Ingredient: sunflower seeds

Seed Encrusted Ham Cordon Bleu

Many variations exist to the basic idea of the French ‘cordon bleu’ dish. It would seem that its one of those recipes that has evolved over time, starting in the late 1840’s. Veal cordon bleu was created in Paris, France to later be swapped out for chicken in Moscow.

Chicken Kiev, stuffed with an herb butter was likely the meal that inspired chicken cordon bleu. In North America, the first mention of this upscale dish was in 1967. It consists of chicken breast, pounded thin, stuffed with a slice of ham and Swiss cheese then breaded and baked or fried.

Today, a lot of interesting versions are being made using everything from bacon, avocado, spinach, onions, cheese varieties as well as numerous ways in which to prepare them.

I have chosen to kind of reverse the basic idea by using ham slices and stuffing them with turkey, stuffing and cheese. The sunflower seeds in the breading added a nice flavor dimension.

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 Seed Encrusted Ham Cordon Bleu
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Course Main Dish
Cuisine American, French
Servings
Ingredients
Filling & Meat
Breading
Mushroom Sauce
Course Main Dish
Cuisine American, French
Servings
Ingredients
Filling & Meat
Breading
Mushroom Sauce
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
You:
Rate this recipe!
Instructions
Filling
  1. In a saucepan, saute mushrooms, onions & seasonings in butter until tender. Add water & bring to a boil. Remove from heat, add stove top stuffing & allow to stand, covered for about 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork; cool slightly. Grate cheese.
Breading
  1. In a food processor, pulse sunflower seeds for a few seconds ONLY. In a bowl, combine seeds, Panko crumbs, grated Parmesan & melted butter.
Assembly
  1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Butter a 9 X 13-inch baking pan. Set aside.
  2. On a work surface, lay out the ham slices & spread with mustard. Divide stuffing mixture evenly between ham slices. Top each with a turkey slice then divide the Swiss cheese between the 8 'cordon bleu'. Wrap each by laying one side over the other, securing with toothpicks. Carefully transfer each roll to the baking pan. Using your fingers, place some beaten egg on all exposed ham slices. With a spoon, sprinkle breading mixture over ham rolls, covering evenly.
  3. Place a pan of water on the bottom shelf of oven. Position the pan with ham rolls directly over your water bath. This will help to 'steam' the rolls as opposed to drying & over baking them since all ingredients are already cooked. The flavors come together nicely as a result. Bake for about 15- 20 minutes.
Mushroom Sauce
  1. In a saucepan, saute sliced mushrooms in melted butter. Whisk in flour & continue to cook, stirring frequently, for about 2 minutes. Whisk in chicken broth, continuing to simmer mixture until sauce is thickened & bubbly. If you are using cream, whisk it in now.
  2. Top baked ham cordon bleu with mushroom sauce. Serve with mashed potatoes & a hot veggie of choice.

Smoked Gouda & Asparagus Stuffed Turkey Breast

I think it would be safe to say that turkey still rules the day as the most traditional centerpiece for the Canadian Christmas dinner. Canada is a country with a very diverse background, so we enjoy a mix of cuisines and traditions from all over the world. Although that festive foul remains the center focus, other dishes on the table are undoubtedly reflecting how Canadian tastes are changing.

The fact that people are travelling more, our knowledge of food has expanded dramatically. Its all about flavor now, which has led us to more exotic spices and ingredients. We have become much more sophisticated in our approach to preparing food.

Other changes at the holiday table are a result of the large numbers of people who have opted to become vegetarian or people by choice or health reasons need gluten-free dishes. If you are preparing your holiday meal around these different ways of eating or requirements, it will mean being more thoughtful about what you prepare.

Another noticeable shift has come with the desserts served after the big meal. The days are gone, for most part, for the traditional, heavier desserts. These choices used to consist of mincemeat pies, steamed puddings or fruitcake to name a few. The trend now is leaning more to lighter, fruity and creamy flavors such as lemon.

The big thing is, no matter what your meal entails, enjoy it to the fullest as this time, day and year will never come again. Once again, we opted to have stuffed turkey breast instead of roasting the whole bird. The ‘seeded’ crust added a new dimension that we really enjoyed.


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Smoked Gouda & Asparagus Stuffed Turkey Breast

Votes: 3
Rating: 3
You:
Rate this recipe!

Course Main Dish
Cuisine American

Servings


Ingredients

Course Main Dish
Cuisine American

Servings


Ingredients

Votes: 3
Rating: 3
You:
Rate this recipe!


Instructions
  1. Trim asparagus stems & steam, slightly in microwave. Shred Gouda cheese. In a food processor, combine panko crumbs, oatmeal, 4 kinds of seeds, spices & salt; pulse slightly.

  2. Set out 3 large plates. Add flour to the first one, beat egg with 1 Tbsp water in the second one. The third one is for your pulsed mixture. Preheat oven to 325 F. Butter a large piece of heavy foil, making a circle about the same size of turkey breast.

  3. Keeping the whole breast intact, flatten slightly to create uniform thickness. Coat breast on both sides with flour, then egg wash and lastly in the seed mixture. Coat completely, INSIDE & OUT (the seed mixture acts like a thin layer of bread stuffing).

  4. Place breast on foil & layer one side with half of the ham, asparagus & cheese; repeat again with remaining filling. Place other side of breast on top so your filling is enclosed. If necessary, use some toothpicks to secure stuffed breast during roasting time. Cup sides of foil fairly close to meat.

  5. Roast, covered for 2 hours, remove top piece of foil & continue to bake another hour or until 185 F. is reached on a meat thermometer. Remove from oven & allow to rest for a few minutes before slicing.