Chicken Cordon Bleu- Jen's Savory Summary

Hi Sunday Supper People!  I hope you are keeping warm out there.  It won't even get above freezing in chilly Boston this week.  I was very excited to try Joanne's version of Chicken Cordon Bleu this Sunday.  A variation of this has always been a frequent dish at our household but I had never made it this way before.  As much as this is a family tradition, it also brought back memories of Jason and I traveling to Switzerland.  I saw it a lot on the menus there.  That is why I chose to make rosti, a Swiss dish which is basically a fried potato cake, to accompany the Chicken Cordon Bleu.

Chicken "sandwiches" tooth-picked together

On Sunday, we headed over to Whole Foods to get our chicken, cheese, and lots of potatoes for our big meal.  I decided to use Emmental cheese for the filling.   It is a Swiss cheese but not very pungent, melts really well, and was on sale! We skipped the prosciutto and amped up the cheese.  Given the frigid temperatures, I was in the mood for a gooey, homey meal that night.

Flour, egg wash, and bread crumb mixture

I did a few other twists on the recipe.  First I dredged my chicken in flour, then egg wash and finally a bread crumb mixture.  In my breadcrumbs, I put some salt, pepper, garlic, and paprika.  I also used my trusty cast iron pan so I could pop it directly in the oven and not transfer to a baking sheet - less dishes to do is always a plus.

Brown chicken, ready to go in the oven

I got the chicken going in the pan and got a nice crust on both sides.  I was ready to eat the chicken now.  It smelled so delicious in the house.  At this point, I started shredding my tons of potatoes to make the rosti  (link to the recipe at the end of post).  There were no green or leafy veggies in sight for us in the dinner.  Next time I will definitely add something green to the plate because this meal was quite heavy.    

Straight out of the oven! 

I left the chicken in the oven at 400F for 10 minutes. When it came out the cheese was oozing through and it genuinely looked so delicious.  I have to admit I did eat some of the charred cheese straight out the pan.

Hope you enjoyed our family classic of "toothpick" chicken!   Also here is the link to rosti if you would like to try it out. 

Dinner is Served!