Classic Chicken Cordon Bleu

I have two splurges in life right now.

No...it's not shopping sprees, not trips to the salon, and definitely not traveling to far-off places. (Don't get me wrong, these would be fantastic...they just aren't budget-friendly).

My two splurges are simple: tasty food and working out. Guess it's for the best that they go hand-in-hand...cooking good food isn't always the healthiest option!

This recipe calls for Gruyere cheese and Panko bread crumbs. The Gruyere gives the cordon bleu an unmatched creaminess, and the Panko crumbs create an extra crispy outside.

My good friend Heidi of Internecipes, inspired me to cook chicken cordon bleu, as we had some delicious cordon bleu at her house a few weeks ago.  I found this recipe online, and it got great reviews. I did make some substitutions to the original recipe by Tyler Florence.

This yummy chicken cordon bleu has officially joined our "splurge" list. (But I will have to make a special trip to the gym tonight. The cheese and bread crumbs are definitely not low-cal!)

Chicken Cordon Bleu (Tyler Florence)
4 chicken breasts, boneless and skinless
4 slices ham
1/2 pound Gruyere cheese, grated
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
Kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper
1 cup Panko bread crumbs (found in the Asian section of your grocery store)
4 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves only
1 clove garlic, peeled and finely minced
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 eggs
extra-virgin olive oil

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Lay the chicken breast between 2 pieces of plastic wrap. Using the flat side of a meat mallet (or a rolling pin), gently pound the chicken to 1/4-inch thickness. Remove the top sheet of plastic and lay 1 slice of ham neatly over the top to cover the breast and sprinkle a quarter of the cheese over the ham. Tuck in the sides of the breast and roll up tight like a jellyroll inside the plastic wrap. Squeeze the log gently to seal and twist both ends tight to form a nice log. Repeat with remaining chicken. (This part became a little difficult for me, so I ended up rolling each like a log, tucking the ends under, and using a toothpick to secure).
3. Put the flour in a bowl and season with salt and pepper.
4. Mix the bread crumbs with thyme, garlic, kosher salt, pepper and melted butter. The butter will help the crust brown. Beat together the eggs and season, so the flour, eggs and the crumbs are all seasoned.
5. Set up your dipping station: 1) flour bowl 2) egg mixture 3) bread crumbs 4) greased baking pan. Remove any plastic wrap from the chicken roulades, and lightly dip the chicken in the flour, dip in the egg mixture, and gently coat with bread crumbs.
6. Put chicken roulades into the greased baking pan.
7. Bake for 20-25 minutes until browned and cooked through. (My chicken needed about 40 minutes - they were pretty big chicken breasts and I probably didn't flatten them as much as I should have).