Virtual France, Real Cordon Bleu

Long ago and far away, I took French classes in school. In my school in the mid Atlantic states, they were mostly using French class to look at French art or read French authors or do French cooking. It was senior year before any actual French was spoken in any meaningful way.

Before that though, in my school in New England, the purpose of French class was to actually learn French. If we read French authors, we read them in French. We spoke exclusively French in class – even the grammar lessons were in French.

French culture is interesting and worth exploring but for that we had extracurriculars, like French Club.

And for French Club we had a group meal and we all made a dish or two and so one night we all tried coq au vin and chicken cordon bleu and chocolate mousse.

I remember not loving the coq au vin and we made the cordon bleu and chocolate mousse. (Twice, because the mousse didn’t go well the first time.)

That’s probably why I don’t have the mousse recipe. But I still have the recipe for cordon bleu.

And now – to celebrate my progress on my virtual Côte d’Azur challenge – so will you!

Ingredients – Chicken

• 5 boneless chicken breasts
• 5 slices boiled ham
• 5 slices Swiss cheese
• Thyme
• Parsley
• Salt
• Pepper
• Grated cheeses
• 1 egg
• 2 Tbsp water
• Bread crumbs
• Small onion

For Sauce

• 1 1/2 sticks of butter
• 1 1/2 Tbsp flour
• 2 c chicken broth

Directions – Chicken

Flatten each chicken breast.

Sprinkle with salt, pepper, thyme, parsley and grated cheese.

Roll 1 slice of cheese inside 1 piece of ham and place in the center of the chicken breast.

Bring all the sides together and seal well (use toothpicks if needed)

Mix egg and water until frothy.

Roll each breast in egg mixture and then in crumbs to cover evenly on all sides.

Place in a glass baking dish with 1/2 inch of water.

Cover with thinly sliced onions.

Bake at 350 F for 1 hr to 1 1/2 hr (or until a meat thermometer indicates it is cooked through). Halfway through the cooking time, make the sauce (below)

Remove from pan and top with sauce.

Directions – Sauce

Melt the butter

Blend in the flour and cook over low heat until browned (make a roux)

Stir in chicken broth and boil 3-5 minutes.

Reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, to reduce into a sauce.

And then…

Enjoy!

I served mine with freshly heated baguettes (bought from a store), baked potatoes and pan-seared asparagus with garlic.