Chicken Cordon Bleu

This dish can go horribly wrong.  I have nightmares of eating this at a bridal luncheon a few years ago.  Tough, dry chicken, ham with a strange texture, and fake tasting, rubbery cheese.  I still have a sneaking suspicion that the “caterer” was the frozen food section at Wal-Mart.  So, why make it for dinner, then?  Because chicken cordon bleu can be delicious.  And it was, oh, so very delicious.

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I looked at quite a few recipes, but this one from Bobby Flay sounded the best.  Gruyère cheese.  Yum.  While it is not imperative to use gruyère cheese I highly recommend it.  Go for it.  You will be rewarded for your cheese purchase.  But if you still don’t feel like taking the plunge, swiss cheese will work.

I used slices of black forest ham instead of the prosciutto called for in the recipe.  Other than that, I followed the recipe exactly.  Well, not exactly.  I didn’t pound the chicken breasts quite thin enough, so measure them if you need to and pound all the way to the 1/4 inch thickness instructed.  I had to secure my rolls with toothpicks, which turned out to work very well.  CAUTION:  Tell your husband that there are toothpicks in his chicken before he scarfs it down.

I loved the panko crumb crust.  If you cannot find panko, then dry bread crumbs is a fine substitute.

I served the chicken with a creamy parmesan sauce.  Some chicken cordon bleus are served plain, without a sauce, but I planned to serve the chicken with egg noodles and thought it needed a sauce.  It was perfect with the chicken and with the noodles.  Creamy and subtle with just a hint of cheese.

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