Happy Easter to all of you.    Here is your Easter egg, an easy Easter menu.

Cordon Bleu is a dish that so many of us are familiar with in one incarnation or another,
but very few of us have any knowledge of the history of, or even what its name really means ! Enjoy the variations of some fantastic Cordon Bleu’s.

This delicious dish is most basically described as a piece of cheese wrapped in a piece of ham stuffed in a butterflied chicken breast, breaded, and fried. It’s a wonderful combination of flavors and preparation techniques, which has created an iconic dish that always calls back to the restaurants and cafes of Paris.

   Classic veal Cordon Bleu.

Cordon Bleu.

Veal Cordon Bleu is made of veal pounded thin and wrapped around a slice of ham and a slice of cheese, breaded, and then pan fried or deep fried or even baked.
Ham Cordon Bleu is ham stuffed with mushrooms and cheese.

One of the things you can do is investigate the many different takes on this recipe from across the world. The recipe is simple enough that it’s unsurprising that it has crossed
the world in one form or another, incorporating itself into just about every culture.

  Cordon Bleu with additional tomato filling.

You can even find instances of it in cultures where the pork aspect is forbidden, so they simply replace it with beef, and leave the rest of the dish intact.

One of the little known facts about Cordon Bleu is that it merely means that the French believed this dish to be of prize winning quality. “Blue ribbon” being the direct translation, and the implication being much the same as it is in any county fair. This is the impact it had on them, that there was no other name appropriate for this dish than “first place”.

Le Cordon Bleu.

The French term Cordon Bleu is translated as „blue ribbon“. According to „Larousse Gastronomique“, Cordon Bleu was originally a wide blue ribbon worn by members of the highest order of knighthood, „L’Ordre des chevaliers du Saint-Esprit“. This order was instituted by Henri III of France in 1578.

    Le Cordon Bleu cooking school, here Dusit.

By extension, the term has since been applied to food prepared to a very high standard and to outstanding cooks. The analogy no doubt arose from the similarity between the sash worn by the knights and the ribbons (generally blue) of a cook’s apron.

   Le Cordon Bleu cooking school, here London.

Le Cordon Bleu is also a culinary arts school established in Paris in 1895 by Marthe Diste who published the magazine „La Cuisiniere Cordon Bleu“. The school is considered to be the guardian of French culinary techniques and aims to pass on this knowledge to students through a number of culinary and hospitality qualifications.

   Le Cordon Bleu cooking school, here Paris.

With campuses all over the the world, including Paris, London, Tokyo and Sydney the school is one of the most recognised culinary educators in the business and places are in high demand. The schools alumni is made up of some of the biggest names in the food industry with Nathalie Dupree, Dione Lucas and Julia Child all gaining qualifications at the school.

   After some hard time learning, the lucky ones get their Grand Diplome from Le Cordon Bleu.

International Varieties.

The origins of Cordon Bleu as a schnitzel filled with cheese are in Switzerland, probably about the 1940s, first mentioned in a cookbook from 1949. The earliest reference to „chicken Cordon Bleu“ in The New York Times is dated to 1967, while similar veal recipes are found from at least 1955.

  How mouthwatering is this ? The Swiss veal variation.

A similar variant comes from Hungary, where veal is used in place of the chicken, but the filling is the same. Rather than being folded as a pocket, instead it is rolled with cheese and ham inside of it. It’s popularly served with mashed potatoes, French fries, or rice.

   Vegetarian Cordon Bleu, salmon filled with spinach.

On days where food is celebrated, like this Easter weekend, it’s always good to try to serve a little variety , just to spread the joy and flavor of the world’s cuisine. One wonderful way to do this is to create a batch of smaller versions of the food. Cordon bleu bites are often made by creating bite-size versions and rolling them into bread crumbs, which are deep fried while skewered with a tooth pick.

  Cordon Bleu from turkey filled with herb cream cheese.

With all the varieties of Cordon Bleu of the world to choose from, there’s no reason you can’t serve a selection of flavors from around the world.  Even better, you can show your friends or family how it doesn’t have to be a complicated dish to prepare, and can share your special recipes with them!

    Chicken Cordon Bleu with asparagus, pic Moziwis.

The recipe.

This easy recipe is one of the most common ones. Same way cooking if you use chicken instead of any other meat. Many many variations one can find through the internet.

Ingredients for 4 portions.

4 pieces Schnitzel (large, of pig, veal or turkey)
8 slices of ham  (small)
4 slices of cheese (Emmentaler or Gouda)
2 eggs (for breading)
Flour (for breading)
Breadcrumbs (for breading) I like to use Panko
Vegetable oil (for baking)
Lemon clefts (for garnishing)
salt
pepper

     This is Chicken Cordon Bleu, made the here described way. Topped with sauce Hollandaise.

How to do.

Put the schnitzel’s between thin plastic wrap and bash with a beater, to thin them equally, make sure that they do not tear.
Salt and pepper on both sides.
Place layers as follows;
One slice of meat, then one slice of ham, one slice of cheese, again one slice of ham
Fold together the edges of the schnitzel and fix with toothpicks. Now you’ll have a nice big parcel to fry.

  Chicken Cordon Bleu with „spicy“ sauce Hollandaise. Recipetin.

Place beaten eggs in a soup plate.
First turn the parcels into flour, pull through the egg, and roll into crumbs (Panko).
Heat quiet an amount of oil in a large pan or deep fryer. Place Cordon Bleu’s, fry golden brown, and drain on kitchen crepe.

Cordon Bleu in Uruguay.

A sort of „open Cordon Bleu“, called Milanesa. There are some variety’s, but, as most food here, not very imaginatively. See yourself, important in Uruguay is just „THE LOT“ !

        The typical Uruguayan milanesa served with French Fries. Lots of cheese over the beef and ham topped with tomato sauce. The right picture is made in the restaurant Mercado de la Abundancia in Montevideo, fries as a side dish.  My opinion about the milanesas here: Dry meat, burned ham, gluey cheese witch sticks between your teeth, tomato mash and always dry oregano on top, that one has the feeling  chewing on sand.

Best ever Cordon Bleu.

One of the best Cordon Bleu’s I ever had was in the Grand Hotel Tremezzo at Lake Como in Italy. I only remember it was a Swiss classic with veal, Gruyere and bacon, sadly I have no picture, but I still have the taste on my tongue. Therefore I post a pic from the hotel and restaurant. Pics down here courtesy of the Grand Hotel.

To keep such a positive memory is reasoned may be because of the company, the atmosphere of the surrounding or the lush climate at the lake front, to make it a 5 star meal. At least a glass of Martell Cordon Bleu, to wash down, made it a 5 star one.

Left picture: The Extra Old Cognac „Centenary“ from Martell, superb, but rare to find. Right picture: Sent by my Swiss friend Mathis, veal schnitzel topped with bacon, Swiss Gorgonzola and pear cubes. A delicious variation which I will try soon.  Enjoy !