I have been running around frantically for the past week or two with more things to do than i can possibly keep track of. There’s been coordinating the book fair, baptisms for itty bitty babies, hospital visits with my sister-in-law and niece, doctor’s appointments and, of course, the ever present work that fills my days. Luckily, simple dinners like this can be assembled a day or two before and require only minimum prep work to get them in the oven and steaming hot to the table.
If what’s stopping you from attempting rolled meat is a lack of a meat mallet, I’d suggest you take a look at Ole’s meat pounding preference. Enter a hammer, a small wood board and a piece of plastic wrap. You could also use the bottom of a heavy sauce pan or frying pan to flatten your chicken breast. We’re going for about a 1/4-inch thickness all the way across, but that’s a guideline. These ended up somewhere between a 1/4 and a 1/2 inch.
Cordon bleu translates to “blue ribbon,” and it refers to the “ribbon” of ham and cheese in the center. This particular blue ribbon is prosciutto and Jarlsberg cheese. We secured the chicken roulades by tying them up, but toothpicks would also work. Just make sure you roll as tightly as possible. Cover and place the rolled chicken breasts into the fridge until ready to bake. These were just overnight. We prepped them the day before while the dinner was cooking because we knew the next night was going to be bustling and busy with all of us running in different directions.
Beat one egg and one tablespoon of milk and give each roll a little egg bath. In this case, the chicken comes first and is then dipped in the egg.
We used the sprinkle and pat method to get the seasoned bread crumbs evenly distributed and to make sure we didn’t disturb any nested cheese and meat.
Spray the bottom of your pan to prevent your chicken to sticking, which would make removing in-tact rolls difficult. Drizzle tops with extra virgin olive oil to help the crust brown and crisp nicely. Then into the oven they go.
There will probably be a bit of cheese that oozes out of a few of the breasts, but rest assured that the inside is full of boiling goodness…so let it sit for a minute while you get your table ready and dish up the rest of the food.
Then slice and eat, each bite filled with that blue ribbon of goodness.
We tried this and loved it! Ole’s hammer and block method worked perfectly. Delicious!
If something makes you feel uncomfortable, bring it up and discuss how things need to change and how each of you will make changes. If one person wants to spend lots of time together and the other does not, it’s important to set a boundary of how much time is appropriate together and apart.
Nice post.