Yummy recipe: Chicken Cordon Bleu

It's been awhile since my last post. I got busy baking cookies for breastfeeding moms and making our weekly menus at home. That's my role - I do the weekly menus and make desserts. I also encourage you mommies to do your weekly menus. It will not only help save you time when doing your grocery, but it will also let you stick to your budget. Plus, it will guide your helpers as to what to feed your kids.

Unlike other moms who have to rush home from work to cook dinner, I am lucky because I married a professional chef. That said, I usually tell my husband what I want for dinner and he does it for me. That means an overwhelming culinary experience of about six years (four years in college and two in culinary school) into my plate.

For every new recipe, my husband Chef Jon usually performs a mini demo to our staff so our cook can re-create them when they appear on the weekly menu. Here's a sample.

Monday:

Breakfast (B): Oatmeal with milk and banana

Lunch (L): Kiwi, Beef Afritada with potatoes, Fried Chicken, Brown Rice

Dinner (D): Ebi Tempura, Beef Gyudon, Cabbage Salad with Sesame Miso dressing, Miso Soup, Brown Rice

Tuesday:

B: Open-faced sandwich with caramelized onions and cream cheese and orange wedges

L: Kiwi, Beef Soup, Grilled Bangus Belly wrapped in banana leaves, Green beans and Brown Rice

D: Avocado, Egg Ampalaya, Chicken Cordon Blue and Calamares, Brown Rice

Wednesday:

B: Orange wedges, Corned beef and Brown Fried Rice

L: Papaya, Beef Sinigang and Brown Rice

D: Ripe Mango, Fresh Mushroom soup, Roast Tamarind Chicken, Steamed Broccoli, Fried Dory, Brown Rice

Thursday:

B: Oatmeal with milk and Papaya

L: Banana, Pork Ribs Nilaga with pechay, Fried Galunggong and Eggplant Torta, Brown Rice

D: Pears, Nilaga Soup, Korean Beef Stew, Grilled Shrimps, Steamed vegetable (beans, sayote and cauliflower)

Friday:

B: Apple, Club Sandwich (Ham, Egg and Chicken Spread), Hot Choco

L: Atis, Beef soup with Malungay, Fried Pampano, Pinoy ensalada (Bagoong with tomatoes and onions), Steamed Okra, Brown Rice

D: Dragon Fruit, Chicken Tinola with Malungay, Baked Pork Ribs, Brown Rice

Saturday

B: Pomelo, Smoked Salmon with Cream Cheese Sandwich

L: Lunch at Mameng's

D: Dinner Date

Sunday:

B: Papaya and Pancit Canton with Egg

L: Lunch at Ama's house

D: Family dinner

I often post pictures of our dinners at Instagram (follow me @raquelchua) and most of my followers ask me for recipes so I am sharing you one on this blog: Chicken Cordon Bleu by Chef Jon.

Ingredients:

4 pcs chicken leg quarter, deboned

4 slices cooked sweet ham

4 long strips Quickmelt cheese (We love Magnolia Quickmelt Cheese)*

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

2 pc eggs, beaten

1 1/2 cup Japanese breadcrumbs

cooking oil for deep-frying

*If you don't like Quickmelt cheese you may use pasteurized cheese (I love Quez-O Cheese)

toothpicks

Procedure:
Place boneless chicken skin side down on a chopping board. Place 1 ham per chicken then a strip of cheese. Roll chicken into a log then seal the ends with 3-4 toothpicks per chicken.

Prepare 3 bowls or plate for your breading.

1st bowl: Combine flour with salt and pepper.

2nd bowl: Place egg and whisk until well beaten.

3rd bowl: Place Japanese bread crumbs.

Dredge the chicken onto the flour mixture, dip into the egg, then completely coat with Japanese breadcrumbs.

After drenching in eggs, coat the chicken with breadcrumbs.

Pre-heat oil for deep-frying. Preheat oven to 350F. When the oil is hot, deep fry chicken until the crumbs are golden brown. How will you know if the oil is ready? Sprinkle some breadcrumbs in the oil. If it bubbles, it’s ready for deep-frying.

Place them in paper towels so it can absorb the excess oil. Then put the chicken onto a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil.

Bake in the oven for 20 minutes (325F) or until the chicken is fully cooked with an internal temperature of at least 165F.

Remove the chicken and let it rest on a chopping board, about 5 minutes. Slice chicken into thin rounds and serve immediately. Enjoy!

Hint: if you are using boneless chicken breast fillet, there is no need to cook inside the oven. Skip the oven part as they quickly cook during deep-frying. Boneless leg quarters are far thicker so they need to be finished off inside the oven. If you don't own an oven, you can continue cooking by oil.

Happy cooking mommies!

- Mommy Raquel