You may remember last fall when I posted a short note on a dinner we had at my fiancé's mothers house. His step-dad made Chicken Cordon Bleu and it was amazing! The chicken was fully cooked and intensely moist. The ham and Parmesan cheese that were rolled with the chicken added a great combination of flavor. I was thinking to myself that I need to try this recipe! At that moment, Dale looked up at me and said, "You have to make this!" Well, that was settled.
The not so easy part was actually getting around to purchasing the ingredients. Chicken breasts are rather expensive. When I buy other meats, we generally get leftovers for a couple more nights. Chicken is usually consumed in the first night because there isn't as much of it. A few weeks ago I ran across a new take on Chicken Cordon Bleu in my May issue of Cook's Country. Instead of pounding the daylights out of the chicken breast, then rolling it with the ham and cheese, the recipe has you cut a slit into the side of the breast and add a roll of ham with cheese in the middle. I instantly loved this idea. See, I've done rolled chicken breast before and it took lightyears for the center parts of the chicken-roll to cook! At that point the outer-parts were dry. This approach makes loads of sense! And although it's fun to pound the chicken into a pancake, cutting a slit in the side is much easier.
I made this recipe twice last week; once for my parents, then again for Dale's dad and his girlfriend. Obviously I liked it the first time, so I made it again. Whereas the first time took me ages, the second time went more quickly. As it goes with most recipes, the more you make something, the faster it is to prepare; you know what needs to be pulled out and prepped ahead of cooking to save time. Both times the chicken turned out perfect! And you'll never guess my favorite part: the bread-crumbs! The bread-crumb mix was a combination of Ritz crackers, white bread and melted butter. You pulse them in a food processor then toast in the oven. They add a nice crunch to the chicken and have a warm, buttery flavor: yum!
When you cut into the chicken to make the pocket for the ham, be sure to go slowly and try to be aware of where your knife is in the breast. The first time I cut all the way through and some cheese escaped while baking. We can't let the cheese escape!! This recipe calls for Swiss cheese. I think next time I may try Gruyere. The Swiss had a little more kick than I cared for. This is easy to prepare ahead of time; breaded chicken can hang out in the fridge for up to a day (this saved me loads of time after a busy afternoon).
Foolproof Chicken Cordon Bleu
Kris Widican, Cook's Country May 2010
25 Ritz crackers
4 slices hearty white sandwich bread, torn into pieces
6 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
8 thin slices deli ham (about 8 oz)
2 cups shredded Swiss cheese
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 2 pounds total)
Salt and pepper
3 large eggs
2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1 cup all-purpose flour
1. Adjust oven racks to lowest and middle positions and heat oven to 450-degrees. Pulse crackers and bread in food processor until coarsely ground. Drizzle in butter; pulse to incorporate.
2. Bake crumbs on rimmed baking sheet on middle rack, stirring occasionally, until light brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer to shallow dish. Leave oven on.
3. Top each ham slice with 1/4 cup cheese and roll tightly (into a log); set aside (The second time around, I used less cheese and was able to get tighter rolls than shown here, thus allowing the larger chicken breasts to have enough room for two rolls).
4. Pat chicken dry with paper towels. Cut pocket in thickest part of chicken and stuff each breast with 2 ham-and-cheese rolls (note: smaller breasts may only hold one roll). Season both sides with salt and pepper. Transfer chicken to plate, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate at least 20 minutes.
5. Beat eggs and mustard in second shallow dish. Place flour in third shallow dish. One at a time, coat stuffed chicken lightly with flour, dip into egg mixture, and dredge in crumbs, pressing to adhere (breaded chicken can be refrigerated, covered, for 1 day).
6. Transfer chicken to a baking sheet. Bake on lowest rack until bottom of chicken is golden brown, about 10 minutes, and then move baking sheet to middle rack and reduce the oven temperature to 400-degrees.
7. Bake until golden brown and chicken registers 160-degrees, 20-25 minutes. Transfer to cutting board, tent with foil, and let rest 5 minutes. Serve.
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