Le Chicken Cordon Bleu

One Sunday, mi mamacita and I spent the whole morning watching PBS (public broadcasting station) cooking shows. One of our favorites is America's Test Kitchen. They lured me in with the recipe for Chicken Cordon Bleu. It just seemed so easy!!


And it was... today my mom and I made Chicken Cordon Bleu. It was, in fact, really fun and easy!
Unfortunately, I don't have a picture to share, but I do have the recipe...

Foolproof Chicken Cordon Bleu
25 Ritz crackers (about 3/4 sleeve)
4 slices hearty white sandwich bread, torn into pieces
6 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
8 thin slices deli ham (about 8 ounces)
2 cups shredded swiss cheese (I used slices of swiss cheese and it worked just as well.)
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 2 pounds total)
salt and pepper
3 large eggs
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 cup all-purpose flour


1. MAKE CRUMBS Adjust oven rack to lowest and middle positions and heat oven to 450 degrees. Pulse crackers and bread in a food processor until coarsely ground. (I don't have a food processor, so I usually place all the ingredients in a ziploc bag and roll a can over it a few times. You can also take a wooden spoon to it when it's laid out on the baking sheet and complete the crushing to the right consistency.) Drizzle in butter; pulse to incorporate.  Bake crumbs on rimmed baking sheet on middle rack, stirring occasionally, until light brown. 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer to shallow dish and leave oven on.


2. STUFF CHICKEN Top each slice of ham with 1/4 cup shredded cheese. Roll into tight cylinder. (Tip: I rolled all my ham and cheese slices first. Then cut all the chicken slits so that you only wash your hands once.) Pat chicken dry with paper towel, season with salt and pepper. Using paring knife, cut into thickest part of chicken breast to create a deep pocket with opening of 3 to 4 inches. Stuff each pocket with two ham-and-cheese rolls and seal. Refrigerate chicken for at least 20 minutes before breading.


3. COAT AND BAKE Beat eggs and mustard in second shallow dish. Place flour in third shallow dish. One at a time, coat stuffed chicken lightly with flour, dip into egg mixture, and dredge in crumbs, pressing to adhere. Breaded chicken can be refrigerated, covered, for 1 day.) Transfer chicken to clean baking sheet. Bake on lowest rack until bottom of chicken is golden brown, about 10 minutes, then move baking sheet to middle rack and reduce oven temperature to 400 degrees. Bake until golden brown and chicken registers 160 degrees, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer to cutting board, tent with foil, and let rest 5 minutes. Serve!

It's a lot easier than it sounds, I promise.