Fire Roasted Cordon Bleu & Grilled Potato Salad

Bev wanted to make Chicken Cordon Bleu and I remembered a recipe for a grilled version I had saved.  When I went looking, it turned out to be from friend Chris at "Nibble Me This" and posted on the OurKrazy Kitchen blog in July, 2010.  We sided it with grilled potato salad using a recipe from Mary Constantine’s column in the Knox News Sentinel on May 22, 2013.

Grilled Potato Salad - Adapted from Mary Contantine

Ingredients: 

2 pounds medium Yukon gold potatoes

2 medium yellow onions, sliced into 1/4-inch-thick rings and skewered with toothpicks

1/4 cup white- or red-wine vinegar

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1/2 tablespoon sugar

1/4 cup olive oil, plus more for coating the potatoes and onions

Salt and black pepper to taste

4 strips bacon, cooked and crumbled

1/2 cup crumbled bleu cheese

1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

Directions:

1. Place potatoes in a large saucepan of water and season with a few pinches of salt. Bring to a boil over high heat and cook for about 15 minutes, until the potatoes are just tender. Drain and slice into 1/4-inch-thick disks (I made them a little thicker and cut them to serve).

2. Preheat a grill over medium-high heat. Drizzle potatoes and onion slices with enough olive oil to coat. Grill potatoes for about 5 minutes per side, until the surface is browned and crisp. At the same time, grill onions for about 4 minutes per side, until lightly caramelized and soft.

3. Combine vinegar, mustard and sugar. Whisk in 1/4 cup olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. 
4. Remove potatoes and onions from the grill to a cutting board and quarter (or halve).
5. Combine potatoes, onions, bacon, bleu cheese and parsley in a large mixing bowl. 
6. Toss with dressing and serve warm - makes 6 servings.

Note - I cooked the potatoes and onions over the direct heat while the chicken was over indirect.

Fire Roasted Chicken Cordon Bleu - Adapted From Our Crazy Kitchen

We used the recipe ingredients as written except we doubled it to get the one below.  I changed the directions a little.

Chicken Ingredients:

6 ea chicken breast, boneless skinless

2 Tbsp kosher salt

2 tsp black pepper

6 slices smoked ham

6 slices Swiss cheese

2 ea egg

2 Tbsp ice water

2 cup panko bread crumbs

3 Tbsp butter

Sauce Ingredients:

2 Tbsp butter

2 ea shallot, diced

½ cup white wine

1 cup heavy whipping cream

4 Tbsp parsley, finely chopped

Salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Place the chicken between two sheets of plastic wrap and pound to 1/2" thickness. Season with salt and pepper. Top with smoked ham and swiss.

2. Roll the chicken up lengthwise and seal up as best you can, using toothpicks to secure the edges. Make an egg wash by whisking the eggs and ice water. Roll the breast in the egg wash and then the panko. Place in a baking dish. Top each with 1 Tbsp of butter.

Since my gas grill won't get to the desired 375*, I cooked them a little differently - click the above link to see Chris' original.

3. Preheat your grill and set up for indirect heat (fire/burners to the sides but not directly under the cooking area) and cook them until the breasts hit an internal temp of 150*.

4. Move them over direct medium cook to an internal temp of 155* or until lightly browned if sooner.  Then flip and cook to an internal temp of 160 or until browned.  Find or make a clean place on the pan or you will have burned cheese on the crust.

5. If the browning comes before 160*, move them back to indirect until it's reached.

6. Remove from heat, tent and allow to rest - they should go up to the desired 165* temp while resting.

7. When the cordon bleu gets flipped, start the sauce on the grill side burner.

8. Melt the butter and saute the shallot over medium high heat for 2-3 minutes. Add the wine and continue cooking until the wine is almost evaporated

9. Reduce heat to medium, whisk in the cream and parsley. Cook until the volume is reduced by half. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

10. When ready to serve, carefully remove any toothpicks from the chicken, ladle some of the sauce onto the serving plate and top with a cordon bleu.

I thought the potato salad was excellent and the chicken was so good I had to call Chris and tell him so.  Both were also good leftover.  I now want to try the grilled potatoes with our normal mayo based salad dressing. 

Thanks Chris and Mary for an outstanding meal.

Photos best if enlarged by clicking on them.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

Larry

6/23/2013 meal date