Chicken Cordon Bleu
This recipe is amazing. It is the sauce that makes it beyond to die for:
6 chicken breasts. Pound them thin. A lot ot times I will buy chicken tenders as the chicken breasts can get huge. I wind up making a tree forest out of toothpicks trying to hold the chicken breast closed. I have inadvertently made a sweater tying string around a big chicken breast to hold it together.
1 slice of cheese for each chicken breast. I like Lorraine Swiss but it is up to you what you like
1 slice of ham for each chicken breast (don’t cheap out on the ham @ 90% water!) You can also use meat candy (yes bacon partially cook this first)
Once you lay your chicken breast out nice and flat, add your cheese and ham. Roll it up like a burrito. Make a toothpick tree to hold it together then wrap with string. You can have a lot of fun with this weaving the string in and out of the toothpicks to make a chicken sweater.
Okay just kidding…
Wrap it up like a burrito and fasten it so the stuff inside doesn’t leak (out or is at least leaking to a minimum like an arterial spray with a tourniquet).
Mix a 3 to 1 ratio of flour and paprika. Roll the toothpick tree in the mixture. If that isn’t practical, figure out a way to get the damn chicken coated in the flour/paprika mixture.
Grab some butter. Not that wanna be butter but the real stuff. Heat the butter and brown the chicken on all sides. Yeah, the toothpicks are a problem.
Add DRY white wine like Chardonnay. 1/2 a cup or more. I wind up dumping a lot in. I don’t drink wine so I give it to the chickens. Bottom’s up!
Add some chicken bouillon. Kripes, not the powdered stuff. This will literally make or break your recipe. I use “Better than Bouillon”. I stick a spoon it in and spend a half an hour trying to shake it off the spoon.
Now, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes. You want the juice to run clear. No salmonella side dish for you!
After the threat of Salmonella has passed, take the chicken out and put on a plate.
Now for the best and what makes this all worth while!
Blend 1 tablespoon (or more since my chicken are drunk) cornstarch and 1 cup of heavy whipping cream (at least). If the mixture is too runny, add more cornstarch. Whisk it for a bit as it does thicken after a few minutes.
Pour over your chicken and holy cow is this good!