CHICKEN CORDON BLEU WITH DIJON CREAM SAUCE

Chicken Cordon Bleu with Dijon Cream Sauce image

Is it actually French? It's served at every French restaurant here in the States, but I'm pretty sure it's, like, Swedish. Regardless, it's breaded cheese and meat - tough to go wrong. Enjoy!

Provided by Brian Genest

Categories Main Dish Recipes Pork Ham

Time 2h10m

Yield 2

Number Of Ingredients 18

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Ingredients

2 (6 ounce) chicken breasts
1 teaspoon salt
1 slice ham steak
1 cup shredded Gruyere cheese
toothpicks
2 eggs
3 tablespoons milk
2 cups Italian-style panko bread crumbs
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons butter
2 cups whole milk
2 tablespoons salted butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg, or to taste
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 pinch salt and ground black pepper to taste

Steps:

Butterfly each chicken breast by cutting it down the center, lengthwise, leaving about 1 inch of connective tissue at the other end. Spread open like a book, and rub each down with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Let rest for 30 minutes to absorb salt.
Cover each breast with plastic wrap and pound thin with a meat mallet until roughly doubled in surface area. Using a very sharp knife or meat slicer, cut the ham steak into very thin slices.
Spread 1/4 cup Gruyere over each chicken breast, then divide 1/4 of the ham between them. Repeat, making 2 layers. Fold the chicken over like an omelet, enclosing the cheese and ham. Secure the open edges with 4 to 5 toothpicks.
Whisk eggs and milk together in a bowl. Combine bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese in a second bowl. Carefully dredge each chicken breast in flour, coat with egg wash, then dredge in the breading. Transfer to a wire rack and move to freezer for 20 minutes to help the breading adhere to the meat.
Preheat the oven to 385 degrees F (195 degrees C). Place chicken in a baking dish.
Bake chicken in the preheated oven for 25 minutes, then brush each side down with melted butter and flip. Bake for 25 minutes more.
Meanwhile, make the sauce. Pour milk into a saucepan set over low heat and simmer until steaming, about 10 minutes.
Melt butter and stir in flour to create a roux. Let the roux cook to burn off the flour taste, stirring constantly, 4 to 5 minutes. Slowly whisk in hot milk, letting the sauce come together before adding more milk, until everything is well incorporated. The sauce will still be a little thin. Add Parmesan cheese and nutmeg, stirring constantly until cheese in melted evenly into the sauce. Stir in Dijon mustard. Simmer sauce until it is at least thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Season with salt and pepper.
Remove chicken from oven and transfer to plates. Remove toothpicks. Ladle sauce over chicken and serve immediately.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 2227.9 calories, Carbohydrate 193.3 g, Cholesterol 520.6 mg, Fat 105.7 g, Fiber 3.6 g, Protein 120.1 g, SaturatedFat 48.6 g, Sodium 5680.1 mg, Sugar 13.7 g