cordon bleu chicken

with stir-fried veggie grillers in BBQ cream sauce

2020-08-20

Cordon blue is not difficult to make from scratch: chicken breasts, ham and cheese stuffing with a breading mix. When made at home, the size of the pieces may differ greatly, unless you're willing to cut the chicken breasts to the same size.

In the French cuisine, this dish is prepared with suprême sauce, a finished sauce made by enriching a chicken velouté sauce with heavy cream. For simplicity at home (and to reduce calorie-load) I use a cheesy béchamel sauce instead.
This can also be prepared as a roll-up, a horizontal stack or as a casserole.

The cream sauce with the vegetables compliments the béchamel sauce, but also contrasts with it.

INGREDIENTS

This is what you need for 3-4 servings:

2 lbs. chicken breasts ( = 3-4 pieces)
smoked ham, sliced thickly
2 cups béchamel sauce
up to 2 cups parmesan or other melting cheese
4-6 egg whites (or liquid egg whites from bottle)
up to 2 cups breadcrumbs
1 23-oz. package veggie grillers
onions, bell peppers, zucchinis, mushrooms
olive oil
S&P, seasoning
up to 2 cups heavy cream

Pic1: chicken cordon bleu, stir-fried veggie grillers in BBQ cream sauce

Directions

2020-08-20

Pic2-4: stuff the chicken breasts

Rinse and dry the chicken breasts.
Cut a pocket in each breast with a sharp knife.
Stuff that pocket with smoked ham and sliced parmesan cheese.
Stack another piece of cheese on top. (Swiss is more flexible)
If necessary, use toothpicks to staple it all together and close the opening.

Pic5-7: prepare oven-dish

Pour some egg white on the bottom of an oven-proof dish.
Sprinkle generously with breadcrumbs until nearly dry.
Drag the chicken breasts through egg whites and then through breadcrumbs. (Pic6)
Place the stuffed chicken breasts in the oven-proof dish.
Sprinkle more breadcrumbs.

Pic8-10: béchamel

Prepare a very thick cheesy béchamel sauce.

Pic11-13: oven-ready

Pour the béchamel sauce over the chicken breasts. (Pic11)
Sprinkle again with breadcrumbs. (Pic12)
Bake at 320 ºF. for 60-75 minutes. (Pic13 = halfway)
Internal temperature must be 165 ºF. Use a meat thermometer to verify.

vegetables

Pic14-16: stir-fry vegetables

While the chicken is in the oven,
stir-fry the vegetables until they show darkened edges = 5-10 minutes.

Pic17-19: stew veggies, add cream

Optional:
- Add 2 cups fruit juice / water / stock.
- Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 15-25 minutes until fully cooked. (Pic17)
  I need my onions and bell peppers to be fully cooked.
- Reduce the sauce until nearly dry.
Remove from the heat.
Stir 2 tbsp. BBQ sauce and up to 2 cups heavy cream into the vegetables. (Pic18)
Keep stirring over low heat until the sauce thickens to the desired consistency.
Serve one chicken breast on a large plate.
Serve the sauce with or over the vegetables next to it.

served

Pic20: the meal
Pic21: cordon bleu chicken
Pic22: stir-fry veggie grillers in BBQ cream sauce

Enjoy.

b. day 2: reheat, with deep-fried breaded okra and zucchinis

After sitting in the refrigerator overnight, I reheated yesterday's leftovers with some extra milk to keep it from burning. I agree, it doesn't look nearly as nice as the original, but it's the same dish.

The real newbies here are deep-fried breaded okra and zucchinis, all garden-fresh from today's harvest and a very different combination than the above.

INGREDIENTS

This is what you need for 2 servings:

cordon bleu chicken leftovers
milk
1 lb. okra
1 lb. grey zucchinis
egg whites
breadcrumbs

Pic23: cordon bleu reheat, deep-fried okra and zucchinis

Directions

2020-08-21

okra

Pic24-26: deep-fried breaded okra

Preheat the deep-fryer to 350 ºF.
Wash and slice the okra in 1/4" pieces.
Cover with lightly-salted water and add 1 cup vinegar. Stir and rest for 1-2 hrs, if possible overnight.
This will draw out some of the slime.
Pour egg whites over the zucchinis. Shake to cover all sides. Drain excess egg whites and reserve.
Add breadcrumbs and shake gently to cover all sides. (Pic24)
Deep-fry for 4-6 minutes until the breading is golden- to dark-brown, as you prefer. (Pic25)
Add salt to taste. Serve and enjoy. (Pic26)

zucchinis

Pic27-29: deep-fried breaded zucchinis

Wash and slice the zucchinis in 1/4" thick pieces.
Drag through egg whites and breadcrumbs until covered on both sides. (Pic27)
Deep-fry for 3-6 minutes until the breading is golden-brown.
3 minutes for crisp zucchinis, 6 minutes for soft.
Allow to dry on paper towels. Add salt to taste. (Pic28)
Serve and enjoy. (Pic29)

See also: Deming, NM gardens, animals and more and avemariasongs.org

See also: Deming, NM gardens, animals and more
and avemariasongs.org