Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Chicken Cordon Bleu

Chicken cordon bleu is a delicious meal, which you can make yourself at home, even if you are a novice cook. There are lots of boneless chicken recipes to choose from and this dish is one of the nicest. There is a famous cooking school in France called Cordon Bleu but the recipe has been around hundreds of years longer than the cooking school.

A lot of people think this recipe is French but nobody knows whether it is, or whether it was created by chefs in the United States who were trying to replicate a European style stuffed poultry dish.

How Did Cordon Bleu Get its Name?

“Cordon bleu” actually translates to mean blue ribbon or blue band. The history of cordon bleu tells us that King Henry III started an order of knights, whose duty it was to fight for Catholicism.

The knights wore a Maltese cross around their neck, hung on a blue ribbon. Later on, they would gather for big gourmet feasts cooked by the top chefs at the time and this is how blue ribbons became associated with excellent food.

How to Make the Best Chicken Cordon Bleu

This dish is normally made by wrapping the meat around a cheese and ham filling and it normally has a breadcrumb crust. To make this recipe in a very simple way, you can layer the ham and cheese over the meat and bake it.

A different preparation method for your chicken cordon bleu recipe is to cut a hole into the meat and poke the cheese into it, then wrap the ham around the outside and roll it in breadcrumbs. However, if you want to make the classic version the true authentic way, you will need to butterfly the bird, pound it flat, and then wrap it up, with the cheese and ham inside. Dip it in breadcrumbs and then grill, pan fry, or bake it.

Classic cordon bleu has a Swiss cheese and ham filling. You can use Gruyere, Provolone or even mozzarella cheese. The ham can be prosciutto, cured ham, or bacon. Feel free to add some spinach or fresh basil leaves too, for some extra color and flavor and perhaps a chopped sun dried tomato or two.

The chicken should be pounded to a quarter inch thickness for the best results and you might like to sprinkle some salt and pepper on it before adding the filling. Roll it up and secure it with toothpicks. To get the breadcrumbs to stick to the meat, you should mix them with a beaten egg and roll the meat through this mixture.

How to Serve Chicken Cordon Bleu

This dish goes well with a mustard sauce or a creamy sauce or you could just serve it by itself.

Rice or potatoes are tasty with it and any kind of vegetables would go well too. This chicken recipe is just as good for a family meal as for a dinner party, when you want to present something impressive without having to spend hours preparing it.

Anyone who wants to use more chicken in his or her meals but does not know where to begin should take a look at http://www.BonelessChickenRecipe.com. This comprehensive source will give you a lot of great ideas! Such creations like chicken Marsala Italian recipes and many more taste ones.