Chicken Cordon Bleu

Whenever I hear the name of this dish, I always think that it sounds like some fancy entree you'd be served at an upscale restaurant in France. However, in my opinion, the only thing fancy about it,is the name. It doesn't contain any "gourmet" ingredients or have any special cooking methods. It is a bit time consuming and putzy, but that's half the fun!

Chicken Cordon Bleu
Seasoned bread crumbs cut with flour
2 eggs, beat
4 chicken breasts
8 deli-slices of swiss or provolone cheese
8 thin slices of ham
5 T. butter

Sauce:
1/2 c. chicken broth
1-1/4 c. heavy cream
1 chicken bouillen cube
fresh, chopped oregano
salt/pepper to taste
1 T. cornstarch

Cut all of the fat off of each chicken breast and split in half with a sharp knife:


Put 3 of the halves in a large ziploc gallon bag (or you can use plastic wrap or wax paper) and pound it to a 1/4" thickness. I use the flat side of a meat tenderizer:





Place one slice of ham on each flattened piece of chicken, smooth side down:


Followed by a slice of cheese:


Roll it up tightly and secure with a toothpick, poking it all the way through:


After doing this to each chicken piece, dip each one in the beaten egg mixture, shaking off the excess egg:


Next roll the egg-drenched chicken in your seasoned bread crumbs(add fresh chopped parsley to the crumbs beforehand). If your bread crumbs aren't cut with flour, just mix some in with them first. Make sure you dip the ends in the crumb mixture as well. Coat everything:


***For best results, in the next step you can brown each side of each chicken roll in a frying pan, to give it a golden color and seal everything in. I skipped this step this time and just baked it longer in the oven. If you do fry the pieces first, then you'll only need to bake it for about 15 minutes. If you'd like to skip this step, do as follows:

Line the rolls up in a pan lined with foil and sprayed. Put a small pat of real butter on each toothpick:


Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 30 minutes, or until golden brown and juices run clear. Don't overcook or it will be dry! Meanwhile, time to make the sauce. In a small saucepan, mix 1 cup of heavy cream, 1/2 cup of chicken stock,and the bouillen cube. Heat on med-low until bouillen cube is melted. With the extra 1/4 cup of heavy cream, in a small bowl mix it with 1 T. of cornstarch. Slowly add this mixture to the mixture in the saucepan, whisking fast with a wire whisk until it's thickened to your preference (like a gravy consistency).


Once thickened, add in the chopped oregano and salt/pepper. Heat on low for about 2 minutes and remove from heat. Pour over the cooked chicken rolls and serve!


The swiss cheese will come oozing out, mixing with the mild but creamy sauce and juicy chicken. The crusty crumb coating will sop it all up. The ham adds an interesting twist of salty goodness that challenges the other more mild tastes. So good! I like to serve it with boiled baby red potatoes mixed with olive oil and herbs.