Chicken Cordon Bleu with Mushroom Sauce

Assalamualaikum

Winter break is coming to an end! Although I was a bit upset with the change of plans however, it might be for the best Insha’Allah. Nonetheless I had fun during this break. I had a chance to experiment a bit in the kitchen which is always a plus. Also, my sewing machine finally got to see the sunlight after being in its box for months!

Munie’s visit was a blast! We tried food at places we never tried before, we made our (mine at least) first snow man and danced to country music on New Year’s Eve. That definitely made up my cancelled trips!=)

Even before she came, I asked her if she had any food requests. One thing I know for sure, my friends could eat ANYTHING and EVERYTHING. So I decided awhile ago that I would make her Chicken Cordon Bleu.  But in my case it wasn't THE perfect Cordon Blue. Why? Because this clumsy cat lady forgot/decided not to get chicken slices when she was at the grocery store. =.=’ Why oh Why?! But still, it was a delicious meal! Instead of using Swiss cheese, I decided to get smoke Gouda cheese. It’s delicious I tell ya. A great choice indeed. Try putting it on a piece of toast and top it with slices of apples. Good-Golly! It makes a great Grilled Apple Cheese Sandwich too!*drools* As usual, food always excites me .Moving on…

For the Chicken Cordon Blue, I mixed and matched different recipes depending on the ingredients I had on hand and the techniques that I preferred. The only thing that wasn't working for me was the baking time. Mine was slightly dry. Also, instead of buying breadcrumbs; I decided to make my own which, in my opinion, tasted soo much better compared to the ones sold in the grocery store.

Chicken Cordon Bleu

For 2

2 chicken breasts, butterfly cut

A few slices of cheese of your choice, I used smoked Gouda

1/2 -3/4 cup of breadcrumbs

1/2 cup of flour

1 egg, beaten

Salt and pepper to taste

1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder

1 tablespoon of butter

Oil 

Dried parsley (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 300 degree Fahrenheit
2. To prep the chicken, wash it thoroughly, butterfly it. On a sturdy surface, place the chicken and cover it with plastic. Using a meat pounder (in my case, a heavy rolling pin) , pound them until they are about 1/4 to 1/2 inch in width.
3. Spray an oven safe dish with oil and put aside.
4. Have the breadcrumbs, flour and beaten egg ready.
5. Spread the chicken breast on a clean surface, season generously with salt, pepper and  garlic powder.
6. Put the cheese slices (also cooked meat slices if you have any) on top of the seasonings.
7. Roll the chicken tightly and neatly and secure the roll with a toothpick
8. Cover the rolled chicken with flour, then egg and lastly the breadcrumbs.
9. Garnish with some dried parsley.
10. Place the chicken breasts on the baking dish. Spray some more oil and dollop some butter on top of each piece.
11. Bake the chicken for 20-25 minutes.

The baking time really depends on the thickness of the chicken breast. Since mine was overcooked and a bit dry (I baked it for 35 minutes), I decided to make mushroom sauce as well.=)

Mushroom Sauce

1/4 cup of sliced mushroom

1 tablespoon of butter

1 tablespoon of flour

1/2 cup of milk

Salt and pepper to taste

1. On a medium heat, melt butter and sauté the mushrooms until they soften.
2. Add flour and mix until a paste forms.
3. Mix in the milk, salt and pepper. Continue mixing until the sauce reaches the desired consistency. (1-3 minutes)

 

 

 Who knew?!It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. Definitely worth a try! Go ahead and WOW someone. Oh! If you were wondering, I served this dish with garlic mashed potatoes on the side. Munie sure liked it, I’m sure you’ll too!=)

Classes start in 2 days time. I.AM.NOT.READY! rawr.

Whoever said that they love winter and the snow, perhaps have never set foot on North America during snow storms. Like really. Like whatever.*flips hijab*

Till then, Wasalam,

Love,

Sofhan Hasni

Oven "fried" Chicken with Sweet and Spicy Glaze

Assalamualaikum!

Finalllllllyyyyyy done with exams! It felt like FOREVER! Okay..over. I was about to make sugar cookies but then my butter is still cold. SO it’s resting nicely on the heater. LOL! Just to speed up the process. I am one impatient baker!=P

Awhile ago, I had fried/baked chicken cravings! I came across Chef John’s Spicy Orange Chicken Wings and DING! A light bulb on top of my head went on.But then I didn't have marmalade or orange jam in my fridge...oh well..then I came across his other recipe called Clifton Springs Chicken Wings.So I made that instead. Since I wasn't so sure if I’m going to like it or not, I didn't really document the whole process. IT WAS DELISH! I used half of chicken and not just wings. Wings are not exactly my favorite.But nonetheless, I eat so much meat I am practically meatarian.=P

Original recipe here.

Oven "fried" Chicken

500 g of chicken cut into pieces

1 tablespoon oil

1/2 cup of flour

A dash of hot sauce

Salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat the oven to
2. In a bowl, marinade the chicken with hot sauce, salt, pepper and oil.
3. In a Ziploc or clean plastic bag, put the marinated chicken and flour. Shake plastic bag until the chicken pieces are well coated.
4. Spray baking pan with oil.
5. Arrange the chicken on the pan and spray or brush the chicken with oil.
6. Bake for 30 minutes on one side and another 30 minutes on the other.

Sweet and Spicy Glace

3 crushed garlic cloves

2 tbsp grated ginger

1 tbsp sambal oelek/chili sauce (or 1/2 tsp hot pepper flakes)

1/2 cup rice vinegar

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1 tsp soy sauce

1. In a saucepan on slow heat, mix everything together
2. Once it starts to simmer, turn off the heat.
3. Coat chicken with glaze and serve.

God I'm hungry all of a sudden.I just ate rice and mihun sup.Blame the weatherrrr!I could make ABC from the snow outside..EEK!

Happy holidays everyone!

Till then, take care,

Love,

Sofhan Hasni

Roast Chicken with Potatoes

Assalaamualaikum!

What do you know?!Third post for the day. It is my day off..so…I blogged and of course, pigged out. I really did.

I am a BIG fan of Laura Vitale. I came across her Roast Chicken video and boom..I just had to try making one for myself. I really do. I wanted to make it for yesterday’s potluck but I had a crazy day and my freezer weren’t cooperating with me. So I decided to make one today. YEAY! I’ve always wanted to try roasting a turkey or chicken with fillings but where can I get a Halal turkey? Plus, I never roasted whole chickens ever in my life. EVER! But Alhamdulillah, today’s experiment was a success. Kudos to Laura’s recipe. The chicken was well cooked, tender, juicy, delicious, flavorful…EVERY INCH OF IT WAS DELICIOUS! The buttery taste compliments the tanginess of the lemon. The rosemary and garlic…need I say more?!

Original Recipe: here

Roast Chicken with Potatoes

Roast Chicken:

1 whole chicken (1.5kg)

3 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons of dried rosemary

1 large onion

3 cloves of unpeeled garlic

1 lemon

Salt and Pepper (to taste)

For potatoes:

2 tablespoons of dried rosemary

3 cloves of unpeeled garlic

3 tablespoons of olive oil

Salt and Pepper (to taste)

1. Preheat oven to 375 degree Fahrenheit
2. For the potatoes, in a roasting pan (I used 9x9 baking pan), drizzle the olive oil.
3. Cut potatoes into 1 inch cubes and add the potatoes into the pan
4. Also add in the dried rosemary, salt and pepper.
5. Mix them well and push them to the sides of the pan to make way for the chicken
6. Slice the onion into 4 big slices and arrange them in the middle of the pan. Set aside.
7. For the chicken, in a bowl, mix the butter, rosemary, salt and pepper together.
8. With the chicken (both drumstick) facing you, slowly make your way through the skin at the top of the chicken to create a small “pocket”,
9. Fill this “pocket”with  ¾ of your butter mixture and slather the rest on top of the chicken.
10. Cut the lemon in half and insert it in the cavity of the chicken along with the garlic.
11. Tie the drumsticks together using a kitchen string
12. Place the chicken on top of the arranged onion slices.
13. Sprinkle a generous amount of salt (especially) and some pepper on the chicken.
14. Tuck the tip of the wings under
15. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes. =)

Ingredients

Compound butter

Watch her video to understand the steps better: here. Her chicken is bigger than mine that is why our measurements and baking times are different. Why so few garlic..because I’m out of unpeeled ones.=P

There’s something about this chicken that is FANTABULOUS! When I was cutting it, the juices were pouring out. It’s nicely cooked. Tender and juicy on the inside and incredibly crispy on the outside. It’s amazing how these few ingredients could make such a wow-zaa dinner. It may sound a bit hard because of the steps, but really, once you try it, it’s not as hard as it seems. What’s hard is the waiting. So..snack on something while you wait. It.is.worth.the.wait!

Have fun in the kitchen!You'll have even more fun eating your home cooked meal afterwards!

Happy Sunday!

Wasalam.

Till then, 

Love,

Sofhan Hasni