# ISO Chicken Cordon Bleu Substitutions



## richiebronson (Apr 22, 2007)

I made a chicken cordon bleu from a recipe I found, however, I changed the  mozzarella cheese to a goat cheese mixed with chopped spinach as the spread.   It was  amazing. 

I was hoping to get suggestions for what other substitutions you would do to make this recipe even better.


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## Andy M. (Apr 22, 2007)

Chicken cordon bleu is made with chicken, ham and swiss cheese.  You can change the cheeses and the ham.  For that matter, you could use something other than chicken.  Just don't continue to call it chicken cordon bleu.

Try it with provolone next time.  Use genoa salami in place of the ham and top it with a little marinara sauce.


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## Constance (Apr 22, 2007)

Andy, am I correct in thinking that the spinach makes it Chicken Florentine?


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## Katie H (Apr 22, 2007)

Constance said:
			
		

> Andy, am I correct in thinking that the spinach makes it Chicken Florentine?



Yes, Connie, spinach is what makes a dish "Florentine".

When our children were small, they wouldn't eat spinach so I substituted chopped broccoli in dishes that called for chopped spinach.  Over time, I substituted less and less broccoli and replaced it with spinach.  Before long, they were eating spinach and liking it.


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## Andy M. (Apr 22, 2007)

Constance said:
			
		

> Andy, am I correct in thinking that the spinach makes it Chicken Florentine?


 
Chicken florentine does not usually include ham, mozzarella or swiss.


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## mish (Apr 23, 2007)

Cordon Bleu is one of my fave old reliables. Some alternate suggestions:

Substitute the ham for turkey ham or prosciutto. 

Spread the chicken breast with Honey Dijon mustard (sprinkle with crushed Thyme or Rosemary) - then add your ham & cheese.

In place of Swiss, try Mozzarella (& prosciutto) or Gruyere.



Combine the bread crumbs with grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese & paprika.

Roll the chicken in melted garlic butter, prior to rolling in the bread crumbs.

You might add sun-dried or diced, drained tomatoes or sneak in a few sliced mushrooms to the ham/cheese filling.


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