Chicken Cordon Bleu

Date Completed: 7/19/2024

Book: Magnolia Table Volume 3 by Joanna Gaines

Chapter: Dinner

Process Report:

This recipe was Garrett’s pick for a fun Friday night dinner! His mom made it all the time for him growing up, so he was very excited to do it.

I expected this recipe to take a lot longer and be way more complicated. Happily, I was wrong! It was easy and fast!

I sliced two chicken breasts open horizontally so they could lay flat like a book. On one side, I layered a slice of ham and a slice of cheese. I folded them back up and secured with a few tooth picks.

We poured melted butter over the top followed by panko bread crumbs. And that’s it! All we had to do was stick it in the oven until the chicken was cooked. We turned on the broiler for the last few minutes to brown the bread crumbs (they stayed pretty light throughout).

Taste Report:

Yum! The cheesy bites were the best, but I also really liked the ham! Every bite seemed unique because the ratio of ingredients was slightly different. I also really enjoyed the crunch of the breadcrumbs on the top.

I didn’t have parsley to garnish, so I used some fresh basil. It was really great!

The only thing I’d change about this recipe would be to use a trick we learned from watching America’s Test Kitchen. For a breaded chicken recipe, they combined panko bread crumbs with some olive oil in a bowl and microwaved them to brown the breadcrumbs before applying to the chicken. That technique would be perfect here! Since the breadcrumbs really don’t get any color from the bake, it would help achieve more even browning

I’d also be interested to try adding a horseradish aioli that I usually make alongside a special crusted pork tenderloin. I think that creamy sauce would complement this dish wonderfully!

Mess Report:

The best part of this dish? Arguably, the mess! There was “none.” Well… not none, but very minimal! I loved it!

With points earned for both the simple process steps and the minimal mess, this just might be eligible for weeknight recipe status.

Leftover Report:

Between us, we had these leftovers two ways. Garrett had slices of it warmed up in the microwave, which he liked. I chopped my half up still cold and added it to a caesar salad. Delicious!

Would I make it again?

100% yes. With the two tweaks I mentioned above, I would happily make this again!