Chicken Cordon Bleu for My Funny Valentine

I would have to guess my life long motto should be "better late than never". Well I did promise you my sweeties favorite V-day meal, and no it couldn't be simpler. It really isn't (or didn't start out as) a french dish. It is thought to be an American take on a Swiss dish of Veal Cordon Bleu, in which veal is wrapped around the ham and cheese. It became an American classic in the 1960's and appeared on many a fine restaurant menu in it's day. In any event I have made this for Michael many times over the years, usually only for his birthday and it really is so simple and delicious I don't know why it's not a meal in our "rotation" of things to prepare. I did switch it up a bit by using Emeril's Esscence Seasoning which I make myself. He has it posted all over the food network. The basic recipe I followed is Emeril"s Chicken Cordoon Bleu here at MarthaStewart.com.
Served with garlic mashed potatoes and broccoli, this was an excellent valentine/birthday dinner. Michael was a very happy man again this year.

Pound chicken breasts, roll up and seal, dredge and bread, then brown outside and finish off in the oven.

Slice into rounds.

Chicken Cordon Bleu

Adapted from Emeril Lagasse's 20-40-60:Fresh Food Fast,

Courtesy of Martha Stewart

Ingredients
4 (6-ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (about 1 1/2 pounds)
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
6 ounces sliced Swiss cheese (4 to 6 slices)
4 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto or Black Forest ham
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons Emeril's Original Essence or Creole Seasoning
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons milk
1 cup fine unseasoned dried bread crumbs
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 teaspoons good dijon mustard
2 tablespoons mayonaise


Directions

Cut each piece of chicken in half horizontally and place each piece between 2 sheets of plastic wrap. Using the smooth side of a meat mallet, pound out to a 1/4-inch thickness.
Place the 8 chicken pieces on a baking sheet and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Mix mayonaise and dijon mustard and spread over chicken breasts. Divide cheese evenly between 4 pieces of chicken. Arrange prosciutto ham slices evenly over cheese; top with remaining 4 pieces of chicken. Tuck in any cheese or prosciutto ham that extends over the edges. Secure chicken pieces together using toothpicks along the edges to seal the edges.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.
Place flour in a shallow dish; season with 1 tablespoon essence. In another shallow dish, mix together eggs and milk using a fork. Place bread crumbs in a third shallow dish; season with remaining 2 teaspoons Essence. Dip a chicken bundle in flour, shaking off any excess. Dip chicken in egg mixture, followed by seasoned breadcrumbs; transfer to a plate. Repeat process with remaining chicken bundles.
Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Place chicken bundles in skillet and cook, until browned on one side, about 4 minutes. Turn chicken and cook 2 minutes more

Transfer to prepared baking sheet and place in oven. Cook until cheese is melted and bubbly and chicken is cooked through, about 4 minutes. Remove toothpicks and serve immediately.

*Note: I did not have to use the baking sheet as my skillet is oven safe.


I served ours with Mornay Sauce.
Mornay sauce is simply a traditional Bechamel sauce with the addition of shredded or grated cheese.

Mornay Sauce
Adapted from Cooks Recipes


Ingredients

2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups hot milk
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded Gruyere or Swiss cheese
1/2 cup (2 ounces) freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Dash ground nutmeg
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Dash of cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons dijon mustard


Directions
Melt butter in a heavy saucepan over low heat. Add flour and cook slowly for about 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. The mixture should get foamy or frothy but not brown.
Add the hot milk and whisk vigorously until smooth. Add the seasonings and return to the heat and boil for about 1 minute over medium high heat. Remove from heat, add cheeses and stir until incorporated completely. Add dijon mustard and cayenne.

Makes about 2 1/4 cup.

Chicken Cordon Bleu drenched in Mornay Sauce with garlic mashed potatoes and broccoli.I hope if you've never tried to make this, you will now. I know I am going to be making it a little more often than once a year.

I am linking this up with:
Sundays At  One Food Club at Cocina Diary
Magazine Mondays at Cream Puffs in Venice
Delicious Dishes at It's a Blog Party
Foodie Fridays at Designs by Gollum
Friday Potluck at E-Kats Kitchen
Fat Camp Fridays at Mangoes and Chutney
Saturday Swap at Quit Eating Out
GCC Recipe Cart Challenge at The Grocery Cart Challenge
Friday Favorites at Whistle Stop Cafe








 

Carla and Michael

Our Easter Ham Dinner and All The Fixins

  After all of the years that we have had Easter ham at our house with just the two of us, I must tell you this one turned out to be the best one yet. I am not comparing this one to all of the many Easter hams we have shared with our families over the years (my mom makes a killer fresh ham). Only the ones we have cooked for ourselves. We have had some disasters over the years. One we cooked too long and nearly buned it up beyond being palatable, one we used the packaged "honey dijon" sauce packet and could barely taste the ham over the too powerful sauce mix. This one, a Johnsonville Smoked Spiral Cut ham was to die for I am not kidding you. I can not get enough of it. It has made the most fabulous breakfasts and sandwiches for lunch. We have sliced it for sandwiches, diced it for casseroles and have a giant ham bone all waiting in the freezer for many more fabulous meals.

  I am currently looking for a good casserole recipe, mind you not the ham, potato and "---" brand soup one either. I want something fabulous. So if you have one hiding in your arsenal of fabulous recipes please email me.

  Well back to our dinner, the ham cooks itself. So on to the fixins. For our side dishes we were tiring of the typical mashed potato and veggie. I was looking for a sauce for the asparagus other than the basic cheese or hollandaise sauce. Then I found this Asparagus with Cream Sauce and Michael made us a Basic Cauliflower Mash, of which you can do anything your heart desires to. He used a bit of part skim ricotta cheese in place of cream to keep it on the light side. Michael said he loved the asparagus cream sauce. I myself have always loved mashed cauliflower. Many restaurants have incorporated this into thier "light" menu. We hope you had a wonderful Easter Sunday. We did.

Michael and Carla

We are Creatures of Habit - Winter Split Pea Soup

  In my quest to make my standard winter fare (I or we, have made split pea soup almost every winter since I can't remember when-even when we were in Florida and the temperature would dip to a blustery 56 degrees, ha ha ha.), I was searching for a different recipe than the standard back of the bag recipe. I happened across this recipe for Andersen's Famous Split Pea Soup . I then found their website here: Andersen's Pea Soup Restaurant ,opened in 1924. Yes folks, that is 86 years. Read on to find out more about the history of this well known restaurant.

  The recipe was very similar to what I normally make. It is just put together a bit differently. The vegetables are added last, not during the long simmer. Simple ingredients for a very satisfying soup.

Sort and Soak

Simple ingredients

Simmer chicken stock, peas and ham. Skimming top frequently.

Saute and add the vegetables

Voila!

I decided to par cook the veggies by giving them a quick saute to get them started, as I was afraid they would be too crispy - crunchy just putting them into the soup raw. I added ham hocks to this recipe as I have never had split pea soup with out them. I also had a bit of leftover ham from Christmas in the freezer and threw that in as well. (Mom cooked it so she got to keep the bone. She used it for Navy Bean and Ham Soup, a favorite of hers.) Topped with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese and some croutons for me and for Michael just a side of buttered bread for dipping, it was warming and fulfilling on a cold rainy day.

Ingredients:


2 cups cold water
4 cups of chicken (or vegetable) stock
1 pound dried split peas (about 2-1/4 cups) picked over and rinsed as sometimes there are tiny rocks in with the peas
1 large stalk of celery, diced
1 Bay leaf
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tablespoon of sea salt, or to taste
3/8 teaspoon black pepper or to taste
3/4 teaspoon dried thyme or a few sprigs of fresh thyme
1 medium carrot, diced
3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
2 tablespoons fresh minced parsley or 2 teaspoons dried parsley
Dash of cayenne pepper or a few red pepper flakes


Instructions:

Heat water, stock and peas to boiling in a large soup pot and boil for 2 minutes
Remove from heat and let stand for about 1 hour and cover. Let sit for 1 hour.
Stir in onion, celery, bay leaf, pepper and thyme and again heat to boiling; then reduce heat
Cover and simmer until peas are tender (about 40 minutes), and stir occasionally
Stir diced carrots into soup and and heat to boiling; then reduce heat and be careful NOT to burn the soup
Cover again and simmer until carrots are tender and your soup is at th desired consistency (about 30 minutes)
Stir in the cayenne pepper, garlic powder and parsley near the end of the cooking process and correct seasonings to your taste

To reheat the pea soup, thin with a little chicken (or vegetable) stock to desired consistency and ...Enjoy Again!
Michael and Carla