Chicken Cordon Bleu with a twist

Recipe Title: Chicken Cordon Bleu with a twist (click here to go to my YouTube Video)

By: Miriam Borys

Yield:  5

Ingredients:

5 chicken breasts (skinless & boneless)
5 swiss cheese slices
¼ cup goats cheese
¾ cup fresh spinach leaves
¼ cup black olives

¼ cup white flour
2 eggs
2 cups bread crumbs of choice (see my recipe below)

Method:

Rinse chicken breast under cold running water to remove surface pathogens. Pat dry off with a paper towel.

Skin side down, make a slight cut in the fleshy part of each breast. Do not make a deep cut or the chicken breast cannot be flattened. Cover each chicken breast with plastic wrap using enough to leave room for the chicken to expand and more than double in size.

With a mallet or a small pot gently pound the chicken breast until it has flattened, skin side down.

Once the chicken breast is double in size and flat, place a piece of swiss cheese, 5 spinach leaves, a chunk of goats cheese, a 6 black olives in the center of each.

Fold the chicken up to cover the filling so that the chicken breasts are all the same shape.  Place in a baking dish and freeze for 1 hour. The freezing will allow you to flour, egg wash & bread all the while keeping the shape of the cordon bleu.

After 1 hour in the freezer preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Place the flour, eggs & bread crumbs in separate flat dishes.

Flour, eggs wash & bread each chicken breast and place into a clean baking dish.

Cook in a preheated oven for 15 - 25 minutes depending on how frozen the cordon bleu was. Always ensure your poultry is a minimum of 170 degrees internal temperature or the juices run clear.

Serve immediately while hot.

Herb & shallot bread crumbs

3 slices of bread
½ cup assorted nuts (hazelnuts, pecans, cashews)
2 tablespoons fresh rosemary
½ shallot
2 tsp. Dried herbs of choice (I used bouquet garni from ‘Red Barn’)

½ teaspoon salt & pepper

Chef Miriam Little Borys, B.Ed., MA.
'Cooking Uncovered'
http://www.youtube.com/user/mlborys?feature=mhee
blog: www.cookinguncovered.blogspot.com
Website: www.miriamborys.com