badseed1980 | Thing Thirty-Three: Chicken Cordon Bleu

I bet I'm not the only person who was a kid in the 1980s, whose parents made chicken cordon bleu for schmancy dinner parties. It was one of those Special Dishes my dad made when we had guests for dinner. I loved it as a kid, but have hardly eaten it since, and I'd never made it until this weekend.

I wanted to make a nice dinner for my fiancé and myself on Sunday night when he came home from a weekend of working. Usually, this is a steak occasion, but this time, I wanted something different. I came across a recipe on the Weight Watchers website for chicken cordon bleu, and thought, "Ooh, I could do that."

Let me start off right now by saying that this dish is a bitch to get just right. This is especially true when you're on Weight Watchers and are trying to roll up tiny four-ounce chicken breast filets while keeping the ham and cheese inside. Fortunately, perfection is NOT required for this to be a tasty meal.

This dish probably works best with modestly sized whole chicken breast halves, pounded flat. Somehow, I managed to get chicken breast halves that were a pound each. Oy. I managed to slice out two neat four-ounce filets from these guys before they started getting messy. I cut four filets total, and used the messy bits to simply toss with curry powder and sauté, freezing them for later use. Then, I pounded my filets to an even thickness of about 1/4". I laid a slice of reduced-fat Swiss cheese and a couple thin slices of smoked ham on each one. I rolled them up, and then, I did something the recipe didn't call for. I didn't put toothpicks through them yet, but instead, wrapped them tightly in plastic wrap and stuck them in the fridge. This advance prep meant that I had less to do around dinnertime, and it also helped the rolls hold their shape better.

About an hour before dinner, I turned the oven on to 400 degrees. I put foil on a baking sheet, and sprayed it with cooking spray. Then, I set out three shallow bowls. In the first one, I put a quarter cup of flour, with a little salt and pepper. In the second, I put a quarter cup of honey mustard (though you could use dijon, or just egg). In the third, I put half a cup of seasoned whole wheat breadcrumbs. I unwrapped each chicken roll in turn, and stuck it with toothpicks. I then dipped them in each of the three bowls in order (flour-mustard-crumbs), using the toothpicks to turn them to coat completely. I laid each coated roll on the baking sheet, and sprayed them all with olive oil from a mister. Then, into the oven they went for about 40 minutes, until they were cooked through and golden-brown outside.

The reason why I say they're a bitch to get just right is because unless the cheese is completely contained within the chicken, it's likely that some of it will leak out of the roll and onto the baking sheet. Fortunately, if you spray it well, it will come up from the sheet with the chicken roll and you won't lose much. I served the chicken with baked thick slices of sweet potato and steamed haricots. Delicious! Plus, since I had one roll and my fiancé had two, I still have one left over for dinner tomorrow night after dance class. Excellent.