Crispy Breaded Dijon Chicken with Roasted Apples and Cheddar

My mind has been racing around again thinking about all things sweet and savory. When I am out doing my daily walk, in the shower, in the grocery store and before I fall asleep. Apparently, I have a sweet and savory obsession. I guess there are worse things.

Before I get to this wonderful recipe which is still winter-appropriate (however, I am loving the 70 degree weather), I want to talk about the changing meaning of the expression:  “one foot in front of the other”.

Before MEtirement, before I got a real life, “one foot in front of the other” was how you muddled through your work life. Sure, there were really great days. But they were few and far between because work days are peppered with worry. Worry about doing the wrong thing. Saying the wrong thing. Missing something important. Getting too down in the weeds on things that are important. Basically, it was a feeling that no matter what you did, you were never certain of the outcome. Of anything. So you put one foot in front of the other and got through the days. And the years.

Now, fast forward to MEtirement. “One foot in front of the other” means a yoga warrior pose. Literally. And there is no more worry nor second guessing yourself all the time because you don’t have a boss anymore. You are the boss. The relief is palpable.  And it is indescribable how good that feels.

So back to Dijon Chicken and the Cheddar Apples. There are lots of tasks that can be done one or two days ahead for this recipe so this is a great thing to make if you are busy and still putting “one foot in front of the other” in the non-yoga scenario.

First, you slather your bone-in chicken breasts with slithery delicious Dijon and mayo. It has to be Hellman’s. HAS TO BE. You can pick the kind of Hellman’s you want to use (I am trying not to be too controlling here!). I used the olive oil version and the chicken came out incredibly moist and juicy. Now if you are thinking that mayo is like the devil, feel free to substitute plain Greek yoghurt. The chicken will still be delicious and will have a bit more tang. Once your chicken has its Dijon/mayo coat on, in it goes into a bowl of breadcrumbs. I used DeLallo because are seasoned with a delicious Italian seasoning which has just the right amount of flavor. Nothing too strong to detract from the chicken but these breadcrumbs don’t just lie there flavorless either. A good choice for anything you are breading.

You set aside the breaded chicken in the refrigerator to hang out for as long as two days to let the breading get a bit firm or you can cook them after an hour in the fridge. You don’t have to cover the breasts if you are only refrigerating them for a few hours but if keeping them overnight, lightly cover them with plastic wrap. You want them to breathe in the fridge, not sweat from being too tightly covered.

While the chicken is thinking by itself in the fridge, you can make the apples. The apples should be in large chunks so I cut the apples into eighths and then each piece into three chunks. I didn’t take a picture of this step because it was boring to look at. Chunks of apples. Not caring.

The apples cook on the stove over medium high heat for 10 minutes and then into the oven they go to roast for 20. You don’t want them to turn to mush. This is not an applesauce. This is Roasted Apples. As in yummy chunks. I added a bit of salt and some apple cider vinegar to round out the sweetness a bit. Remember. Not applesauce.

When the apples are done, they need to cool off so when you add the shredded cheddar, it just blends into the apples  but doesn’t melt and disappear.  The apples should not be hot or you won’t get that nice texture of the shredded cheddar with the apples. So about an hour at room temperature should be enough. If you want to make the dish ahead of time, you can refrigerate the apples (without any cheese) and bring them to room temperature before heating them for just about 4 minutes in the microwave. Once they are just warm (not hot) you can stir in the cheddar.

To cook the breasts, you saute them in a small amount of butter and olive oil in two batches so they brown nicely. After about 8 minutes on the stove getting crispy and brown, into a hot oven the pan goes to roast the breasts until they are tender and juicy.

Cooking the chicken on the bone definitely keeps the chicken from drying out. If you want to take the chicken off of the bone before you serve it, that’s fine also. But just remember, if you are cooking chicken in the oven or in the crockpot, you have a much better chance of getting a tender and juicy result if you leave the bone in.

When the chicken is done, you make the apples and cheddar into a nice bed on a platter and on to that go the beautiful breaded and roasted chicken breasts. It’s a very impressive dish. It would be more impressive if every single bread crumb had stayed where it belonged at the time I was taking the photos. But as I am finding out, such is the life of a food blogger. This is real life and sometimes it isn’t always pretty and perfect. So be kind when you look at these photos. The deliciousness of the dish should overcome any faults in the photos. Still learning the craft of photography. Good thing you eat the food and not the pics!

As for the peels on the apples, again, they make the photos look a bit messy. But I left them on because the apples are healthier that way. Sometimes we have to sacrifice a beautiful,  perfect photo to make a dish that is better for you. Those cute little apple chunks, had they been denuded (what a great word) might have looked a whole lot more perfect. So if you intend to photograph your dinner and don’t care much if you get the extra nutrition in your apples, feel free to peel.

Off I go to do my warrior pose. Now that I have a healthy and satisfying dinner on the table, I am off to see the world. My own little MEtirement world.