Chicken Cordon Bleu

I ate chicken cordon bleu all. the. time. when I was a kid.

This chicken cordon bleu came in a box.

Frozen.

With one of those terribly unappetizing photos printed on the cardboard.

EEK!

It’s strange to think about all the frozen dinners I ate because many were dishes that are so, so, so, simple to put together.

Chicken cordon bleu is one of those simple recipes.

But regardless, how could you not take pleasure in rolling up a piece of chicken with ham and cheese, and rolling it in breadcrumbs?

Start out with some chicken cutlets. These are super thin slices of chicken breast that you can buy from the store.

Lay each chicken cutlet out and season with salt and pepper (and don’t mind the avocado on my cutting board…)

Take some good quality slices of black forest ham and Swiss or Gruyere cheese and place it on top of your chicken.

Roll it all up nice and tight and either tie it up with kitchen twine or stick in some toothpicks to secure.

I recommend that you put the exact same number of toothpicks in each chicken so you remember how many to take out when ready to serve. Toothpicks don’t taste good with the chicken.

Roll each piece of chicken in flour, then egg, then panko breadcrumbs, and place on a wire rack over a baking sheet:

Bake for a half hour until the chicken is cooked through and the cheese is gooey!

PS This is a good make-ahead dish. You can roll up the chicken breasts and secure a day in advance, then roll in the flour/egg/breadcrumbs right before baking and pop it into the oven.

Chicken Cordon Bleu

yield: SERVES 4

Ingredients:

1 lb chicken cutlets (I had 5)
1/4 cup flour
1 egg, whisked
1 cup panko breadcrumbs
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp salt
salt and pepper
about 2 tbsp olive oil, for drizzling
1/3 lb thinly sliced black forest ham
1/3 lb thinly sliced Swiss or Gruyere cheese (or you can do grated cheese instead)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Set a wire rack on top of a baking sheet.

Set up your breading stations by placing the flour in the first bowl, the egg in the second, and the panko in the third. Season the panko by adding the garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, dried thyme, and salt.

Lay out your chicken cutlets on a cutting board and gather up some toothpicks, about 2 or 3 per cutlet (or you can tie it up with kitchen twine if you prefer that). Season both sides of the chicken cutlets with salt and pepper, and drizzle on a little bit of olive oil. Place a single layer of both ham and cheese on each cutlet, and roll it up tightly. Secure with the toothpicks or tie it up with twine to keep it closed up.

Dip the rolled chicken slices first in the flour, then in the egg, then in the panko breadcrumbs, shaking off the excess coating every step of the way (if you don't do this, your breading will want to fall off later). Place on the wire rack.

Baking time will vary depending on how big your chicken cutlets are, but 30-35 minutes should be about right. I bake the chicken until it's about 152 degrees F inside (rises to about 155-157 during resting), to make sure it doesn't overcook. Let the chicken rest for about 5-10 minutes out of the oven so the juices don't run out, and remove the toothpicks or kitchen twine before serving. Enjoy!