Simply Saturday Decadent Chicken-n-Asparagus

Okay, I was totally craving chicken, cheese and asparagus the other night. Just had to have it. And had little time, so I popped those three ingredients into my friend Google and he/she brought me to Allrecipes.com


And there was a Chicken Dijonaisse recipe with asparagus that I stole and changed. So you're going to get the Ruthy-style Chicken Dijonaisse and yes, you will love it...

And I can't imagine that changing anything about this would make it bad as long as you have the dijonaisse sauce/dressing...

AND THIS IS EASY-PEASY. I promise. Prep time, ten minutes, and that includes pounding the chicken breasts. And cooking time 20-25 minutes....

Ingredients:

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, pounded out or butterflied
1 pound fresh asparagus
Shredded sharp cheddar cheese
Dijonaisse sauce (recipe follows)
Crushed Club crackers, or fresh break crumbs or Panko crumbs (I like the Club Cracker crumbs)

Dijonaisse sauce, Ruthy-style:

1/2 cup Hellman's Mayonnaise
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
1 tablespoon concentrated lemon juice
1 teaspoon garlic powder or granulated garlic
1 teaspoon rosemary
Grind fresh black pepper over top

Whisk together and let stand while you remove aggression by pounding on chicken.

Take 24 spears of the asparagus and semi-cook it on a plate in the microwave for about a minute to a minute and a half, until it just starts to tender up and turns a brighter green. Set aside.

Pound out chicken breasts
Spread one Tablespoon (more or less) of the sauce on the chicken breast.
Sprinkle heavily with sharp cheese.
Lay 6 asparagus spears on the cheese in the center of the breast
Sprinkle more cheese because I'm of the opinion that more is better when it comes to cheese
Roll each chicken breast up (they JUST meet in middle) and place it, seam side down, in greased baking dish.
Spread remaining dijonaisse sauce over the four breasts.

You can brush it on, but I used a spoon quite nicely if I do say so myself.  Sprinkle liberally (which means pour 'em on) with whichever crumbs you prefer.

 I used a half-sleeve of Club crackers for three breasts.

Bake in 475 degree (very hot) oven for 25 minutes.

So then I thought:  What to go with?????

Old New England Potato Wedges came to mind, because they need a very hot oven and I had some slightly aging red-skinned Yukon Gold potatoes. I whacked out a couple of iffy spots, cut them into wedges, dipped them in melted butter, laid them on a cookie sheet and roasted them with the chicken.

 I first learned this from "Yankee" magazine, and it's amazing.... They're like country fries, the outside gets crispy-brown and the inside stays sweet and tender. Yukon Gold potatoes are particularly good for this, but I've done it with all kinds.

And then I steamed the remaining 1/2 pound of asparagus for a side dish.

Dave was thrilled....  Here's what his plate looked like:

I earned serious brownie points but I'm still waiting for some kind of flower. A bouquet. A single rose.

Men.

Sheesh.