Chicken Cordon Bleu II

"'Cordon Bleu' is a French term, literally translated as 'blue ribbon', that originally referred to an award for culinary excellence given to women cooks! The term can now apply to any superior cook (yes, men too), and also to this dish (chicken, ham and Swiss cheese slices, breaded and sauteed). This yummy version adds paprika and a creamy white wine sauce worthy of its own blue ribbon. Two blue ribbon tastes in wedded bliss -- Chicken Cordon Bleu II!"

To start, let me make it clear that only two burners on the stove work right. This makes cooking many things a challenge in itself, but we do what we have to do. Tonight’s attempt is chicken cordon bleu, which I’ve never made before. D (pscyclone) is a big fan of it, so here I am in the kitchen with my scary stove and some on sale chicken breasts. Right out of the gate there’s a problem, we have no corkscrew in the house. Neither of us are drinkers, me not at all and him only the occasional stout, so it’s not surprising that in turning this kitchen from the former bachelor pad into my domain, a corkscrew has been overlooked. D is now on a mission to try to figure out how to get the cork out of the white wine.
Success! A multi tool was located in the garage, he’s a man of many blades, and we have wine.

Now the toothpicks have gone missing. From the proclaimed confusion of the whole household, a toothpick thief must have claimed them while we were out as not one single splinter is to be found anywhere. Right! Thread it is, and let me state here that neatly securing the edges of raw chicken with toothpicks is much different than trying to wrestle thread around ham, cheese, and annoyed chicken. Tied up and into the flour and paprika they go, and from there it’s a small flop into the simmering butter. The soundtrack is Johnny Cash, as it usually is around our house.


The chicken is browning nicely, no scorching of the butter and in goes the wine. Woosh! Always been very fond of that sound, when the liquid hits the fats and everything smells delicious as it rises in a beautiful plume from the pan. The cream, the decadent cream, mixed in with the wine and butter perfectly, and what I was at first worried was too dark turned a beautiful warm colour. Poured over the chicken breasts, it made me feel like a real cook. Some green beans (out of a can), and Cuban bread from the grocery store’s bakery were added, and this is the result. The taste is so good that I couldn’t be more pleased. The sauce was scoop it up with the bread, lick your fingers good (not that I’d ever *ahem* do such an uncouth, unladylike thing), and I’m pretty sure from the look of it that D licked his plate clean. He pronounced it a success!