Saturday, March 13, 2010

Chicken Cordon Bleu with Mushroom Onion Gravy

What's life without cheese? It's like the basic ingredient in every western meal. Well almost :) Few days ago I whipped up a dish I couldn't possibly forget. The juiciness of the chicken, smoothh melted cheese, ham and thick creamy mushroom gravy just lingered in my mouth.  Everything just felt so right. SO what's for dinner tonight?? If you guessed Chicken Cordon Bleu. You're absolutely spot on.. 

Chicken Cordon Bleu is basically a french inspired dish consisting of chicken, ham and cheese all rolled up in a bundle of goodness, drenched in breadcrumbs and then deep fried. 

Recipe adapted from Blake Royer, posted in serious eats. This particular recipe called for sauerkraut to be incorporated together with the 3 main components however I couldnt find sauerkraut anywhere so just had to do w/o. ;[. I can only imagine how good that dish would have tasted if I had some on hand and how it adds a little tangy-ness to the flavor!!


Ingredients

6 boneless, skinless chicken cutlets (about 1 1/4 pounds total)
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 egg whites
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
2 teaspoons minced garlic
Dijon mustard, as needed
1 1/2 ounces provolone cheese (1 1/2 thin slices)
1 1/2 ounces ham (1 1/2 thin slices)
3 tablespoons sauerkraut, packed ( left this out)
3/8 teaspoon caraway seeds ( left this out)
2 cups plain bread crumbs
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, for frying.




Procedure
1. If the chicken cutlets are not of uniform thickness, place them between two sheets of plastic wrap and pound gently, aiming to make 3 pairs of approximately the same shape. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
2. In a bowl, whisk the egg whites, cornstarch, parsley, and garlic, until the egg whites begin to turn foamy.


Foamy egg white mixture with parsley (  DIE! I think of you clar everytime I see parsley ) .. 


3. Paint one side of each chicken cutlet with mustard, then layer the ham and cheese on three of the cutlets. Spread a tablespoon of sauerkraut on top of the ham and cheese, then lay the second half of each pair, mustard side in, to make a sandwich. Seal the edges as best you can. ( I follow the traditional way of using toothpicks to secure the edges. works perfect but just it gets a little tedious to remove them after frying.But anyway it's better to secure rather than have cheese oozing out into the hot oil)
4. Dip the cutlet sandwiches in the egg white mixture, then dredge in the bread crumbs. If needed, they can be refrigerated for several hours at this point.




5. Heat the oil in a skillet with plenty of room for all the chicken (if not, cook them in batches) over medium-high heat until a breadcrumb tossed into the pan sizzles vigorously. Fry until dark golden brown, 2-3 minutes/side. Drain on paper towels momentarily, then serve immediately, with more sauerkraut, if desired, or a tart salad.

I made a corn salad to go with it. 

Ingredients:

2 corn on the cob
lemon
salt and pepper to taste
butter
italian dressing
cherry tomatoes
portobello mushrooms


Steps:

1) Heat butter in pan and saute corn and mushrooms
2) add salt and pepper to taste
3) Remove from pan add in tomatoes for color and sprinkle some lemon for the zesty taste and italian dressing 




and a Mushroom onion gravy to accompany the chicken. 

Ingredients:

Onions ( one) sliced not too finely
portobello mushrooms ( as much as you like)
mushroom cream sauce ( I bought the prego can)
corn oil/olive oil

Steps:
1) Heat oil in pan and fry onions till fragrant and caramelized. 
2) add mushrooms
3) Add in canned mushroom sauce 
4) Add a little water if gravy is too thick to the consistency you desire. 




5) Pour generous amount over chicken and serve hot. 



Bon appetit!

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