Chicken Cordon Bleu

I have a colleague at Good Morning America, Danielle

 who asked me for a recipe for this delicious and celebratory chicken dish developed originally in France, Cordon Bleu, meaning Blue Ribbon.
Danielle wanted to surprise her boyfriend for Valentines day, it is his favorite chicken dish. I happily obliged  and here is my version.
I use thinly sliced Black Forrest ham and thicker sliced Ementhaller cheese. I think the wonderful taste of fresh sage is an added enhancement for this dish so I use chopped fresh sage and added them to the panko bread crumbs.

Cheers and Happy Valentines day to all.

Ingredients

4 (6-8) oz. skinless boneless Chicken Breast Halves pounded about 1/4 inch or ask for chicken cutlets at the butcher
8 oz. thinly sliced  Black Forrest Ham
8 oz. sliced Ementhaller, Swiss or Gruyere cheese

1 cup flour
2 eggs beaten with a splash of water and 1 Tbs. hot sauce
1-1/2 cup panko bread crumbs with 2 Tbs. coarsely chopped fresh sage.

8 tooth picks

1/4 cup olive oil

Method

Lay the cutlets skin side down on a clean cutting board. Lay the ham on top of each cutlet and the cheese on top of the ham.

Roll the breast from the smaller end up to the wider end and secure with 2 tooth picks.

 Then set up the rolled cutlets for the standard breading procedure. Flour, egg wash then bread crumbs, each in their own dish.
Coat each roll in the flour and shake off the excess, then dip each cutlet coating evenly and thoroughly with the egg mixture, then coat each roll in the herb panko, patting the breading so that it sticks and adheres evenly to the rolled cutlet.
Pre heat the oven to 375 degrees
Heat a cast iron skillet with the olive oil over medium heat until it ripples, before it smokes. Place each cutlet into the hot oil and cook until the cutlet rolls are golden brown on all sides.

Place the skillet into the preheated oven. Bake for 25-30 minutes until the cordon bleu is cooked through.
Remove tooth picks and serve whole or sliced.

Recipe and photos by Karen Pickus 2015
Courtesy Karen Pickus 2015