(You're going to need a big, sharp knife for this one.)
Ah, how I love spring. The flowers, the grass getting greener, the little tasty dishes made with fresh(er) vegetables and fruits. I love to cook for an occasion, but I love even more to cook something unique for just regular dinner once in a while. I was walking through Wegman's with a girlfriend a bit before Easter, and saw that they were having a special on "spring chickens"...which are basically really small chickens. (They may or may not be baby chickens, I try not to think too much about it.) However, should you not be able to find a spring chicken, you could prepare this recipe with basically any other type of tiny poultry, be it quail, cornish hen, or anything around that size. It can be done on the grill or in the oven.
This recipe is pretty easy, but requires a bit of prep, so make sure you have at least 30 minutes to do it.
Roast Chicken with Asparagus and White Wine Mushrooms
Ingredients:
1 chicken per person, butterflied
1 medium apple per two chickens
1 large orange per two chickens
fresh rosemary
1-2 shallots per chicken
olive oil (I prefer light here, because you don't want an olive oil taste to this dish)
salt & pepper
2 bunches of asparagus
butter
1-2 lbs. crimini mushrooms (or another flavorful sort)
more butter
white cooking wine (or white wine, be my guest.)
Well, if you read ingredient number one, and your first thought was "I DON'T KNOW HOW TO BUTTERFLY," never fear. I know not only how to butterfly, but I will impart my secret to you. Guard it well, ok?
1. First, you want to flip the chicken so it is breast side down on your cutting board, with the drumsticks pointing towards you. Take a sharp, clean pair of scissors, and cut along the sides of the backbone until you can free it and pull it away. Please make sure you wash your hands and utensils and counters, etc, after working with raw meat, especially poultry. You don't want salmonella, do you?
2. Next, press the sides of the chicken open, take a very sharp knife, and cut along the sides of the breast bone from the neck down. Try not to cut too deeply, go slowly. The idea is to pull out the breast bone too. Once it is out, your chicken will be butterflied! Yay!
3. To continue with the recipe, slice the apple and orange very thinly without peeling. This will keep all the vital things inside of the fruit during baking. 
Arrange the slices on the grill apples first, leaving no holes, then arrange the orange slices on top. You may notice that I have a weird contraption for baking my chickens. This is simply a glass casserole dish with a lift-out roasting rack on top of it. I like to roast things like this sometimes so they don't sit around in their own juices and get soggy.
4. Season the chickens. I like to salt and pepper them, then sprinkle on a little Herbamare (my seasoning of choice lately). Pull off the leaves of the rosemary and put under the skin of the chicken, then tuck a few under the wings.
5. Arrange the chickens cut-side down on the fruits. Spoon a little olive oil over the top, salt and pepper again, and sprinkle some rosemary and chopped shallot over the top. Set the oven to 430 Fahrenheit, and bake the chickens at that temperature for about fifteen to twenty minutes. The idea is to get a crispy skin. Lower the temp to 300 and continue to cook until done--about 1 1/2 hours.
6. During the last stretch of the chicken cooking, chop the whiteish ends off of your asparagus. Boil enough water to just barely cover the asparagus, lower the heat, and drop the stalks in it. Keep a close watch, though, and make sure they don't overcook. When a fork can easily go through the thickest part of the stalk, they are done. Lift them out, drain them, and run cold water over them quickly to stop the cooking process. Arrange in a flat layer on part of the plate.
7. For the mushrooms, melt some butter in a rather deep skillet on medium low heat, and put the (washed) mushrooms in it.
Toss them around a bit until they are coated in butter, then place a lid over them and let them cook for about five minutes, tossing occasionally until browned on all sides equally.
8. Pour about 2 c. white cooking wine into the skillet (if using white wine, add some salt) and cover again, letting the mushrooms simmer for three minutes. Uncover and let the wine reduce completely. Lift out the mushrooms with a slotted spoon and arrange next to asparagus.
9. When the chickens are done, let them sit for a few minutes out of the oven for the juices to settle. Lift them off of their fruit and place on top of the asparagus. Ta-da!
