Cooking Day 7: Chicken Cordon Bleu Tortellini
Tonight was something Tony and I have been talking about for about a week. One of the dishes that I make really well, Chicken Cordon Bleu. Now, usually, when I make it, it takes about two days to do. It is a lot of prep, pounding the chicken thin, layering the ham, cheese, rolling it, breading it, doing a shallow pan fry, baking it, making all the accompanying side dishes, including a white wine sauce to top the chicken.
Like I said, it is a lot of work.
So, Tony and I wanted to do a version of Chicken Cordon Bleu. I talked to my sister-in-law one night when she told me she did a pasta version of this classic dish. She said it was so much easier and still really tasty. Tony and I began brainstorming how to do our own version of this. Do we do a pasta and mix it all together? Do we make it like lasagna and layer it? Ultimately, we kind of did both. Introducing, our Chicken Cordon Bleu Tortellini.
We started by seasoning and cooking our chicken breasts in olive oil and topped with salt, pepper and lemon juice. While the chicken cooked, we set our water to boil in my pasta pot and grated our block of swiss cheese. Look at it...doesn't it look yummy?
I even took pictures of it to tease my friends, sorry Leigh Anne and KHop.
When the chicken was done cooking, we started the bechamel. We left the oil from the chicken in the pan and added 2 tablespoons of butter. To it, I added three tablespoons of flour and let it brown. I added a splash of chardonnay (because, why not) and then we began pouring in the milk a bit at a time while whisking the roux and milk until smooth and we got as much sauce as we wanted. To this sauce, we added salt, pepper and ground nutmeg and let it reduce until thick. This is where heaven came down and just kissed this sauce.
Now we poured in the frozen tortellini and cooked for 5 minutes then poured the pasta into the bottom of my lasagna pan. I told ya...compromise. We topped it with about three ladles of the sauce then the diced black forest ham, then the sliced chicken, more diced ham and a couple of handfuls of grated swiss cheese. Then we took the whole pan of bechamel and just poured it over everything, the pasta, the ham, the chicken, the counter, the stove, our hands (so we can lick it off). Finally, I took a couple of tablespoons of Kerrygold butter and melted it, then mixed it with seasoned breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese and topped the dish with the breadcrumb mixture and baked it in the 350-degree oven for 20 minutes and just tried not to think about it.
This is what we got. I mean...come on. We all loved it. It was rich and flavorful and filling. It was so good. Try it. You will see what I mean.
Like I said, it is a lot of work.
So, Tony and I wanted to do a version of Chicken Cordon Bleu. I talked to my sister-in-law one night when she told me she did a pasta version of this classic dish. She said it was so much easier and still really tasty. Tony and I began brainstorming how to do our own version of this. Do we do a pasta and mix it all together? Do we make it like lasagna and layer it? Ultimately, we kind of did both. Introducing, our Chicken Cordon Bleu Tortellini.
We started by seasoning and cooking our chicken breasts in olive oil and topped with salt, pepper and lemon juice. While the chicken cooked, we set our water to boil in my pasta pot and grated our block of swiss cheese. Look at it...doesn't it look yummy?
I even took pictures of it to tease my friends, sorry Leigh Anne and KHop.
When the chicken was done cooking, we started the bechamel. We left the oil from the chicken in the pan and added 2 tablespoons of butter. To it, I added three tablespoons of flour and let it brown. I added a splash of chardonnay (because, why not) and then we began pouring in the milk a bit at a time while whisking the roux and milk until smooth and we got as much sauce as we wanted. To this sauce, we added salt, pepper and ground nutmeg and let it reduce until thick. This is where heaven came down and just kissed this sauce.
Now we poured in the frozen tortellini and cooked for 5 minutes then poured the pasta into the bottom of my lasagna pan. I told ya...compromise. We topped it with about three ladles of the sauce then the diced black forest ham, then the sliced chicken, more diced ham and a couple of handfuls of grated swiss cheese. Then we took the whole pan of bechamel and just poured it over everything, the pasta, the ham, the chicken, the counter, the stove, our hands (so we can lick it off). Finally, I took a couple of tablespoons of Kerrygold butter and melted it, then mixed it with seasoned breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese and topped the dish with the breadcrumb mixture and baked it in the 350-degree oven for 20 minutes and just tried not to think about it.
This is what we got. I mean...come on. We all loved it. It was rich and flavorful and filling. It was so good. Try it. You will see what I mean.
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