, which are notoriously difficult to handle. They dry out easily and also tear easily because they are so thin and delicate. Make sure to handle with care and cover the stack of phyllo sheets with a slightly dampened paper towel when you are working with it. One way to cut down on the time factor is to make the filling in advance the day before or you could even freeze the filling for a few weeks.

However, it is well worth the effort to make this recipe and the special someone(s) you make it for will be in your debt for a long time. :)

Enjoy!


Moroccan Chicken Pie (From Turntable Kitchen)

Filling
1 onion diced
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
1 teaspoon Ginger
1/2 teaspoon Turmeric
1 Cinnamon Stick
1 tablespoon Flour
2 cups Chicken Broth
3-4 Chicken Breasts chopped into large pieces
1/3 cup Golden Raisins
1 tablespoon Parsley
Olive Oil

Phyllo Layers
1/2 cup Almonds finely crushed
3 tablespoons Powdered Sugar
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
10 sheets defrosted Phyllo (get the thin greek stuff not puff pastry)
1/2 cup Butter melted
Saute onions in oil in a large skillet over medium heat until transparent then add in the spices and stir. Sprinkle in the flour and stir in well, then add in the chicken broth. Gently place the chicken pieces into the broth as well as the raisins and reduce heat to medium low - cook for about 20-30 minutes or until chicken is done and shreds easily (broth should also be cooked down).

partway through cooking

Once chicken has cooked down add in the parsley and remove skillet from heat. Once the filling has cooled down shred the chicken with your fingers and mix it all together. Set aside.

filling after chicken has been shredded

In a small dish mix together the almonds, powdered sugar, salt, and cinnamon.

Unroll the phyllo sheets and grab about 10 of them (take more than 10 because they tear easily so you will have to throw out a few) and lay them out on the counter in a stack. Take a 9 inch pie plate and put over the phyllo and cut around the phyllo with a knife or scissors to make the sheets the correct size (they can be a little larger than the pie plate).

Phyllo after it has been cut to size

Once that is done cover the cut sheets of phyllo with a damp cloth so that they don't dry out too much and become hard to handle.

Place one phyllo sheet into the pie plate and brush gently with melted butter then sprinkle on a little of the almond mixture. Repeat this 4 times to get the five layers of phyllo.

Pour the filling over the layers. Put a sheet of phyllo on top of the filling; brush with butter and sprinkle with the almond mixture. do this three more times and then put the final sheet of phyllo down without any butter or almond mixture.

phyllo with butter brushed on top

Cut an X into the center and bake at 375 for 40 minutes (make sure the top phyllo sheet is browned and crispy) then remove from oven. Cool for about 10 minutes then serve.

Gooey Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

This recipe is from the Cookbook "Baking: From My Home to Yours"by Dorie Greenspan, but I actually found the recipe at Kait's Plate. These cookies are exactly what I was looking for, they are thin, chewy, and slightly gooey - exactly the way I like them. They aren't cakey or dry at all, which is something I have been cursed with when making most chocolate chip cookie recipes. I think this one may now be my go-to recipe.

Happy Baking!

Gooey Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies (Original recipe here)
2 cups Flour
1 teaspoon Salt
3/4 teaspoon Baking Soda
2 sticks (8 ounces) Butter softened
1 cup Sugar
2/3 cup Brown Sugar
2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
2 Eggs
2 cups (or about 12 oz) Chocolate Chips (I use Ghiradelli brand, I like the shape and taste better than Nestle)
In a medium bowl whisk together flour, salt, and baking soda. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl beat soft butter for a minute or two then add in the sugars and beat for two minutes.

adding in the sugar

Add eggs one at a time beating for one minute after each egg.

After beating the eggs in

Stir in the vanilla. Add in the flour gradually, in three batches, mixing well after each addition, then mix in the chocolate chips.

Drop by spoonfuls onto a lightly greased cookie sheet about 1 1/2 inches apart.

Raw dough, tasty!

Bake at 375 for about 9 minutes (check after 8 minutes). The cookies will look a little underdone when you pull them out but that is ok, if you don't take them out when they are just starting to brown on the sides they will get over-done and crispy. Made 36 cookies (but it varies a little).

Rows of cookies!

Feather-Light Muffins

Warm and cinnamony!

These muffins are so yummy. They are lightly spiced, and after you bake them they are dipped into melted butter and swirled in cinnamon sugar! I found this recipe in an issue of Reminisce, I believe, it's hard to remember because it was so long ago.

I don't have muffin tins so I just plopped the dough onto a cookie sheet and it still baked up fine, they just looked more like scones than muffins.

Definitely serve these warm! Enjoy!

Feather-Light Muffins
1/3 cups Butter
1/2 cup Sugar
1 Egg
1 1/2 cups Flour
1 1/2 teaspoons Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1/4 teaspoon Nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
1/2 cup Milk
Topping
1/2 cup Sugar
2 teaspoons Cinnamon
1/2 Butter melted
Cream butter and sugar together in a mixing bowl, then add egg and mix in well. Combine the dry ingredients in a separate bowl and add to the butter mixture alternately with the milk. If you have a muffin tin put the batter into the greased muffin tin (make 8-10 muffins). If you don't have a muffin tin, grease a cookie sheet and drop the batter into eight blobs. Bake at 325 for approximately 20 minutes or until the center is done.

While the muffins are cooking place the melted butter in a shallow bowl and place the cinnamon and sugar in a shallow bowl as well (mix the cinnamon and sugar together).

Once the muffins have baked dip them (while still hot) in to the melted butter then into the cinnamon sugar to coat. Serve while warm for best result or reheat for later.