Chicken Cordon Bleu

Ooooh! Just saying the name makes me hungry. This recipe has fallen out of fashion in recent years, but it was a staple at just about every wedding feast in the 70’s and 80’s. Well…I’m bringing it back, baby! This is such an amazing meal that isn’t really difficult to prepare, but it does have a number of steps and involves breading a somewhat complex food item.

Basically what you do is take some chicken cutlets and pound them out until they are thin and wide. You layer on a slice or two of ham (yes, that’s right…we are mixing our meats!) and a slice of swiss cheese on the chicken cutlets, then roll them up, and stick a toothpick or two through to keep the rolled chicken in place. Then you dredge the rolled chicken in a flour, dip it in some scrambled egg, then dredge the egg covered chicken in breadcrumbs. Lay the breaded chicken in a greased glass or metal baking dish. Spray the breadcrumbs with vegetable oil cooking spray so that it browns nicely in the oven. Cook at 400 for about 20-30 minutes until lightly browned and serve with rice or couscous (or the starch of your choice).

I prefer to serve with Uncle Ben’s white rice. Before serving I’ll mix the rice in the fat and resin from left on the bottom of the baking dish after removing the chicken. It is LOADED with flavor….and fat, sooooo. Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 1-2 lbs of boneless chicken cutlets pounded thin
• 1/2 lb sliced swiss cheese
• 1/2 lb sliced deli ham (thinly sliced leftover baked ham is killer!)
• 3 eggs scrambled
• 1 cup of white flour
• ~2 cups of Italian bread crumbs

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375F
2. Grease the bottom of a glass or metal baking dish large enough to hold the rolled chicken
3. Take the pounded chicken cutlet and lay on a plate. Lay 1 or 2 slices of ham followed by 1 or 2 slices of Swiss cheese on the chicken.
4. Roll the chicken, cheese, and ham layers into a roll and fasten with one or more toothpicks.
5. Get three medium size bowls. Pour the flour in the first, scramble 3 eggs (add more if needed) in the second, and put the breadcrumbs in the third. Take each roll of chicken and cover in flour, then dip into egg until thoroughly coated, and then dredge in the bowl of breadcrumbs until well coated.
6. Place the breaded chicken rolls into the greased baking dish leaving about 1″ or more between rolls.
7. Spray the breaded rolls of chicken with a liberal amount of cooking spray. This will ensure the breadcrumbs brown.
8. Place in the oven for 20-30 minutes until they are nicely golden browned.
9. Remove and serve with a starch and vegetable.

Note: I ran out of toothpicks and had to use bamboo skewers. Not the best, but it works. Remember to clip them short…and remove before eating.