Chicken Cordon Bleu
Anything stuffed with cheese is fabulous, add smokey ham to it and its double-delicious. Chicken Cordon Bleu is a classic French dish. French cuisine is sometimes on the more difficult side, but this one is really simple, it just has a fancy name!
Out of ideas for that boring old chicken breast? When in doubt, stuff it!
There are a couple of ways to do this. You can do like I did and pound the chicken breast, then roll it up. Or you can cut a slit in the center of the breast and stuff it that way. I prefer pounding it, I figure the cheese is flat, the ham is flat, why not make the chicken flat too. You can lay it out in plastic wrap or put it in a ziplock bag and pound it out to a little over 1/8" thick. I like the plastic wrap because its easier when it comes time to roll it up.
Next, season the chicken breast with SplenDishes House Blend, then lay out your cheese and ham. Some use Swiss, I used provolone, because that's what I had. Either way you want the slices of both ham and cheese to be deli thin, so its easy to roll. Grab some toothpicks. Roll the chicken breast up, folding the edges over so its like a little pocket. Secure the ends and edges with a few toothpicks. Roll it back up in the plastic wrap and put it in the fridge. You want the cheese to stay cold until your ready to cook, to minimize the oozing. Don't get me wrong, oozing is awesome, but only when you're ready to eat it!
Now we're going to set up our breading station. I was only making one chicken breast so I used 1 plate for both flour and bread crumbs, but you'll most likely want to use separate plates for these. So one plate will be for your flour, salt and pepper mixture, one plate will be for your bread crumbs and a 3rd shallow dish for your eggs. Grab your rolled chicken breasts and start breading. Dip in the flour first, then the egg, then the bread crumbs. Heat olive oil on medium high heat and brown chicken on all sides. If your using an oven proof skillet, great, if you're not, transfer chicken to a baking dish. Toss a few pats of butter in the pan and finish in the oven for about 10-12 minutes.
Be sure to let your chicken rest for a few minutes after taking out of the oven. This gives the juices a minute to settle and the cheese to chill out for a second. While its resting, be sure to spoon all that beautiful melted butter over the chicken. Using a sharp, flat bladed knife, slice your rolls at an angle and place on serving platter. Delicious melted cheese and smokey ham, juicy chicken and a nice crunch from the bread crumbs, it's the perfect combination.
CHICKEN CORDON BLEU
| Prep Time: 10 Minutes | Cook Time: 25 Minutes | Difficulty: Medium | Servings: 4 |
Ingredients:
4 chicken breasts
4 slices provolone
4 slices smoked ham
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup bread crumbs
2 eggs, beaten
SplenDishes House Blend
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
Toothpicks
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees(f).
Lay chicken breasts in between plastic wrap and pound to about an 1/8" thickness. Season with House Blend.
Lay cheese and ham down, then roll from one end down, folding the edges over to create a sealed effect.
Secure edges with toothpicks and roll back up in plastic wrap and place back in fridge.
Place flour, salt and pepper in one dish, bread crumbs in another and eggs in another.
Dip chicken in flour, then eggs, then bread crumbs.
Heat olive oil in skillet on medium high and brown chicken on all sides.
If using an oven proof skillet, drop butter around chicken, place in oven and finish for about 10-12 minutes (if skillet is not oven proof, just transfer to baking dish).
Remove from oven and let rest for about 3-5 minutes. Spoon butter from pan over chicken while its resting.
Using a sharp, flat bladed knife, slice chicken at an angle and place on serving platter.
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