Aaahhhh Melinda and Emil!

Here's a wedding I did this past Fall. The bride and groom are such wonderful people and I am so glad that I've gotten to know them better. The bride Melinda has amazing taste and picked out wonderful food and decor. Which mind you, she made almost all the decorations herself! She owns a design and invitation company called , Revival Design Company (http://www.revivaldesigncompany.com/) please check it out because her prices and services are amazing! Melinda is from Nebraska and her husband Emil is from Brooklyn, NY....what a great mix of guests! It was a lot of fun and I truly enjoyed catering this wedding because everything was just so perfect! :)

I loved Melinda's choice of colors....gray and yellow. It was so beautiful!

Sushi Appetizers

Bruschetta

Smoked Fish Canapes (for the Russian groom)

More Smoked Fish Canapes

Mini Caprese Salad

Mini Milkshakes!

DANCE!

CHAIR DANCE!

Wishing you Melinda and Emil years of love, laughter and of course lots of good food!

Mini Chicken Cordon Bleu

Mini Chicken Cordon Bleu Bites

Hello...I'm back! If you read my blog on a regular basis...you know that I am a professional caterer so at times...you, my reader, will benefit from some of my catering recipes so that you can throw your own party and make professional style catered food that is not that difficult but will wow your guests. And if you read my blog on a regular basis and have visited my company website www.avestacuisine.com you will also know that I just love...love...love mini items. I love one bite finger foods that keep guests from getting messy and allows them to mingle and have a cocktail in the other hand! :)

So since I've been busy with all my holiday parties...I am going to try to post some easy holiday recipes for you in the next couple weeks that I've been busy serving up to my customers. I hope this makes up for my MIA status and I promise I will be more consistent now that most of my 16-18 hour work days are over....at least for now! :) My first appetizer recipe is Mini Chicken Cordon Bleu Bites. These are so good and I promise....sooooo easy! This would make a great New Year's Eve party appetizer! Let me know how they turn out for you!!!!

Mini Chicken Cordon Bleu

Chicken

12-20 chicken breast tenderloins

4 pieces of Swiss cheese (cut evenly into small squares)

4 pieces of ham (cut evenly into slices that fit along the chicken tenderloin)

12-20 sturdy toothpicks (try to find thicker ones so that they hold the chicken together)

Salt & Pepper to taste

Egg Wash

2 eggs whisked with 2 tablespoons water

Flour Mixture

2 cups flour

1 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon garlic powder

Panko Crumbs

2 cups Panko crumbs (if you can't find these you can make your own by putting dried out crustless white bread in a food processor or you can use any other bread crumb that you prefer)

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon paprika

Honey Mustard

(you can also buy your favorite store bought brand if you'd like)

1/2 Cup Dijon Mustard

1/2 Cup Yellow Mustard

2 tablespoons Mayo

1/4 cup honey

Combine all ingredients in a bowl, can be stored in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

I love using chicken breast tenderloins rather than breasts because they don't dry out like breasts do. They stay moist and tender and they're already cut to the perfect size!

Once you've layered the chicken with the ham and Swiss cheese, put a drop of the honey mustard on top of the Swiss cheese before rolling up your cordon bleu. I start wrapping from the larger end then I secure the small end with a sturdy toothpick.

To make an egg wash simply whisk 2 eggs with 2 tablespoons water

I use one pan and put the flour and Panko crumbs side by side (less dirty dishes this way!)

After you've rolled up all your chicken, first roll in the flour mixture then dip in the egg wash and finally roll in the Panko crumbs. Lay the mini cordon bleu on a oil sprayed pan, lightly spray the tops of the cordon bleus and bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes until the Panko crumbs are nice and golden brown and the chicken is fully cooked. This is also why I love using the tenderloins rather than the breasts, they cook pretty fast!

Serve the chicken cordon bleu on a platter with honey mustard dipping sauce. I also like to sprinkle the tops with some paprika for some added color! This is also a good app to serve on festive platters since they do not have a lot of color going on in them so break out your holiday tableware. I love serving these on an all red platter with just a little parsley as garnish...they really pop this way!