Chicken Cordon Bleu

Christmas Day was yesterday and I am sitting in my kitchen at five in the morning, the day after, with a cup of coffee and the tree still lit in the living room and the wrapping paper still on the floor because I refuse to clean up before the magic has had time to settle. Earl is asleep. The house smells like ham and pine and cinnamon, and I am writing this because I want to remember every bit of it before the memory fades into the general blur of Christmases past.

They all came. Every one of them. Earl Jr. and Carolyn and Marcus — Tasha went to her family this time, which is fair, but Marcus looked like a puppy who'd been separated from his person. Patricia and Wayne and Brittany and Darnell. Denise and Robert and Monique and Andre. Kayla. Twenty people in this house, baby. Twenty. The table was extended as far as it goes and we still had to put the young ones at a card table in the living room, and Andre complained about being at the kids' table, and I said, "Andre, you are ten. The kids' table is where you live."

The meal was three days of cooking distilled into two hours of eating. Ham glazed with brown sugar and mustard. Roast chicken for Earl, because his heart can't handle the ham and he pretends not to care but I see him looking at it. Macaroni and cheese, three pans because one is never enough. Collard greens that had been cooking since dawn. Sweet potato casserole. Cornbread in Hattie Pearl's skillet. And for dessert: pecan pie, sweet potato pie, and the fruitcake, which Earl Jr. refuses to eat and which Marcus ate three slices of, which tells me everything about who inherited what in this family.

Earl gave me a bracelet. Thin gold, with a small heart pendant. He said, "I saw it and thought of you." He bought it at the department store in the mall, which means Denise drove him there and helped him pick it out, but I will never mention that because the gift is from Earl and the love is from Earl and the fact that he needed help getting to the mall does not diminish the getting there. I wear it now. I will wear it every day.

The moment I keep: after dinner, after the dishes, after the pie, after the presents. Everyone was in the living room — some on the couch, some on the floor, Andre asleep on the rug. Kayla was sitting next to Earl, showing him something on her phone. And I stood in the kitchen doorway — my spot, the place I always stand when I want to see my family without them knowing I'm looking — and I counted heads. Nineteen people alive and breathing in my house. Two empty chairs. One life. Full.

Merry day-after-Christmas, baby.

Now go on and feed somebody.

Standing in that kitchen doorway, counting heads and holding everything I had, I knew the next day I’d want to cook something that felt like a little bit of effort and a whole lot of love — something that says you are worth the extra steps without making a fuss about it. Chicken Cordon Bleu has always been that dish for me: humble ingredients folded together into something that feels like a occasion. Here’s how I make it.

Prep Time: 30 minutes | Cook Time: 1 hour | Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes | Servings: 6

Ingredients

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 6 oz each)
6 slices deli ham (thin-cut)
6 slices Swiss cheese
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 large eggs, beaten
1 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 tbsp unsalted butter
2 tbsp olive oil
For the Dijon cream sauce:
2 tbsp unsalted butter
2 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
1/2 cup shredded Gruyere or Swiss cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Preheat and prepare. Heat your oven to 375°F. Line a baking sheet with a wire rack and set aside. This helps the chicken stay crispy on all sides rather than steaming on the bottom.
Pound the chicken. Place each chicken breast between two sheets of plastic wrap. Using a meat mallet or rolling pin, pound to an even 1/4-inch thickness. Work gently outward from the center so the breast stays in one piece.
Add the filling. Lay one slice of ham and one slice of Swiss cheese on each flattened breast, leaving a 1/2-inch border around the edges. Starting from the narrower end, roll each breast up tightly, tucking in the sides as you go. Secure with two or three toothpicks.
Set up your dredging station. Place the flour in a shallow dish and season with garlic powder, paprika, salt, and pepper. Put the beaten eggs in a second dish. Put the breadcrumbs in a third. Roll each chicken roll first in the seasoned flour, then dip in egg, then press into breadcrumbs until fully coated.
Brown the rolls. In a large oven-safe skillet, melt the butter with the olive oil over medium-high heat. When the butter foams, add the chicken rolls seam-side down. Sear for 2–3 minutes per side, turning carefully with tongs, until golden brown on all sides. Work in batches if needed so you don’t crowd the pan.
Bake until cooked through. Transfer the browned rolls to the prepared wire rack on the baking sheet. Bake for 25–30 minutes, until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the center reads 165°F. Let rest for 5 minutes before removing the toothpicks.
Make the sauce. While the chicken rests, melt the butter for the sauce in a small saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Slowly pour in the chicken broth while whisking, then add the cream. Simmer for 3–4 minutes until thickened. Stir in the Dijon mustard and shredded cheese until smooth. Taste for salt and pepper.
Serve. Remove toothpicks, plate the chicken, and spoon the Dijon cream sauce generously over the top. Serve immediately alongside your holiday sides.

Nutrition (per serving)

Chicken Cordon Bleu — The Recipe That Took an Hour and a Half and Tasted Like Every Minute of Love Poured Into It