Southwest Chicken Revelation

I had two chicken breasts in the fridge from 2 days earlier so they had to be eaten today.  When I've kept chicken an extra day it smells a bit .... unappetizing even though the stores best before date still has another day to go. I mixed up some:

Southwest Spice Rub

2 tbsp chili powder
2 tbsp paprika
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tbsp brown sugar
2 tsp oregano
1 tsp granulated garlic
4 tsp kosher salt (1 tbsp + 1 tsp)
2 tsp black pepper
2 tsp dried mustard
1 tsp cayenne

and put a couple of teaspoons in a plastic bag with a couple of teaspoons of flour.  I find that if I use a straight herb mix it tends to scorch in the pan, flour tends to brown. It probably has something to do with the carbohydrates in the flour but I don't know for sure.  Anyway, flour gives a better result. I coated the flattened breasts and put them in a hot oily frying pan. I turned them a few times to get even browning and fully cook the center.  

Mashed potatoes should need no explanation other than don't use an immersion blender to mash them, it turns them into a thick paste no one wants to eat. I steamed my vegetables and finished them in extra virgin olive oil but still managed to over cook them.  

While I was waiting for the breasts to cook in the center it occurred to me that a sauce doesn't have to be cooked, it can be like a condiment. That was the revelation. If I get some mayonnaise and add a little lemon juice to freshen it up it should make a nice counterpoint to the spice rub on the chicken. So that's the white stuff on the chicken, lemony mayonnaise with some fresh parsley to distract the eye from my disgracefully mushy vegetables. Fern liked it, "It would have been better if the mayonnaise was home made."

"I thought of it while the chicken was cooking and mixed it up in that spare moment.  It was that or nothing.", I replied.

"In that case, it was good."