Chicken cordon bleu with mushroom sauce

For our Thanksgiving potluck, I was hoping to do a turkey version of this dish, but could not find turkey breasts in our local grocery store at the last minute. So I just made the usual chicken cordon bleu, and it was still a hit. This recipe looks complicated, but it wasn't actually. The only tricky part for me is the rolling & sealing because the chicken pieces could get slippery to the hands and you do not want the cheese to ooze out of the rolls while cooking.



4 boneless chicken breasts, skin removed
salt
pepper
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup milk
4 slices cooked ham
4 slices Swiss cheese
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/3 cup panko (Japanese bread crumbs)
toothpicks or butcher's twine for sealing
vegetable oil

Mushroom Sauce:
3 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup thinly sliced mushrooms
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup heated milk
1/2 cup chicken broth
salt
pepper


Make a horizontal cut down the length of the thin side of each chicken breast using a sharp thin knife. Open the breasts up like a book so the cut-sides are exposed facing up and the skin-side is down, with the "spine" of the chicken horizontal on your work surface. Place each piece of chicken between 2 sheets of wax paper or in food storage bag. Pound gently to flatten, using a rolling pin or smooth side of meat mallet. Sprinkle chicken pieces with salt and pepper. In a deep dish, combine beaten eggs with milk. Place chicken pieces in mixture, cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees F. Put panko in a food storage bag and seal. On a flat surface and using a rolling pin, crush the panko until slightly fine. Set aside. Place a piece of ham in the center of each flattened piece of chicken. You may trim the edges of the ham so it fits the breast, with a small border around the chicken. Fold the cheese slice in half and place on top of the ham. Fold ends over the ham and cheese; rolling tightly away from you. Secure rolls with toothpicks or butcher's twine. Dredge chicken with flour then dip in remaining milk mixture; roll in crushed panko to coat well.

Heat 1/2-inch of vegetable oil in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Fry chicken rolls for 3-4 minutes each side. When browned all over, place the chicken rolls in a baking pan and bake for 20-25 minutes. Serve with mushroom sauce.

Mushroom Sauce
Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Saute mushrooms in 2-3 batches until browned (Sauteing in batches would properly brown the mushrooms). Set aside. In the remaining butter, add flour and stir until mixture is well blended. Gradually stir in hot milk, chicken broth, and mushroom. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until sauce begins to boil and thickens. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Simmer, stirring frequently, over very low heat for 5 minutes. Makes about 1 cup of medium thick sauce.