Chicken Cordon Bleu

I've been making Chicken Cordon Bleu for a long time. Its one of hubby's favorite dishes that I make. I first had a taste of this delicious chicken dish when one of my aunts catered a party for my mom. And ever since then, its all we ask her to make for us. Her Chicken Cordon Bleu is served with a white sauce that just makes it over-the-top yummy. Unfortunately, my aunt retired from catering and only does on rare occasions. So where was I going to get my Chicken Cordon Bleu fix? I've seen frozen versions at my favorite store, Costco. I gave it a try, but it just tastes......frozen. And it didn't have the white sauce that I loved. So I decided to try to make my own version and came up with this recipe.

I used to make the sauce out of a powdered cheese sauce that I bought at the supermarket. But I decided to experiment using the beschamel base from my Macaroni & Cheese recipe and came up with my own cheese sauce that's just as yummy as my aunt's.

Chicken

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast

ham slices

4 slices Swiss cheese

2 cups panko bread crumbs

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 egg

1 cup milk

salt & pepper to taste

1) Preheat oven to 375 deg F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and set aside.

2) Place chicken breast, one at a time between 2 pieces of plastic wrap. Squirt chicken lightly with water and squirt the top of the plastic wrap as well. Pound chicken to no less than 1/8 inch thickness. Season with salt and pepper.

3) Lay flattened chicken on a new piece of plastic wrap. Place ham slices on the center of the chicken breast. Place a slice of Swiss cheese on top of the ham. Using the plastic wrap to assist, fold in the ends of the breast and tightly roll the breast into a log, enclosing the ham and cheese.

4) In a small bowl, whisk together milk and egg. In another small bowl, combine panko breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese. Lightly coat prepared chicken with breadcrumb mixture, then dip in the egg mixture. Dip chicken back in the breadcrumb mixture again, patting it down firmly so that the breadcrumbs stick to the chicken. Place on prepared baking sheet and bake for 30-35 minutes. Let chicken sit for about 5 minutes before serving with the white sauce.

White Sauce

3 Tbsp. unsalted butter

1/4 cup all purpose flour

2 3/4 cup milk

1/2 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. nutmeg

1/4 tsp. black pepper

3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1) In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Whisk in flour. Continue to whisk for about 1 minute. Whisk in milk and continue whisking until there are no longer any lumps. Allow mixture to boil, whisking occasionally. Sauce will begin to thicken.

2) Add salt, nutmeg, black pepper and Parmesan. Stir until combine. Remove from heat and serve.