Deep Fried Chicken Cordon Bleu

Ingredients:

• 4 boneless chicken breasts
• 8 slices honey ham
• 4 slices Swiss cheese
• 3 tbsp butter
• 3 cups flour
• 1 bottle of beer
• 2 eggs, separated
• 1 tsp salt
• vegetable oil 

Directions:

Pound the chicken breasts flat with a hammer. Lay a slice of Swiss cheese and two piece of ham on top of each chicken breast. Roll them up. Secure with toothpicks.

Mix the egg yolk and 2 cups flour together. Beat the egg whites until frothy. Mix together the egg whites, beer, butter and salt. Add to the flour/egg yolk mixture. Place 1 cup flour in a bowl to the side. Heat a pan of hot oil on the stove (a wok is better if you have one). Your oil should be at least 1 inch deep.

When the oil is sizzling hot, pick up one of the cordon bleu chicken rolls. Remove the toothpicks. Hold the roll together while you dredge it in flour and cover it VERY WELL with the beer batter. Lay the chicken roll gently in the pan of hot oil. Place two chicken rolls in the pan at a time. Cook the chicken rolls for roughly 3 1/2 minutes before flipping them over and cooking another 3 1/2 minutes.

Take the deep fried chicken roll out of the hot oil and put it on a plate with a paper towel to soak up the grease. Provided you coated the chicken roll well with the batter, the cheese will melt inside of the thick crust. When you cut into the roll, you should see this:

Serve and enjoy!

Note: I'm partial to a wok for frying. It gives you more of a depression to sufficiently fry things while also having the high sides that protect you from splatter. If you fry things often, consider getting one. Personally, I'd always choose a wok over a deep fryer, given the option. 

Whole Lemon Herb Fryer Chicken

Ingredients:

• 1 1.5-2.5 lb. whole fryer chicken
• 2 lemons
• 1 tbsp salt
• 1/2 tbsp paprika
• 1/2 stick butter, softened 

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350.

2. Rinse off the chicken and pat dry. You have no idea what nasty surprises are lurking on the chicken's skin or whose dirty factory hands have been all over it. Sure, cooking gets rid of germs but who can afford to take chances? You? No? Okay then, rinse the chicken. 

3. Put the salt and paprika together into a small bowl. Rub down the outside and inside of the chicken with the seasonings. Don't worry, this isn't going to be a salty chicken. The salt merely keeps the chicken's juices inside. 

3. Lay the chicken in the casserole dish breast side up. Lift up the chicken skin and put the butter underneath. 

4. Cut one lemon into 4 wedges. Squeeze the juice out over the chicken's skin. Stuff the squeezes lemon quarters inside the chicken cavity. 

5. Slice the remaining lemon. Place the slices on top of the chicken. Secure them with toothpicks if they don't stay put. 

6. Bake the chicken at 350 for approximately 1.5 hours. Your cooking time may vary slightly depending on the weight of the chicken. 

Note: If you have any small cuts or scrapes on your hands, wear gloves to rub the salt/paprika mixture onto your fryer chicken. If you're like me and have a cut you don't know about, that salt in the wound (literally, ha!) will remind you with a quickness. 

Baked Chicken in White Cheddar and Broccoli Sauce

Ingredients

• 4 boneless chicken breasts
• 3 cups cream
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/2 cup sharp white cheddar
• 1/3 cup shredded parmesan
• 3 tbsp butter
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1 head of broccoli, chopped and cooked.

Directions:

Put the chicken into a shallow dish and bake it in the oven. The length of time you bake your chicken depends on how thick the chicken pieces are. Thin chicken pieces work best for this dish, so consider slicing thick chicken breasts in half horizontally or flatting them with a mallet. 

Chop the garlic. Put the butter and garlic in a frying pan on medium low heat until the butter is melted.

Add the cream. Whisk until the ingredients are well blended. Bring to a low boil, stirring frequently. Let boil for about three minutes, then turn the heat to low. 

Add the cheese and the salt and pepper. Stir the sauce periodically while the cheese melts. Chop the broccoli into very small pieces and add to the sauce. Take the chicken out of the oven. Remove each piece of chicken separately from the pan, blot off any excess liquid with a paper towel and add the chicken to the sauce. Serve. 

Note: There's a good reason we aren't cooking the chicken in the white cheddar sauce. Chicken naturally gives off liquid while it cooks. We want a moderately thick sauce. Not only would that chicken juice thin out our sauce, it's just plain gross.