Chicken Cordon Bleu

Cordon Bleu is a French term literally translated as “blue ribbon”. It is used as a measure of cooking excellence and has also been applied to this dish of breaded and sautéed chicken, ham and Swiss cheese.

Ingredients

• skinless, boneless chicken breast halves  ·  4 whole 
• heavy whipping cream  ·  1 cup 
• fresh chopped basil  ·  ¼ cup 
• cornstarch  ·  1 tablespoon 
• chicken broth  ·  ½ cup 
• Williamson Amourette Chardonnay  ·  ½ cup 
• olive oil  ·  3 tablespoons 
• butter  ·  3 tablespoons 
• Herbies Paprika (smoked sweet)  ·  1 teaspoon 
• all-purpose flour  ·  3 tablespoons 
• slices Pruschetto ham  ·  4 whole 
• slices Swiss cheese  ·  4 whole 

Instructions

Open the Chardonnay and pour a glass for the cook! Pound the chicken breasts to half-inch thickness. Place a cheese and ham slice on each breast to within ½ inch of the edges. Fold the edges of the chicken over the filling, and secure with cooking string. If you don’t have cooking string use copper wire or a skewer. Mix the flour and paprika in a small bowl, and coat the chicken pieces.

Heat the butter and olive oil in a large pan over medium-high heat, and cook the chicken until browned on all sides. Add the wine and chicken broth. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes, until chicken is no longer pink and the juices run clear.

Transfer the breasts to a warm platter. Blend the cornstarch with the cream and 2/3 of the fresh chopped basil in a small bowl, and whisk slowly into the skillet. Cook, stirring continuously until thickened, and then pour over the chicken and sprinkle with the remaining fresh chopped basil. Serve warm with slightly chilled Williamson Amourette Chardonnay.