Baked Chicken Cordon Bleu

Ohhh, how time flies!!! My youngest daughter, Cherlin, turned six last Sunday! As she requested, we had a Hannah Montana themed party for her last Saturday. Making the party decorations and favors, as well as the pabitin and her personalized piñata...
...and preparing and cooking all the food which includes 7 entrees and 4 desserts...
...wasn't easy at all. It's great that I have a friend who is an amazingly good cake decorator who made Cherlin's requested cakes and cupcakes! If not, I'm sure Cherlin could have insisted on me making her a cake and some cupcakes just like I did for Clarise's party last April. Cherlin was getting a little jealous and she said that I love Clarise more because I put more effort on Clarise's birthday! But I was able to calm her down after I explained to her that mommy is really not into cake decorating, and if she wants a better looking cake, she should go for Tita Christy's cake. :)
Hosting a party at home can really be a lot of work! It really did take a lot of time and effort for me to set up everything...and left me so tired in the end! But knowing that Cherlin had so much fun made everything worth all the effort! Hugs and kisses from her were enough to take away the tiredness I felt after the party.

But after cleaning up, I felt so exhausted and felt I needed a break...so I took a day off from blogging yesterday. But I am back now, feeling recharged and ready to share with you one of the 7 entrees I cooked for Cherlin's party which is Baked Chicken Cordon Bleu

Chicken Cordon Bleu is a French-inspired poultry dish that was developed by chefs in the United States in the effort to imitate stuffed meat dishes from Europe. Cordon Bleu which means "blue ribbon" in French has chicken, cheese such as Gruyere or Swiss, and prosciutto or ham as the basic ingredients. As crust, many chicken cordon bleu recipes include breadcrumbs. Chicken Cordon Bleu most often appears in a rolled presentation, with the chicken pounded flat and the ham and cheese wrapped up inside. The tightly rolled Chicken Cordon Bleu can then be dipped in breadcrumbs and fried, grilled, or baked.

Chicken Cordon Bleu has been my favorite since the first time I tried it at a wedding reception in the late 90's. I like it so much that I made it part of our wedding menu and Clarise's baptism menu as well. Though it is the baked version that I first tried, I remember that it is the fried version that I made for the first time in Christmas 1999, mainly because we didn't have an oven back then. It’s been several years since I last made Chicken Cordon Bleu, not because I don’t like it, but because it’s something I’ve done dozens of times before and I want to try so many new things. But when I was thinking of a chicken recipe for Cherlin's birthday, the ease of making Chicken Cordon Bleu inspired me to  whip some up. The best thing about it is it can be prepared ahead of time!

Chicken Cordon Bleu is certainly a dish your family will love! With the tender oven baked chicken and a soft cheesy core, you will find this chicken dish irresistible!

Ingredients:
*Makes 10 rolls
  • 5 chicken breasts, split into two
  • 4 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 cup regular bread crumbs
  • 1 cup panko bread crumbs
  • 3/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
  • 2 Tbsp Herbes De Provence
  • 1/2 cup butter, melted
  • 5 Tbsp olive oil
  • 10 thick slices deli ham (or 20 thin slices)
  • 10 slices Swiss cheese
  •  salt and pepper to taste
Procedure:
1. Melt butter in a bowl and mix with olive oil. Set aside.
2. Mix regular and panko bread crumbs with Parmesan cheese, herbes de provence, and 2 tsp garlic powder. Set aside. 
3. Wash and clean chicken breasts. Pat dry and cut each breast into two pieces. 
4. Place a chicken piece on a cutting board. Lay a plastic wrap over the chicken piece and pound with a mallet to about a 1/4 to 1/2 inch thickness. Be sure not to pound too hard because the meat may tear or create holes. Do the same thing with all the chicken pieces.
5. Season each chicken piece with a bit of salt/pepper and the remaining 2 tsp garlic powder. Be careful not to over salt the chicken as it is quite thin and the cheese and ham are also salty.

6. Take a chicken piece and place a slice of ham and a slice of cheese. I used very thin ham so I put 2 slices.
7. Roll chicken, making sure you tuck the sides in as much as possible to prevent the cheese from oozing out too much while baking. Secure the roll with toothpicks.
8. Dip each chicken roll into the melted butter and olive oil mixture, then roll it in the breadcrumbs and Parmesan mixture. Make sure all the sides are well coated. 
9. Place in a casserole dish or plate.  Place in the refrigerator for at least an hour to ensure that the breadcrumbs stay put on the chicken.
10. Preheat oven to 375F. When ready to bake, place each chicken roll on a rack on a dripping pan, making sure you don't overcrowd them.
11. Bake in the preheated oven for 35-40 minutes or until no longer pink in the middle. The time depends on how thinly you pounded the chicken. 
12. Remove from oven and allow to cool down a little. Slice and serve with rice, bread rolls or salad.
 

* I made a sauce for it using about a cup of drippings, milk, parmesan cheese, garlic powder, salt, pepper, herbes de provence and cornstarch to thicken the sauce...but I'm so sorry I wasn't able to take note of the exact measurements. :)

29 comments:

  1. What a great party for your daughter! I remember doing those themed parties but those days have passed for us. They are a lot of work and with all the cooking you did, even more so. But you made memories and delicious food to share with family and friends. The effort to make fresh food is always worth it, I say!

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  2. lovely party and chicken looks fabulous

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  3. Looks like a wonderful birthday parties. Love the dish you prepared,the baked chicken looks delicious.

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  4. Happy birthday Cherlin! Good job Tina. The food looks so delicious. Lovely party. Your chicken cordon bleu surely looks delicious. Your guests are so lucky. My mum loved to make this and we were so happy when she does.

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  5. Looks like you did a great job with the party! Cherlin's smile says it all! Love the chicken cordon blue. It looks delicious! Can't believe you found the time to grab some pictures.

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  6. Thanks ladies!
    @Linda: Cherlin is only 6, so I guess we'll be doing these themed parties for 4 more years. But it's fine. As you said, I'm making memories with this, and I love it!
    @Muna: Tnx! It's an honor to have you here! :)
    @MJ: I am used to taking pix while cooking. But for the finished product, I had to save 2 rolls of cordon bleu so I could take more decent pix the next day. :)

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  7. You are a super mum Tina! You have done such a fantastic job with this party! Once again! :-) I know, it is very tiring, yet so worth it! :-) And these cordon bleus look to die for!!!

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  8. This chicken dish is lovely Tina and very famous and popular over here too.

    Btw, I was mesmerised with all the food you have prepared and could not stop admiring the colorful cakes done up too, the purple one is so attractive. Thumbs up to you for a wonderful birthday party.

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  9. Happy birthday to your sweet daughter! What a fabulous party...no wonder you were exhausted...you went all out! I love chicken cordon bleu, too...and it's time I put it back on our menu! Have a great Wednesday, Tina~

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  10. What a feast! Happy belated bday to your lovely gal, Tina! I want to be in the party too. Hahaha!

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  11. What a fun and enjoyable party Cherlin had! This must be leaving her a very memorable birthday party! ;D
    Look at those nicely wrapped goodies bags! How I wished to become a little kid again but the thing that attracted me most is her personalized piñata! That's really very beautiful and cool! Your gals are really so lucky to have such an amazing Mom who's not only the talent and creativity in cooking, bento-ing but also in crafting! ;)
    I like the name of this dish-Cordon Bleu gives people or maybe just only me(?) the impression of classy. lol ;P Love this yummy looking chicken and it's going in my to-cook list! ;D

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  12. Happy Belated Birthday to Cherlin! Looks like a fabulous party with so much good food! I can't blame you for being exhausted after all that cooking, decorating, and running around but I am sure your daughter appreciates it very much :)

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  13. the party looks like so much fun and I love the idea of serving chicken cordon bleu for it. So delicious and easy to eat! Great job- happy birthday to your little girl!

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  14. Your daughter is so blessed to have you....and oh my goodness that food and DESSERT looks delicious! Next time, please invite me =D

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  15. Tina...I love that tender cheesy chicken! Great recipe. What a beautiful family you have. Birthdays are so special, especially when you are 6! And what a wonderful party you made...great food and fun decorations!

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  16. Happy Birthday Cherlin!!! I knew you would do it again...and you did it! Great job Tina! You should start catering business, seriously. No one can pull off 7 mains and 4 desserts. SERIOUSLY! Looks like she had a wonderful birthday... I'm sure you are so relieved that it's over now. Kids birthday parties require so much energy and thoughts but they will remember about their special day... Great job Tina! This chicken looks really delicious. We love rolling the chicken too. Very nice and delicious!

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  17. Thanks everyone! Your comments made me feel that I really did a great job! :)
    @Lyn: the name cordon bleu sounds classy to me too...I guess all dishes with french name do! lol!

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  18. Looks like a really fun party. Everything looks so yummy! I just love cordon bleu!

    Oh I hate you! You are totally ruining my diet plans! :). You are such a great cook. I will try out most of your recipes here. They all look delicious.

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  19. Your daughter must be really proud to have such a wonderful mother!! All that effort and hardworks is actually rewarding when your kids enjoy! Loved reading this post! Your interest in every cuisine
    (in this french) is remarkable!:)

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  20. This food site is definitely the best so far, Ms. Tina.
    Kudos to you.

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  21. hi Ms. Tina,
    i'm also food enthusiast... but i'm lacking of utensils and equipments. i'm here in abu dhabi, u.a.e., we are just renting a room (me & my husband), so i can't invest in things because i don't have placed tp stck them on...
    i want to try this but can i deep fry it? i don't have an oven.
    thanks :) Lea

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    1. Yes Lea, you can deep fry it. That was how I do it when I was still in the Philippines.

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  22. Shukran (thanks) .... i really appreciate your website... i find your recipes easy to follow... :)

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  23. How early can I prepare the chicken cordon bleu? If the party is on a Sunday afternoon, can I prepare the chicken as early as Friday? Should I store the prepared chicken in the ref cooked or uncooked?
    Thanks!

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    1. I usually make them a day or two before the party. I bake them and after cooling down, I will wrap them in aluminum foil and store in the refrigerator. When ready to use, I would heat them up in the oven toaster for about 15 minutes.

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  24. this is my next project. but i wont bake coz im not so sure if our decade old but still good La Germania can still bake. :)is it the same route if its fried instead of baked?

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    Replies
    1. Yes dear, from step #9 you can proceed to frying. Heat about an inch of vegetable oil in a heavy skillet over medium-low heat. Fry the rolls for 20-25 minutes, turning frequently, until golden brown, then just drain them on a paper towel lined plate. :)

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