A Healthier Take on Quick Chicken Cordon Bleu

Steve Guerra disguises himself as a “health nut” but often gives in to his guilty pleasures. He can be found indulging in Olive Gardens Bruchetta and later stopping by Chilies for their paradise pie. He tries not to make this a regular practice because he know better but waits for the end of the week when he is allowed to pick on food item out of his standard diet. Living in Jersey he has access to a big mouth burger 24/7 as the diners there never close. Don’t be surprised if you find him sitting in a booth savoring the taste of greasy mozzarella sticks before his burger. Though his first love will always be the spices, any dish that delivers a blast of pepper he will gladly claim as his favorite food for the week.

A Healthier Take on Quick Chicken Cordon Bleu
Chicken cordon bleu is a traditionally rich and hearty meal. Typically made with layers of prosciutto and cheese in between thin slices of chicken or veal, this dish is breaded and then sautéed. Although I can only estimate on the nutritional value of this meal, my guess is that anything having this many layers, among them seasoned ham and fatty cheeses, will not have the American Heart Association’s seal of approval. Since I only know about this dish in theory and have never actually had it, one can guess my suspicions when my girlfriend decided to make the healthier version, even she wondered if she could pull off such a feat. I seriously wondered, how can you replace key ingredients without sacrificing any of the hearty flavors?
As I took the first bite, I watched her, her eyes full of hope as she eagerly and nervously awaited my response. Any hint of unpleasantness that may come across my face would quickly be followed by her hurt feelings. I too was very anxious as my fork sliced its way into the seemingly tender chicken. A sigh of relief quickly came over both of us when I was able to reveal to her that I found the chicken to be as delectable as the dish looked. While we ate she compared the two versions of Chicken Cordon Bleu. She noted all the changes and substitutions the healthier recipe made as well as the ones she decided to change on her own. Since she knows what I like and how I like to eat she had a great guideline on how to proceed with the recipe.
My girlfriend decided to substitute several of the ingredients to reduce the overall calorie count while at the same time boosting calorie quality. She started with the thin-cut chicken breast. The fat and tenders would be removed leaving behind a lean piece. The Gruyere/Swiss cheese suggested in the recipe was replaced with a low fat, no salt added substitute cheese. For the cream cheese a fat free option was chosen and for the coarse dry breadcrumbs, whole wheat panko bread crumbs, which contain fewer carbohydrates and less sodium, were used instead. Along the same lines, the ham which is traditionally higher in fat and sodium was replaced with turkey ham (“Which is better, ham or turkey?”), and instead of chopped chunks, sliced slivers were used. Finally, as a personal touch my girlfriend replaced the extra-virgin olive oil with canola oil, which does not reduce calories but does provide a benefit to my achy joints.
My girlfriend started her recipe, like many, by preheating the oven to 400⁰ F. Then she defrosted 4 pieces of the boneless, skinless chicken breast. This step was not too difficult since she used Purdue “Ready in 10 Minutes” frozen chicken breasts. As the title suggests, these individual portions are easily defrosted in about 10 minutes. She seasoned the chicken with a touch of salt and pepper. These seasonings, as usual, should be used to taste since some people enjoy the flavor of these seasonings more than others. She cooked the chicken on a frying pan over a tablespoon of canola oil for about 5 minutes on each side. While she waited for the chicken to cook she combined the low-fat, no salt added cheese and the low fat cream cheese which turned into a paste like consistency. Once the chicken was finished cooking, she transferred it to a baking dish and spread the cheese mixture evenly among the 4 pieces of chicken. Next she added the bread crumbs. A suggested by the recipe she dripped a little bit of the canola oil on the crumbs along with some parsley flakes and mixed them well. Then she pressed the bread crumb mixture into the cheese and then sprinkled it with the turkey ham slivers. Once the cheese melted and the inside of the chicken was no longer pink, the dish was ready to eat. It baked for about 30 minutes.
The end result is a dish that is so tender that a plastic fork would slice through it with relative ease. Even with the healthier substitutions, the flavor hits you as soon as the piece is in your mouth and the flavors linger on your palate long after you’ve eaten. Traditionally this dish can yield anywhere from 300 to 800 calories and up to 25 grams of fat for one serving (“Chicken Cordon Bleu recipe search”) but due to the slight changes that came with the new recipe as well as my girlfriend’s own substitutions we can estimate that she cut it down to approximately 225 calories and 10g of fat (“Quick Chicken Cordon Bleu”). To balance out this delicious main course I would suggest doing as my girlfriend did and adding some fresh asparagus. She simply washed the asparagus, snapped off the bottom ends and put them on a baking tray. She drizzled a little canola oil over them so they would not burn or dry out. These long stems proved to be the perfect complement to the rich flavors in the chicken.
Although I have never had traditional Chicken Cordon Bleu and cannot really compare the two, I can honestly say I do not think I missed anything. This version was appealing to all my senses, not just taste and after hearing what goes into the “fattier” version I feel that eating anything else would be a letdown. Granted prosciutto and mixed cheeses layered in between breaded cutlets sounds like a tempting dish, I think if given both options, I would still choose the better, healthier version. After all, as we get older we really need to start paying attention to what we consume on a more regular basis, and f offered a dish that cuts the calories without sacrificing any flavor, why would you pick anything else?

For the complete recipe, please visit: Delish.com – Quick Chicken Cordon Bleu.
http://www.delish.com/recipefinder/quick-chicken-cordon-bleu-recipe?click=recipe_sr

Bibliography
“Chicken Cordon Bleu Recipe Search.” March 2011. Fat Secret: All Things Food and Diet. 5
March 2011.
“Quick Chicken Cordon Bleu.” March 2011. MSN: Delish. 5 March 2011.



“Which is better ham or turkey?” March 2011. Answers.com - Wiki Answers. 5 March 2011.







QUESTION:
“Audience” comes to mind as I reflect back on how the other papers have helped me right this one. Identity should be one of the basic principles for writing a review, identifying your audience. You cannot begin to gear your paper towards them if you don’t know who they are. This lesson was learned upon writing the previous papers.
Along with keeping the audience in mind I have also learned to keep myself in mind. To include myself in the writing gives it a personal depth that you would not find in a piece that is only by the third person view. When reading my peers papers I found the most captivating parts to be when they shared a memory or personal story connecting them-selves to the subject of the paper. I can proudly say that my writing has improved because of this.