Chicken Cordon Bleu

This dish is a classic comfort food to me. This recipe actually came from my mom. Unfortunately it's not an family recipe since I think she got it from some magazine or cooking class. But nonetheless, it's a classic Lou tradition. I don't alter this recipe much, if at all, so don't worry if you don't see any italics.

Chicken Cordon Bleu, aka Swiss Chicken and Ham Roll-Ups

4 boneless chicken breast halves

2 TB chopped parsley - can used dried parsley if you want

4 thin slices of cooked ham - I use sliced deli ham

4 slices of Swiss cheese

3 TB mayonnaise

2 tsp. water

6 TB bread crumbs

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp paprika

Dash of pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place chicken between sheets of waked paper (I use plastic wrap) and pound until about 1/4" thick. Sprinkle one side of each breast with a little salt, pepper and parsley. Top with slice of ham and slice of cheese. Roll up jelly roll style and fasten with toothpicks to keep the roll together.

In a small bowl, combine mayonnaise and water. In another bowl, mix bread crumbs, salt, paprika, and pepper. Dip chicken in mayonnaise mixture then in crumbs. Bake in shallow baking pan for 20 minutes. I line the baking pan with a silpat or other non-stick mat so the chicken comes off easier.

This one didn't get rolled all the way, but you get the idea of what it should look like.

This dish has great flavor. I love the Swiss cheese in this dish. It's probably the reason why I make this - for the melted cheese. The chicken is nice and juicy thanks to the pounding it takes. It's a classic and easy dish to prepare. The most intimidating part of this meal may be the pounding of the chicken and rolling up. If you pound the chicken thin enough, it will be easy to roll the chicken up with the ham and Swiss. Watch out for toothpicks when eating this dish. You could pull them out before serving, but if you pull it out too quickly right after pulling it out of the oven, it could unroll. Either let the eater pull out the toothpicks themselves or let the chicken sit for at least 5 minutes before pulling them out.

Enjoy!