Great Expectations Ham and Swiss Chicken Roulades with Meyer Lemon Cream Sauce


Ever get the feeling that your reality may never live up to your expectations?

This week I had that feeling.

Perhaps it's because my birthday and my 25th High School Reunion are coming up.
Or maybe it's because I had the most horrific encounter with a spider in all my 42 years, at 2am the other night, as I felt it crawl up (no, make that- aggressively try to attack) my leg... while I was in the bathroom.  Glad I'm a foodie... my Bon Appetit magazine may have just saved my life.
And then to make matters worse, my cable box/DVR died the next morning.

And we all know what that means- months and months of creating the most perfect "scheduled recordings" list... gone.  Plus a trip to the cable store to wait in lines so long they put the DMV during lunch hour, and the Honeybaked Ham store on the day before Easter, to shame. 

Which all led to a day of blogger's block.  And me wondering if I was sillier for heading down this new career path, or for sitting on the couch, curled up in a ball, too scared of spiders...and my life, to let my feet touch the ground.

Feeling defeated, I called my Man.

And after a long drawn out one-way conversation involving rants and complaining and mostly silence on his end... he finally said one word.

"Kerpluntz?"

"Kerplowie!" I said...

as we broke out in laughter.  You know, the kind of belly laugh you only experience when someone really gets you... and seriously?  He remembered my favorite line from one of my favorite childhood movies?

And I was reminded again, that every experience in my life has brought me to this great place.  And those day-to-day distractions are not worth getting down about.  And blogger's block?  Well, after never missing a deadline for my weekly column in three years... on technology, no less.  Working every day in my passion should be cake in comparison! 

I knew what I had to do.

If I wanted to make my expectations a reality, I'd better put my feet back on the ground and face the "spiders" head-on.

So, I decided to start by looking back over the last 4 months of my food blogging and photography baby steps and recreated one of my favorite recipes.

First Attempt- 11/20/12 


And 4 months later- 3/28/13


I know I still have a long way to go, most of us do.  But that's the most exciting part of it all... the journey. And by refocusing on the baby steps, we'll be able to see the bigger picture much more clearly.

Plus, if we're lucky, changing our perspective in life, (and in photo cropping), might just surprise us with some really fun smiles along the way.



Ham and Swiss Chicken Roulades with Meyer Lemon Cream Sauce

1 package boneless, skinless chicken breasts
6 slices of ham
6 slices of Swiss cheese
3/4 cup heavy cream
3 Meyer lemons, juiced (If you can't find Meyer lemons, I've used 2 regular lemons and it's great too!)
2 teaspoons grey poupon
1 teaspoon fresh cilantro, chopped
Seasoning of choice (I love Penzeys Parisien Bonnes Herbes blend)
Olive oil
Toothpicks

Pound chicken breasts flat. Salt & pepper and lay Swiss and ham slices on top. Roll up and secure w/toothpicks. Brown in a large oven-proof saucepan in olive oil on both sides, seasoned w/dried herbs of choice. Then transfer pan with the chicken to a 350 degree oven and bake for about 12-15 minutes until cooked through.

Remove chicken from pan and set aside.  To the skillet, add in about cream, lemon juice, grey poupon, salt, pepper, and more seasonings to taste.  Bring to a boil and reduce heat.  Add in chopped cilantro and simmer for a few minutes until thicker and bubbly.  Cut chicken into rounds (make sure and remove ALL toothpicks) and pour sauce over all.  Garnish with more cilantro. 



Comments

  1. that is a huge improvement for such a short period of time. I think that some people just have the eye for it. Not only does your dish look divine but photography looks wonderful too! I'm very sorry to hear about your traumatic day but you got a good laugh out it.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you, Sarah!!! It's been a fun ride, and have also enjoyed getting to know you and your foodie passions through #SundaySupper! Thanks for stopping by! ;-)

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