Chicken Cordon Blue… bleu (if you want to sound French and all fancy schmancy). Honestly I have no clue which is correct. Perhaps both are dependent on where you live. And I’m guessing you’re probably going to pronounce it “Le Chicken Cordawn Bleh!!!” when you really want to impress someone or show someone up.
Life isn’t about winning (channeling Charlie Sheen) or having the most stuff and it most certainly isn’t a contest. Life, according to The Kitchen Whisperer, is about being real; enjoying the simple things in life and enjoying each and every moment. Life is about appreciation not awards; it’s about love, honesty and integrity. For standing up and having faith. So to those people that feel that theiris bigger, better, faster, richer, prettier, skinnier, any “ier”… Kiss it! You’re missing out on life. So to those that are completely happy sitting on the front porch, kicking back and enjoying life and it’s many splendors.. have at it! Live for you!
…. *steps down off her soap box* LOL
So as I was saying… this chicken dish will impress anyone. It’ll seem like you slaved hours on it. It’s a gorgeous presentation and packs that “WOW! Factor!”
Last night when I got home from work I asked Mr. Fantabulous what he wanted for dinner. I got the standard “Pasta” response to which I said “No, I’m tired of making it.” To those that are new here.. this man LIVES on pasta. I mean he literally could eat it every single day (and has) for months and not get tired of it. It has to be an Italian thing; has to be! So I rummaged through the fridge and found some chicken that I needed to use. My go-to with chicken is probably Chicken Parmesan. Why? It pairs awesomely with pasta (since he has to eat it every friggen night! LOL). This wasn’t settling well with me as I seriously didn’t want to make it and dirty 3 pans. So I set the chicken on the counter and went back to the fridge. That’s when I spied the beans and Brussels sprouts. Ah yeah.. we’re going Fancy Schmancy on Mr. Fantabulous. I grabbed my “Thor” meat mallet – I have to post a pic of this thing. It’s GINORMOUS and I think could take down like a bear if it came into my house. LOL Well okay, not really but it’s huge.
Anywho, I grabbed the mallet and started flattening the meat. Mr. Fantabulous comes running out to the kitchen “Honey are you ok??? I heard you banging something.” Me, being evil at times, glared at him giving him major stink eye and just continued to whack the meat. The look of “OMG what did I do now???” on his gorgeous face was priceless. Then I cracked a smile and busted out laughing (I can’t tease him for long). He looked at me, told me he was going to whip my butt and walked away chuckling. I know.. pure evil 🙂
I made a roasted veggie mixture and popped that in the oven and got to assembling the chicken. Now literally this meal took me from start to finish (whacking the meat… er wait, that sounds so bad *blush*.. lemme try again… flattening the meat to popping it in the oven) in under 10 minutes. So this can EASILY be made on a weeknight when you get home from work.
Yes, you can make it on a Tuesday night. Come home, kiss your family/pet/self in the mirror (hey some people are freaky like that! Don’t judge! *wink*), go pee (yes you have to pee, trust me. I think it’s in our genes!), change your clothes and go to the kitchen. Put this into the oven and go chill for 30 minutes. It’ll take you longer to pee and change clothes than it’ll take you to prepare this.
You want this; I know you do 🙂 So make this and make a killer side with it! I made Parmesan Roasted Potatoes, Green Beans & Brussels Sprouts and Chicken stock red quinoa (so love that stuff).
Chicken Cordon Blue… er Bleu… um… really good chicken!
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Ingredients
- 4 chicken breasts, skinless and boneless
- 4 slices of baked ham, sliced thin – now if you can afford it Prosciutto is AMAZING in this
- 1/2 cup Gruyere, grated – now gruyere isn’t cheap so you can use a combo of provolone/mozzarella and even fontina
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1 teaspoon each of Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper
- 1 cup Panko – don’t buy it, make your own!
- 1 teaspoon thyme; fresh and chopped
- 1 teaspoon garlic, finely minced
- 2 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoon Extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lay the chicken breast on cutting board between 2 pieces of plastic wrap. Gently pound the chicken to 1/4-inch thickness with the flat side of a meat mallet. You don’t want “pock marks in it”. Using the ribbed side will possibly tear the chicken.
- Remove the top sheet of plastic and lay 2 slices of ham on top of each piece of chicken. You want to cover the breast but not have overhang. Add about 2 tablespoon of grated gruyere over top of the ham leaving a ¼” edge of plain ham. Fold in the sides of the chicken over top of the ham and cheese and roll up tight like a jellyroll.
- Use the plastic wrap and wrap each breast like a sausage forming a night tight log twisting the ends. Chill for 15-30 minutes.
- Place the flour in a small pie pan adding in 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Place the bread crumbs in another pie pan adding in the thyme, garlic, remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, remaining 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and melted butter. Use a spoon to mix all together. The bread crumbs will be *almost* wet.
- Beat the egg and add to another bowl.
- Unwrap the chicken and discard the plastic. Dredge the chicken roll in the flour. Dip it into the egg mixture and then place in the bread crumbs. You want to fully coat the roll.
- Drizzle a baking pan with the oil and place the chicken on it, seam side down. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until browned and cooked through.
- *Note: if you want a crispier crust broil for 2-3 minutes.
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