CHICKEN CORDON BLEU / CHICKEN KIEV
This is supposed to be gourmet, but the recipe is so very easy that I'd be slacking if I didn't share. This tastes MUCH better with home made bread crumbs, and is far cheaper, but in a pinch italian style bread crumbs will suffice. This is a very easy recipe, and a sure-fire date pleaser. I'll give you the recipe for just 1 piece of this tasty as hell main dish, and multiply it as necessary. This is one of my signature dishes. Sub 1/8 cup chopped broccoli flourettes for the ham and you have chicken kiev.
ingredients:
Bread crumbs (1/4 cup should be more than enough)
Eggs (1, scrambled)
1 boneless skinless chicken breast
about 1/8 cup swiss cheese
2-3 pieces of thin sliced deli ham
some tooth picks
So, grab a hammer. I love starting recipes this way. Then, grab a book. A big, heavy book. In a pinch, a baking sheet will do, but I enjoy beating the piss out of war and peace to make yummy food. Take the chicken breast, and put it between 2 big pieces of plastic wrap. Put the book on top of the wrapped chicken, and beat the hell out of the book. I suggest "The DaVinci Code" because I personally think everyone should beat Dan Brown to death with a hammer. Do this until the chicken is very flat.
Preheat your oven to 450.
Take your (now beaten to death) chicken, and put the swiss cheese in the middle of it, leaving a quarter of an inch to any edge. Put the ham in the middle of the cheese, leaving a tiny bit of space, so when you roll this monster of a meat log the ham is surrounded by cheese. fold it in half, and pierce it with the toothpicks along the outer edge, so you do not leave very much of a gap. I personally go through at least 15 toothpicks to seal one wrap. Heat up some oil, the type is unimportant, in a skillet. Medium heat. Dip the whole unit in the egg, making sure to cover every inch. Then, dunk the whole thing in the bread crumbs on a flat plate. COVER EVERY SQUARE INCH. Drop this in the oil and fry for about 5 minutes per side, until the crumbs begin to brown and stick fully to the chicken. By now, your oven should be heated. Throw the concoction on a baking sheet, and bake for 10 minutes a side. When the cheese begins to ooze, you know the food is just about done. The crumbs should be a beautiful golden brown, and the entire unit should be solid.
To serve, pull out the tooth picks. The dish will hold it's shape. Serve it toothpick side down. Suggested side dishes are either fettucini alfredo, or steamed mixed vegetables. A bechamel roux, using beef stock rather than milk, tossed with rice, is also a great idea.
This one is vaguely time consuming, but the prep is easy as hell and most of the time is bake time. I make this for myself as a snack.
This dish is hoity-toity enough to have an entire style of cooking named after it. It's simple, but amazingly tasty and impressive. French cuisine at it's finest. FYI, for the record, ham first and cheese second imparts a very dull flavor. Look it up online and you'll see countless examples of this. In my mind it's a culinary abortion. Separate the meats and let the cheese blend the flavors of the chicken and ham. The pic I provided is an example of a WRONG cordon bleu. Cheese holds flavor better than meat, as a rule. It'll take in the oils and carry the unique flavors of both meats. It's the binding agent in this dish.