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Tuesday, April 21, 2009

chicken cordon who?


W
hen I was a kid one of the most exotic things I had ever heard of was chicken Cordon Bleu, there were others too of course but chicken Cordon Bleu had French words in it and that appealed to my young mind. Well I made this often as a teenager and it impressed my family every time. I pounded out some chicken breasts put in a little ham and some swiss cheese, rolled it up, secured it with a toothpick, dredged it in flour, egg and then bread crumbs and proceeded to make a greasy mess all over the kitchen. The funny part to me now is that this dish, chicken Cordon Bleu, was probably invented by American chefs to imitate a French chicken dish called chicken Kiev. Cordon Bleu means 'blue ribbon' and in French culinary tradition, the Cordon Bleu is awarded to food or chefs of particularly high quality. So who cares? I always liked it and I always will.



This is deconstructed chicken Cordon Bleu that is nothing like chicken Cordon Bleu in any way shape or form. I grilled a piece of chicken, I sauteed some mushrooms, I placed the grilled chicken on top of some room temperature brie and the sauteed mushrooms, I poured the pan drippings over the whole thing - I ate lunch. The brie melted into the woodsyness of the mushrooms and the pan drippings lit this baby on flavor fire.



Tore up from the floor up.

28 comments:

The Blonde Duck said...

It looks delightful to me!

tavolini said...

Looks like a damn fine lunch! I'm starving right about now...

So, what's for dinner?

Jenn said...

You put the original Chicken Cordon Bleu to shame!!!

That's one awesome lunch!

Jill said...

This looks so much better than the traditional version.

Ramya Vijaykumar said...

looks so yummy and filling... I havent heard of chicken Cordon bleu before... Looks like a magnificent lunch though!!!

Anonymous said...

Chicken is so much better with the skin on. You've shown that right now! And the brie is niiiiice.

Anette said...

Lovely chicken! If that was lunch, what was dinner?

Pooja said...

This looks so yummy :) I love grilled chicken dishes in any form!

Stacey Snacks said...

This looks delicious, and you could've gotten away with a drizzle of truffle oil, no?

Christo Gonzales said...

TBD: delightful indeed!

Tavolini: Its the kids birthday today so we will have what he wants and he isnt sure yet

jenn: I am hooked on chicken, truffle stuff and cheese lately

jill: well thank-you

ramya: very popular in the 70's

duodishes: crispy skin makes the bird - I always say.

anette: that is up in the air

pooja: me too..

stacey: I am trying not to get desensitized - I find I am adding more and more with each use.

buffalodick said...

Looks dang good! Wasn't Kiev a Russian dish? I know there was a lot of butter involved..

Christo Gonzales said...

buff: you know it could have been - chicken stuffed with seasoned butter, dredged in bread crumbs, and fried - and Kiev sounds Russian so I will go with "European" as my final answer.

Harmony said...

Wow...now that's a lunch.

Mmmm...I love Chicken Cordon Bleu

lk- Health yDelicious said...

haha. this was one of my favorite things to cook as a kid too, and I loved that it always impressed people. I still like it, but I don't find it to be very impressive anymore...

vanillasugarblog said...

you must be hungry with all these dishes you keep crafting up.
I think adding the brie was very clever.

Christo Gonzales said...

harmony: wow I cant believe I made something you are familiar with

healthy: I actually havent made the 'real' version in years...and I mean YEARS!

dawn: hahaha - not that hungry actually - I have some clients that I cook for sometimes and I treat myself along the way.

snugs said...

tore up from the floor up? Are you feeling all macho today or what? WHEN are you going to come cook for me!!?? Where is the birthday cake?

Hornsfan said...

don't get me wrong, i love the traditional, bad for you, gooey delicious cordon bleu but the grown-up version you've deconstructed looks amazing!

pyondi said...

interesting photo... I like it, so much !

Anonymous said...

Looks awesome!

Now Chicken Kiev is my signature dish since I am originally from Kiev and all :) I will someday share my secret recipe. It was actually invented by a French chef but is also an essential part of Russian/Ukrainian cuisine now.

Elyse said...

Mmm, the grown up chicken cordon bleu sounds sooo delicious. You had me at melting brie!

Kim - Easy French Food said...

Well I agree with the others - your take on this dish looks great and anything with melted Brie is going to get my attention. I make this baked chicken cordon bleu recipe which is good but much more traditional. Even though, as you point out, its origins are fuzzy, the French mass produce what they call a Cordon Bleu and it's chicken (or turkey), swiss and ham sandwiched together, breaded and fried.

Tim said...

Looks tasty! There's no way that plate didn't get licked clean when you were done...

The Diva on a Diet said...

Dayum, you eat well, doggy. Love that!

test it comm said...

That chicken looks really good!

Tangled Noodle said...

This is what you have for lunch?! I usually have a bowl of oatmeal.

Chicken a la Kiev is actually the dish that epitomized sophistication for me as a child. I vowed that someday, I would be able to perfectly cook a piece of chicken so that it gushed herbed butter when cut! Haven't managed it yet . . .

Chantal said...

this is the kinda thing one should not look at when lying in bed and there is no chicken in the house, it causes uncontrollable salivation and i'm sure it can lead to insanity, mushrooms, mmmmmm, cheese, mmmmm, heavenly, can i live with u?

ARUNA said...

this looks soo delish!!!

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