It’s about 2:30 p.m. You’re standing in the entrance of your favorite grocery store, wondering why you agreed to host a dinner party at your apartment. Cooking for yourself is hard, let alone cooking for a group of people. Don’t panic, this recipe is perfect for making a dish that looks sophisticated, tastes delicious and is easy to make. Sharpen your knives, clear some counter space and let’s cook. 

Approximate cooking time: 35 minutes 

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

• 2 chicken breasts 
• ⅓ bundle of asparagus 

• 1 block fontina cheese (usually in the specialty cheese section of most grocery stores)
• 1 cup of flour (for coating the chicken breast)
• ½ cup of flour (for thickening sauce) 
• Salt, to taste
• Ground pepper, to taste
• 1 cup Marsala cooking wine 
• ½ cup of olive oil
• 2 tablespoons of butter

The prep work:

First, slice your chicken breasts in half and set aside. 

In a medium mixing bowl, add flour and a pinch of salt and pepper, forming your flour mixture. Place to the side.

Then, slice fontina cheese into thin slices. Two to three slices per chicken breast will work. 

Lastly, snap the tips of the asparagus from the bottom, then cut in half horizontally. Bring a small pot of water to a low boil, then, boil and cover the asparagus for two minutes and set aside.

Time to cook:

Preheat the oven to 350 F. 

Place sliced chicken breast into the flour mixture. Make sure both sides are fully coated. 

In a large skillet, completely cover the bottom of the pan with oil and turn the heat to medium high. Allow the oil to heat before placing the chicken breasts into the pan. Let the chicken cook on both sides for approximately three minutes, or until a golden brown crust begins to develop. Once the chicken develops the crust, place on an aluminum foil covered baking sheet. 

For the sauce: 

Following the removal of the cooked chicken breasts, turn down the heat on the skillet. Add butter, marsala cooking wine and a pinch of salt and pepper to create the sauce. If a thicker sauce is desired, gradually add in leftover flour and stir into the simmering mixture until combined. 

Once the above steps have been completed, place the blanched asparagus on top of the chicken breasts. Then, lay the thinly sliced fontina cheese on top of the asparagus. 

Drizzle the sauce from the pan over each chicken breast. 

Tip: When placing the ingredients in the sheet tray, try to balance the ingredients so that when the cheese melts, it will secure asparagus to the chicken breasts when baking. 

Place the chicken in the now preheated oven. 

After 15 to 20 minutes, or until the meat thermometer says the thickest part of each chicken breast is at 165 F internal, remove from the oven. 

Let it sit for three to five minutes before plating. 

Enjoy. 

Service and what to pair with: 

As Boone approaches warmer temperatures, Chicken Fontina can be a staple for warm weather dinner parties. If serving during warmer months, consider making a caprese salad for a light springtime meal. For step by step instructions on how to make the perfect caprese salad, check out Lily Kincaid’s “Recipe Corner: Drivin’ me caprese” on theappalachianonline.com.