What a wonderful meal, any time! Homemade chicken cordon bleu, creamy mashed potatoes and farm- fresh sweet corn with salt, pepper and butter.

Let’s make the cordon blue together and enjoy.

CHICKEN CORDON BLEU

3 boneless skinless chicken breasts

4 ounces of lunchmeat-style ham

3 ounces of Swiss cheese, grated

½ cup of Panko-style breadcrumbs

½ cup of Ritz Crackers, crushed

3 eggs, room temperature

1 tablespoon of Dijon-style mustard

½ cup of all-purpose flour

¾ of a teaspoon of salt

¼ teaspoon of pepper

Olive oil and extra butter for frying

Butterfly the chicken breasts and lightly pound out.

Lay the ham and the cheese on a plate in prep for rolling.

In one shallow bowl, beat your eggs and Dijon-style mustard together. In a second bowl, mix your flour, salt and pepper.

Place the Ritz crackers, crushed, into a third bowl along with the panko-style breadcrumbs.

Take the butterflied chicken, put the ham and cheese in the center of the cordon bleu(s). Fold the chicken onto itself.

Now place each stuffed chicken breast on a piece of parchment paper and roll it along into a log. Place your chicken cordon bleu logs in the refrigerator.

After chilling the chicken briefly, remove them from the refrigerator and roll each in flour, then egg, then the Panko mixture. Put each chicken breast onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and let allow to rest until room temperature.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

In a large low skillet, add a tablespoon of butter and a tablespoon of oil.

Over medium high heat, place the stuffed chicken breasts into the pan and allow time for browning on all sides.

Place the partially cooked cordon bleu on parchment and place it in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until the chicken registers 160-165 Fahrenheit with a kitchen thermometer.

Serve with a few sides, a beverage and dessert if you wish.

MORNAY SAUCE

(optional sauce for the cordon bleu)

2 cups whole milk

2 tablespoons of unsalted butter

3 tablespoons of all-purpose flour

2 ounces Swiss cheese

1 ounce of Parmesan cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

A pinch of ground nutmeg

In a heavy bottom saucepan, add the butter and melt it over medium high heat. Add flour and whisk for a moment or two, to cook out the raw flour taste. Slowly add the milk, while whisking.

Next, in goes the nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste

Turn heat on to medium high and cook until sauce is thickened and bubbling.

Once the mixture is thickened, allow it to cool.

Add cheeses and whisk to combine. If the sauce is too pully due to the Swiss cheese, you can process this sauce until smooth. Use a hand-help blender to get the smooth texture, velvet-type sauce.

Spoon the sauce over finished chicken.

Sarah Schweitzer is dual-certified in Culinary Arts and Baking & Pastry from the Escoffier School of Culinary Arts. She is a former line cook for Chef Robert Irvine at “Fresh Kitchen by Robert Irvine” which was located at the Downtown Allentown Market. Sarah is currently working as a sous-chef at Ateira’s on First and has her own blog simplysarah.online. She can be reached at sarah.schweitzer18@gmail.com.