Bobby Deen - it's a good thing I'm married.

I've been worried about Bobby Deen for quite some time. Such a cutie. Such a sweetheart. Such foodie royalty (though girls - I want your opinion...do you think Paula Deen would make the world's best mother in law or the worst? I love her to death but I could see it going either way.)

Anyway - back to Bobby. The perpetual bachelor. Until recently (whew - I can go back to worrying about world peace and more important matters!) as he seems to be hooking up with the darling actress from Eastbound and Down - score!

Bobby made a recipe the other day on Paula's show where he slathered chicken breasts in a mayonnaise mixture and baked them. It looked delicious though I couldn't help but think it would have been better to let the chicken marinate in it for a while. After all - as mama Paula said - mayonnaise is basically an oil which just coats the chicken and makes it juicier.

Only Bobby's mayo mixture had so much more going on. First of all there was a ton of lemon zest in there as he admitted to being an addict. Again - it's a good think I'm married. He also had celery seed, paprika and cayenne.

Well I took his mixture and changed up a few things, mainly lessening the amount of celery seed as it's quite potent and adding dill. I also swapped the lemon zest for juice as I too often lately have found myself with a fridge full of sad, white lemons missing their yellow jackets. Honest to God - there isn't anything that lemon zest can't make better and that's exactly the problem with it. After all there's only so much zest in the world... I also chose to grill the chicken rather than bake as I worried the mayo would geek me out after baking.

I was quite pleased with my changes on Mr. Deen's recipe. This chicken is so flavorful and JUICY! Mr. Deen. I like the sound of that. Okay, I'll shut up now.

Juicy Mayo Marinated Chicken Breasts with Dill, Celery Seed, and Lemon
* Adapted from a recipe from Bobby Deen

Ingredients:
1/2 cup mayo (I used low fat)
1/2 teaspoon dried dill
1/4 teaspoon celery seed
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1 teaspoon dried English mustard (I use Coleman's brand)
1/4 teaspoon paprika
fresh cracked black pepper
juice of 1/2 a large lemon
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Directions:
Mix up the mayo, dill, and celery seed through the lemon juice in a small bowl. Add the mixture to a large ziploc bag along with the chicken breasts and mix around to coat evenly. Seal and refrigerate for 24 hours.

Remove from the fridge 30 minutes before cooking to take the chill off. Remove from the marinade, season lightly on one side with sea salt or kosher salt and grill.