Jeremy and I love Scott Christofferson. Really. He's one of our favorite people. We invited him over for dinner Wednesday night because we just wanted an excuse to see him. So hey, why not offer food?
(Let's be honest. He wanted to come over anyway. We threw in food when we already knew he was coming.)
But then Jeremy had an accident snowboarding when he tried to flip off the roof did something to cause a muscle spasm in his back, and Tuesday night/Wednesday morning learned that he couldn't walk. Or get out of bed. Or even sit up.
I called Scotty. Jeremy had made it to our bedroom floor and had spent the morning trying to rotate between his back and stomach, depending on which hurt less, so I told Scotty that unless he wanted to picnic on our floor, maybe we'd better not do dinner. He was a little bit distraught and asked if we could reschedule. Immediately. I said, "Of course! Scotty, we really don't mind picnicking on our floor. If you're okay with it, come over." It was more than a little tongue-in-cheek. Not that we really would've been opposed, but... When I invite someone over to dinner, I guess my expectation was to serve them good food at a table with pleasant conversation, just an overall good time.
My expectation changed. Scotty said, "That sounds great. See you at 5:30."
I laughed after I hung up the phone. Why was I even surprised? I texted Jeremy (knowing his phone was within arm's reach) "Scotty wants to have a picnic on our floor :)" to which he responded, "Sweet."
So I went to my classes, and maybe during one of them, I found what looked like a relatively simple recipe for cordon bleu, which is one of Jeremy's favorite dishes. This has previously been a little intimidating because I'd always thought cordon bleu was complicated to make. Turns out, it really isn't too bad, I just needed a couple of things. Swiss cheese slices, for example. I ran to the grocery story when we got out of class early, running around just a little bit because I remembered Jeremy dragging himself across the floor to get to the bathroom earlier that morning and was more than a little worried about leaving him alone for the duration of my classes that afternoon.
When I got home, Jeremy had managed to stay comfortably propped up on some pillows against the foot of the bed and had been pretty content to get some work done on his laptop. As I started pulling things out to start dinner, he said that he wanted to at least come sit in by where I was. Thanks to my grandparents, we have a lazy boy that meant Jeremy could sit and talk to me while I made dinner.
Which I imagine was a little entertaining. But I promise, this recipe is easy.
Ingredients:
- 6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, thawed
- 6 slices Swiss cheese
- 6 slices ham
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 6 tablespoons of butter
- 1/4 apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon granules (or a small chicken bouillon cube)
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
1. Pound the chicken breasts if they are too thick. Place a cheese and ham slice on each breast within 1/2 inch of the edges. fold the edges of the chicken over the filling, and secure with toothpicks.
I used an actual hammer, and this is what started my disbelief that this was going to turn out anything like cordon bleu I've had in the past. My chicken was still a little bit frozen, so sometimes when I hit the first piece of chicken, I made holes in it. Which I said out loud. Jeremy's disbelief started then too. "Um, yeah. Don't do that."
So I figured out how to not make holes in the chicken, and managed to wrap all of my chicken pieces with ham and cheese inside. I still was not convinced it was right and was sure I was just making a mess. I said to Jeremy, "Let's just not call this cordon bleu, okay? We'll just give it a new name."
"A rose by any other name..."
"Smells just as sweet? I'm not really worried it's not going to taste good, it just doesn't look like your conventional cordon bleu."
"Right, so it's fine if you rename it."
I rolled the last one and gave a pathetic laugh that turned into a whine as I set it on the plate to be cooked. Jeremy said, "That bad, huh?" I shouldn't have told him it was cordon bleu either.
2. Mix the flour and the paprika, and coat the chicken pieces.
Simple enough. I just thought it made my already ugly wraps look even uglier.
But then, the redeeming step.
3. Heat the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat, and cook the chicken until browned on all sides.
Cooking it is what did it. Yes, there are definitely prettier ways to wrap chicken, cheese, and ham, but if you are concerned you aren't doing a good enough job, don't worry. Cooking the chicken changes your outlook on everything. It looks like cordon bleu, and you realize you haven't ruined a good name.
Well, I was relieved anyway.
4. Add the apple cider vinegar, water, and bouillon. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes, until chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear.
This starts to smell fantastic. Jeremy's disbelief disappeared when he smelled it. I was boiling potatoes at the same time (this is great with mashed potatoes) and something was burning on the burner, and that's all I could smell. "Oh no," I said, "what's burning..." sure that I, again, had actually ruined everything. "I don't know what you're smelling, but that chicken smells fantastic." I pulled off the lid and it overpowered the little piece of whatever stuck on the burner.
5. Remove the toothpicks and transfer the chicken to a warm platter. Blend the cornstarch and cream in a small bowl, and whisk slowly into the same skillet with the remaining vinegar and spices. Cook, stirring until thickened, and pour over the chicken. Serve warm.
My only advice here is to be careful with the toothpicks. They've just been partially cooked into the chicken, so they're a little stubborn and incredibly hot.
We laid out a blanket in our front room, used stemware and cloth napkins, and served pomegranate 7up. And Jeremy spent the meal alternating between sitting up and laying on his side. All in all, a success. As far as muscle spasmed backs and picnics on the floor go :)
Just an update: Jeremy is doing much better. He can walk, get up and down, lift things, and perform most normal life tasks without any assistance. But it made for an adventurous and creative couple of days!
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