We were planning to make cod for dinner tonight … pending the availability of cod at Harris Teeter. Sadly, they were out and the other seafood was too rich in price for our blood. So we went with Plan B — chicken breast.

This is the day before Christmas eve … plain ‘ole chicken breast will NOT do. So I purchased prosciutto and brie, with the intention to make a variation of Chicken Cordon Bleu.

I’ve done variations on this (both boneless breast and thigh) — it’s all the same basic recipe — stuff chicken with cheese and bake it. It never comes out pretty like in the magazines, but it always tastes delicious. But I didn’t feel like frigging with stuffing the chicken, so I did a “stack”:  chicken, prosciutto, and cheese.  Read on!

Chicken Cutlets with Prosciutto & Brie

• 4 boneless chicken breasts
• bread crumbs and/or cracker crumbs
• 2 eggs, beaten
• salt, ground black pepper, granulated garlic
• milk
• 1/2 lb prosciutto, sliced thin
• 1/2 lb brie
• 2 to 4 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 to 4 Tbsp butter

If the chicken breasts are thick, slice horizontally in half. Cover the chicken with plastic wrap and pound with the flat side of a meat mallet to an even thickness. I aim for about 3/8″. [For this recipe I used 4 breast halves and the result serves 6 to 8.]

For crumbs I ground (using a food processor) the remains of a bag of blue corn tortilla chips and a box of Cheez-Its, plus plain ‘ole bread crumbs to extend what I had. Whatever you use for a coating will be fine. I typically use the remains of bags of pretzels, potato chips, tortilla chips, crackers, etc — whatever we have is what gets ground up, including cereals.

Spread the crumbs on wax paper in a thin layer.

Beat the eggs with seasonings (to taste). I go lightly on the black pepper as too much bothers Lorraine’s stomach, and go gonzo on the granulated garlic. Add 2 to 4 Tbsp milk to thin the egg mixture — I don’t measure this and honestly have no clue how much I use.

Dip a chicken cutlet in egg to coat, letting excess drain back into the dish. Place on the crumbs and flick the excess crumbs to coat the top of the cutlet. I use a big enough piece of wax paper that I can use a section to press the crumbs into the chicken to set the coating. Repeat with remaining cutlets, adding more crumbs as necessary.

Preheat the oven to 425 F.

In a large saute pan, heat 1 Tbsp each olive oil and butter over medium high heat until the butter is melted and sputters. Add cutlets to fill the pan without crowding too much and reduce heat to medium. Saute about 2 to 3 minutes, or until browned. Flip the cutlets and brown the other side. Place cutlets on a baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining cutlets, adding 1 Tbsp each butter and olive oil for each batch.

Place a slice of prosciutto on each cutlet and cover with thin (1/8″) slices of brie. You may not use all the prosciutto and brie … but I came close. This is NOT a “healthy” dish. It’s a celebration dish. Enjoy it!

Bake the chicken for 10 minutes — the cheese will melt and the prosciutto will curl a bit. Serve.

Note: You can use any deli ham and any cheese you want. My family likes prosciutto (which is expensive) and brie … but any ham and cheddar work just fine.

The breasts we get at Harris Teeter need to be split horizontally. They’re typically thick. Pound them thin (3/8″) so they cook evenly.

They look beautiful on the baking pan!

Add the prosciutto and brie. I used nearly 1/2 lb each of prosciutto and brie for 8 servings.

After 10 minutes at 425F the cheese melts nicely.

We served it with brown rice and sweet potatoes (not pictured). This doesn’t come out “beautiful”, but it’s a rich dish to be enjoyed!