Crazy couple of days at work and at home..Still getting the house ready for the open house and getting ready for a weekend of working the National Corvette Homecoming for the National Corvette Museum's Collector Car Insurance. Gotta pimp the services we have to offer!
This morning I had every intention of making a roast beef in the crock-pot and not blogging, but the roast decided to go tanning and get brown on me.....so my wife, Kelly, called and was wondering what she could get at the store for dinner....I emailed her my list of items....I had not had a Cordon Bleu in forever, and for some reason I was craving it. My grandfather used to make these for us when my sister, brother and I were growing up. I have great memories of going to his house and eating an awesome meal, and I would say he was my first inspiration in great food from the soul. So today I started thinking about what makes a Chicken Cordon Bleu a great Cordon Bleu.....The obvious is the ham and cheese with the nice crunchy crust.....I do not remember my grandfather making a sauce, but after some research I came across a couple recipes for an interesting cream sauce, so I came up with my own...This recipe is below....Please let me know if you try it! I was extremely happy with this meal and how it plated and most of all tasted!
List of items needed for the chicken:
4 Chicken Breast
1 table spoon of paprika
kosher salt
fresh cracked black pepper
twine - 3 pieces per breast about 4 inches long
1/4 pound thinly sliced (shaved) boiled ham
4 thin slices of swiss cheese
1 cup Panko (or bread crumbs)
Here is how to make the Boca Cordon Bleu:
First, turn the oven to 350 degrees and then proceed beat the you know what out of the chicken breast with the flat side of the mallet. My breasts when completed was about 1/4 inch thick. To me it is easiest and less messy to place it inside of a large zipper bag (again, sponsors, maybe?)
I added some light salt and pepper on the inside of the breast. I then placed 1 slice of swiss cheese torn in half in the middle of the chicken breasts. Then simply just added 1/4th of the ham that I bought.
I then folded the outside of the chicken in on top of the ham and cheese and began to roll the chicken. When you fold the outside of it in you are making a burrito out of the chicken. This will help keep all of the goodness inside the bird when it cooks, and will not allow it to escape when you cut into it.
Once the chicken is rolled I took my twine and tied knots to help hold its shape while they are cooking. I found that 3 pieces of knotted twin did the trick. You will then want to cut off all of the excess twine from the roll..Go ahead and lightly salt and pepper the outside now...
Take your panko and 1 table of paprika and place it on a plate.
Guess what is next............
NOPE! I did not egg wash....I just put the breast into the panko/paprika.....
Place it on a pan and pop it in the over for about 30 minutes or till the chicken reaches 170 degrees internal temp......
About 10 minutes before the chicken is done you will want to make the sauce.
List of items needed:
3 tablespoons of butter (yes, real butter)
3 tablespoons of Olive Oil
1/2 Cup of Chicken Broth
1 teaspoon of chicken bouillon granules
1 tablespoon of corn starch
1 cup of heavy whipping cream
chopped basil
pepper
Here is how to make this rocking sauce...
Heat the butter and the oil in a saucepan.
Add the chicken broth and the granulated bouillon to the melted butter and oil and let that simmer till it starts to reduce or thickens.
You will want to prepare on the side the 1/2 cup of heavy whipping cream and the cornstarch by dissolving the cornstarch in the cream. Do not whip to hard or you will turn the cream into a starchy whipped cream...(not good)...
Once the chicken stock has reduced go ahead and SLOWLY add the cream into the hot chicken stock and continue to stir till it starts to thicken.
I finished the sauce off with some fresh basil from my herb garden (thanks mom!) and some fresh ground pepper...
Now it is time to plate!!! As a side I had a fresh herb salad, pre-made at the store, and tossed it in a olive oil and vinegar salad dressing from Newman's Own....Great stuff!
Anyway, that is it....it was pretty simple to make for such a great looking and tasting meal. The creaminess of the sauce complements the chicken so well. The salad was a great lite way to add to a heavier main dish.
I hope you all enjoy! Please post feedback, comments, or let me know if you made it!
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