Chicken Cordon Bleu with wine sauce is a great way to celebrate a birthday.My step-daughter turned over 30 (you didn’t hear that from me) this past week and once a year I know the question is coming, ‘do you know what I want for my birthday?’ Of course I reply ‘no’ and the answer is . . . CHICKEN CORDON BLEU. Her schedule for the last four years has been school and work (before the lay off). She is very smart, except when it comes to guys, and she is a hard worker. So once a year a simple request can be granted for all she goes through. This is what you will need to do and be sure to read the notes at the end.
4 whole chicken breast
8 thin slices of Prosciutto ham
8 thin slices of Gruyere cheese
6 tablespoons flour
3 large eggs, well beaten
6 tablespoons bread crumbs
Flatten each chicken breast to about 1/4 inch using the flat side of a meat mallet. On each flattened breast place 2 slices of Prosciutto, then 2 slices of cheese. Roll from the short end jelly roll style. Secure with toothpicks making sure the ends are closed. Roll each rolled breast in flour. dip in the beaten egg, and then roll in bread crumbs. Place on a sprayed baking pan. Add 1/2 cup chicken stock to pan. Pace in 400 degree oven for 30 – 40 minutes.
WHITE WINE SAUCE
3 Tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
2 cups chicken stock
white wine, about 1/2 bottle
Melt butter in non-stick skillet. Whisk in flour and cook about 2 – 3 minutes. Do not brown. Add chicken stock and whisk until smooth. Add white wine to thin out and simmer until sauce coats the back of a spoon.
Serve by placing cooked chicken breast on a plate and ladel with wine sauce.
Notes:
I buy the whole chicken breast with bone in. I skin and de-bone them when I get home. You can use store bought chicken fillets but I find these are not consistant in size. I then use the bones to make the stock, but by all means use canned stock if you want. You don’t have to add the chicken stock to the pan, but I find this helps to keep the breast from drying out while in the oven. Remember don’t cover them with foil.
I usually use Gruyere cheese but have also been known to use Swiss. I’m not sure which one I like better but there is a difference in taste (of course). Just be sure to use high quality cheese.
Prosciutto is an Italian air-dried, salt cured ham. It is not smoked and I would suggest not to use smoked ham. With the prosciutto and the chicken stock no salt will be needed in this dish.
For the wine sauce I use an Australia Pinot Grigio. This seems to be the perfect fit for this dish but any white wine you have on hand will work. Depending on the conversation and how the chicken breast are cooking I add a little more wine and continue to simmer a second time until desired thickness is reached. This will not harm the sauce at all, just make sure you reduce it back to a ‘sauce’ stage so it doesn’t look or taste like you poured a class of wine on the breasts.
Hope you enjoy . . . more later.
