Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole, Southern Style

A Chicken Casserole worthy of its name.

Like many good recipes each of us have in our repertoire, there are some we could say are of 'blue ribbon' caliber. And that is what Cordon Bleu means actually so I guess we should call it Blue Ribbon Chicken but then, no one would know what the heck it was.

This is a recipe in waiting for some time now; we have meant to get it to you way before now. If you love Chicken Cordon Bleu, if you even think you like it or maybe if you want to try a varying version, this is it folks. It is full of that chicken-ham-Swiss savor from the classic version, tender fried chicken pieces smothered with an extraordinary sauce to bind everything together. Yup. This is it.

Enjoy!

Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole

with creamy Dijon sauce
serves 4

2 large skinless chicken breasts, sliced horizontally in half into 1/2-inch sections
3/4 cup mixture of plain bread crumbs and Panko (about half of each)
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
extra light olive oil or cooking oil
8 oz sliced Swiss cheese
8 oz sliced ham

Sauce:
1/2 cup dry vermouth or white wine
2 tablespoons butter, melted
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 1/4 cups milk
1 teaspoon chicken bouillon granules (or 1 bouillon cube, crushed)
1/2 paprika
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

Crumb Topping:
2 tablespoons melted butter
1 cup toasted plain breadcrumbs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese


In a shallow bowl, whisk egg and the 1/2 cup of milk together. Cut each chicken slices into 1-inch cubes. Dip the pieces of chicken in egg mixture, then into the bread crumbs lightly coating. Place on rack or plate.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Preheat oil (enough to cover bottom) in a wide skillet over medium high heat. Brown the chicken until golden brown all on sides. Do this in two batches. Remove to drain. Place chicken in a greased oblong 2-quart casserole covering bottom of dish. Cover chicken with ham slices followed with the Swiss cheese slices.

In medium saucepan, simmer vermouth until reduced in half. Mix butter and flour together to make a slurry and whisk into the vermouth. Slowly whisk in the milk, a little at a time, until incorporated, smooth and thicken. Reduce heat to low and stir in bouillon granules, paprika, Dijon, lemon juice and Worcestershire. Remove from heat and pour into the casserole.

Mix the crumb topping together and sprinkle over the sauce. Cover and bake about 20 minutes. Remove foil and bake 10 minutes or until sauce is bubbly and topping is brown. Turn broiler on if needed to hasten browning.

Remove and serve with rice or noodles, a steamed vegetable and choice of hot bread.

For the Parmesan-Dijon Cream Sauce:

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 cup milk

1 teaspoon chicken bouillon granules (or 1 bouillon cube, crushed)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Read more at http://www.the-girl-who-ate-everything.com/2011/09/easy-chicken-cordon-bleu.html#xAKxzCAdh9BI63wa.99

For the Parmesan-Dijon Cream Sauce:

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 cup milk

1 teaspoon chicken bouillon granules (or 1 bouillon cube, crushed)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Read more at http://www.the-girl-who-ate-everything.com/2011/09/easy-chicken-cordon-bleu.html#xAKxzCAdh9BI63wa.99