Well met my culinary padawans,
It’s been a while, but we’re going to get back down to business.
First off lets get some news and housekeeping done. We’ve put together a Facebook page here. Facebook seems to be a nice easy place for informal conversations and interactions. We also plan on posting here when we have new posts published as an additional way of allowing people to follow us.
We have some interesting post topics in the works, but as always, if you would like to learn or read about anything in particular, have a question you would like answered, or something you would like us to look into for you, just drop us a line here or on Facebook and we will add it to the top of our list.
This particular recipe is the culmination of a few different things. Working on expanding skills, I’m continuing education and utilized a collection of skills to put this dish together. Sharing it on our new Facebook page got a good amount of attention and some folks who wanted the recipe to make it themselves. Which brings us here..
So, now a little bit about the dish. We are going to make a take on a Chicken Cordon Bleu and pair it with Asparagus and Potatoes Tourne. To top it off, we will be finishing the dish with a Dijon Cream Sauce. Lets look at each element individually, from the plate up, and then follow it with the full recipe at the end. To whet your taste buds, we’re going to take a look at our result.
The simplest item on the plate would be the five stalks of asparagus. The nice thing about raw asparagus is that it snaps neatly right at the point where the tender part we enjoy to eat meets the coarser fibrous part that makes you look like a cow with its cud. Simply snap a few stalks off and then cut them all to even size to give a good presentation. Next we want to blanch the stalks until just tender without being soft. get them out of the water, shock them and toss with a little bit of butter, salt and pepper to season.
The second item is the treatment of the potatoes. Labensky, Hause, and Martel in the fifth edition of “On Cooking” describe a tourne (tourner) as a “football shaped finished product with seven equal sides and flat ends.” The most common size is 2 inches long and 1-1 1/2 inches in diameter. This is one of the more difficult knife cuts to master, but produces an extremely elegant presentation. For the red potatoes used here, we started by quartering the potatoes and then performing the tourne cut on each of the quarters. The first cut on the quarter is made by making a curved cut along the center edge of the potato. The potato is then turned and the cut repeated following the line of the previous cut. We turn the potato again and repeat the process until we have the seven equal sides characteristic of a tourne. Once all of your potatoes are cut, you then want to blanch them until fork tender. After they’re fork tender, AND JUST FORK TENDER. you drain them, dry the potatoes, season and sauté them in a little bit of butter to add some sexy color and caramelization.
For the main event, you begin by butterflying your chicken breast. For each breast you’ll want to add a single slice of ham. We used sweet tavern style, but it would be good with serrano or black forest ham as well. The best results would come when you lay the butterflied breast open, then lay the slice of ham across the inside and then sprinkle the shredded gruyere cheese on top of the ham. You definitely want to use some toothpicks or skewers to hold the breast closed. This helps to keep all of the goodness stuffed inside to stay where it belongs. After getting your breast together, roughly spread some Dijon mustard across the top and coat it with the panko bread crumbs. You would not think this would be appetizing, but the taste is delectable. The mustard gives a sharp tang to the dish that cuts the fat of the cheese and the ham nicely. The panko delightfully crisps without hiding the true stars and without making the whole thing feel doughy.
As a finale, the cream sauce starts with one of the mother sauces, a Veloute. Veloute begins with a roux, equal parts butter and flour, to which a blond chicken stock is added. Blond doesn’t refer to the color of the chicken’s feathers, but rather how the stock is made. Chicken stock can be white (blond) or brown. The difference is in whether the bones and mirepoix have been roasted, for a brown stock, or used raw, for a blond stock. Once the veloute begins to thicken, add heavy cream, more Dijon mustard, and fresh grated parmesan cheese. Once everything is incorporated, simmer a bit longer to reduce until you have a nice nape. You know, that thing where the sauce is thick enough to hold a line on the back of a spoon. As always, give it a taste and season as you think it needs with salt and pepper.
For plating, just remember presentation. In presentation, odd numbers are magical, with three being the most magical of all. Three times a lady, three strikes and you’re out, Cajun holy trinity. This is why we use three tourne’s and start plating at 3 o’clock.
So until next time oh apprentices of the culinary arts… enjoy the dish, give some feedback, and
May the Food Be With You
Chicken Cordon Bleu over Asparagus with Potato Tourne topped with Dijon Cream Sauce
Method: Roasting
Yield: 2 Servings
Ingredients:
2 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
2 pieces thin-sliced Ham
1/2c Shredded Gruyere Cheese
1/2c Panko Bread Crumbs
2 tbsp Dijon Mustard
10 stalks Asparagus
1-1/2 Red Potatoes
Clarified Butter
Salt & Pepper to taste
Dijon Cream Sauce:
4 oz Veloute
2 oz Heavy Cream
1 tbsp Dijon Mustard
1 tbsp Grated Parmesan
Salt & Pepper to taste
Procedure:
Quarter potatoes and cut quarters into tourne’s. Set aside.
Snap stems off of asparagus stalks. Set Aside.
Butterfly Chicken Breasts and lay open.
Place 1 slice of ham on each breast.
Pour half of Gruyere Cheese into each breast.
Re-fold breast and use toothpicks to hold closed. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Spread 1 tablespoon of Dijon Mustard on top of each breast.
Coat mustard with panko bread crumbs.
Roast chicken in oven for 12-15 minutes at 350°.
Blanch potatoes until fork tender. Drain.
Saute potatoes in clarified butter until golden brown.
Mix ingredients for Dijon Cream Sauce in separate saucepan until well blended and reduce until a nape is achieved. Adjust seasoning as needed with salt and pepper. Set aside and keep warm.
Blanch asparagus for approximately 2 minutes. Drain
Fan 5 asparagus stalks per plate from center of 2 plates.
Place completed chicken cordon bleu in center of plate across asparagus.
Arrange 3 tournes on side of chicken opposite of asparagus.
Pour sauce across center of chicken from asparagus to potatoes.