Annually observed on April 4 is National Chicken Cordon Bleu Day. It is all about a special dish combining chicken, ham and cheese.
The French term Cordon Bleu is translated as “Blue Ribbon”. This dish is a take on the popular Veal Cordon Bleu. It is a flattened chicken breast which is wrapped around ham (or sometimes prosciutto or Canadian bacon) and cheese such as Swiss or Gruyere. The chicken is held together with toothpicks and dipped in an egg wash and breaded.
The earliest recipe we were able to find was in a March 1964 printing of the Cincinnati Enquirer by the Cincinnati Gourmet Stanley Demos. Despite some misconceptions, it is an American dish. Demos mentions in his column that he got the idea to try chicken instead of veal “to be different.” It has been a popular dish since.
- Another use of the phrase “Cordon Bleu” comes from a distinguished order of sixteenth-century French knights, who apparently wore blue sashes and were therefore popularly referred to as the “Cordon-bleus.”
- Cordon Bleu is a thinly pounded piece of meat (most often chicken, but also veal or pork) stuffed with ham and cheese, then breaded and fried.
- Common variations on this recipe include baking instead of frying, skipping the breading, and switching the order of the meats.
- The term “Cordon Bleu” (by itself) relates to a special order of French knights (originally a wide blue ribbon worn by members of the highest order of knighthood).
- The earliest reference to veal cordon bleu in The Los Angeles Times was published in 1958. It is listed among the trendy dishes served at a swank affair: “Veal cordon bleu will be the piece de resistance on the menu.”
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