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Riz au Lait: The Frenchman's Ultimate Comfort Food
Photo: Erik Trinidad
So everyone's up in arms about KFC's Double Down, the sandwich sensation "so meaty, there's no room for the bun!" Fast foodies praise its inventiveness, while nutrition and health advocates condemn its use of fatty fried chicken in lieu of bread -- but is it really that bad or even that ingenious? Think about it; take away KFC's gimmicky breadless marketing campaign and the Double Down is not that different from Chicken Cordon Bleu, an established and well-respected recipe from the gourmet chefs of the famous eponymous French culinary institution. And of course, everyone knows everything in France is fancy, especially when it's spelled and pronounced "bleu" instead of "blue."
When you break it down, the Double Down and Chicken Cordon Bleu are both dishes with melted cheese and pig meat surrounded by chicken that is breaded before frying or baking. Rather than transform a fast food dish into something completely different this time, let's prove this point:
Read on for the "recipe" for Chicken Cordon Deux after the jump...
Ingredients (from KFC)
- 1 KFC Double Down sandwich (crispy)
- 1 drink of your preference
- organic French tarragon (for that extra touch of irony)
As simple as this recipe may sound, a lot of thought went into the creation of it; we here at the Fancy Fast Food kitchen experimented with eight Double Downs before we got it right. (That's sixteen downs!) We first approached it in the traditional way, rolling fillets of chicken around the bacon and cheese like a roulade, but with the chicken fillets already cooked, it didn't stick too well together with the available ingredients -- even when rolling it in plastic wrap. We tried grinding the chicken down, thinking it would stick together better in the roll, but it would always fall apart. We tried it with aluminum foil, and by molding the roll manually with the filling inside, but nothing would stick. Finally we decided that if we couldn't physically wrap chicken around the bacon and cheese, we'd approach it the opposite way and stuff the filling into the chicken.
To start, let the sandwich cool down so that the insides aren't melted and sticky, then remove the cheese and bacon from the "buns" of fried chicken. (Traditionally, Chicken Cordon Bleu has ham and swiss cheese, but we're going to improvise with the Colonel's recipe of bacon and Monterey Jack.) Take one of the two fried chicken breasts and slice the skin and breading off of one side (the long way) to expose a face of white meat chicken. Do the same to the other piece. Now when they are stacked with the white meat faces touching each other, it forms one thick piece of breaded chicken. So meaty!
To "fill" the chicken, carve a groove into the center of each chicken breast -- being careful not to cut all the way through to the breaded side -- so that there's a channel with enough room for the cheese and bacon. Make sure the two grooves match up in the middle when the chicken is restacked, so you have a "hole."
Stack the chicken breasts with the filling inside and then nuke it for about twenty seconds -- long enough for the cheese to melt. Then slice your Chicken Cordon Deux into bite-sized amuse-bouche (that sounds fancy) and garnish with an ironic French tarragon leaf each. Serve with your beverage in fancy wine glassses and voila! Chicken Cordon Deux! It may be more or less the same thing, but doesn't the word "deux" just make it sound fancier than "double down?"
Erik R. Trinidad -- who is not a trained chef but enjoys recreational cooking -- is the creator of Fancy Fast Food, where fast food goes through an extreme makeover without the use of any additional ingredients (other than an occasional garnish). This is his eighth post for Slashfood. Check out his travel blog at TheGlobalTrip.com, plus more mock recipes and videos at FancyFastFood.com.
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6-14-2010 @6:48PM eilonwy said... Finally, someone who agrees with me on the resemblance! Those look quite charming. I tried the concept as a pasta dish and just about destroyed my arteries.
http://emuisemo.com/?p=7
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6-19-2010 @2:15PM grumpy muffin said... It's kinda like that semi homade thing that Sandra Lee has going. In a lot of cases, it's easier to make the original and less expensive.
How hard is it to buy a chicken breast, slice it, fill with a little ham and good cheese and fry or bake it? Delicious. And you know what you put into it.
6-15-2010 @8:22AM Maggie said... America has been seen as the fast-food capital of the world along with the most obese people. The "servings" at fast-food places are killer. Just because you're hungry doesn't mean you need to scarf down 4 triple stacked bacon-cheddar heart attack waiting to happen. Don't get me started on the "sides". Moderation is the key to life people!!
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6-15-2010 @12:01PM Jim said... Another comment from the "food police." Take your Double Down and stuff it. If you don't want the product, don't buy one. Let the rest of us decide for ourselves. It's really none of your business.
6-17-2010 @8:39PM anni said... Thank you Jim! I wouldn't eat this thing with Maggie's mouth, however I cannot stand the finger-waggers.
6-17-2010 @8:42PM anni said... And, Maggie, to call individuals "people" is tired, tired, tired. Also, rude.
6-17-2010 @10:56PM Monkey Flung Poo said... You're on target, Maggie. America has a terrible diet/cuisine and this "Double Down" sandwich is a perfect example of what's wrong: farmed chicken that never moved ten feet from where it was born, filled with steroids and antibiotics, smeared with poor-quality but high-fat cheese, plus bacon that's filled with nitrates and fat, and maybe a gob of mustard. This is a big slug of fat grams and if you don't think that has some correlation with the fact that diabetes is an epidemic, you're high. There is little nutrition and, for those of you who are alkaline diet fans, this is a pretty acidic meal. But, the Double Down lovers say that you can opt not to eat one and they're right. That's my choice.
6-18-2010 @12:44AM mark said... It is simple dont eat one if you dont want too. Your comments about Americans being overweight and eating junck food. I am a flight attendant, and KFC, McDonalds are all over the world. People in Europe stand in long lines to get America fast food. So dont dump Americians as the only countrynwith fat people
6-18-2010 @6:27AM Paddy McFatty said... Unfortunately, people like Maggie feel they need to be the parents of the world and dictate what THEY think we should be eating.
I have news for you, Maggie...and the rest of my "parents" out there. You always seem to tell us what's wrong with our eating habits, but you also neglect to mention that the Americans' median life span is higher than its ever been at 78.4 years. That is partly due to increased awareness on what we are putting into our bodies, but that is not the issue here. It's freedom and personal responsibility. Stop treating people like Pre-Schoolers and allow them to make their own decisions, good, bad, or indifferent.
Another note.....considering that our world's population seems to growing exponentially, I think it's incredibly selfish of you to want to live past that and continue to be a pain in the azz not only to us on AOL, but to those great grandchildren whose names you no longer remember.
Now....I have never had a "Double-down", but dammit......I want the flippn' OPTION of buying one whenever I choose and you can stick your Tofu where the sun don't shine! ;-)
6-18-2010 @6:37AM Joella Mortimer said... For all the health addicts, didn't the guy who started the jogging craze die jogging in Central Park many years ago? You can not change when you die by eating healthy. Maybe, just maybe have a better quality of life. I have seen too many "SKINNY" people die of cardiomyopathy, COPD and HEART ATTACKS. Prove me wrong!
6-18-2010 @9:29AM JC said... I probably won't ever try one, but Maggie, I don't need you to preach about how the rest of us should eat. This is the land of the free and home of the brave. I'f I'm brave enough to eat one, then don't try to push your ideas to cramp my freedom to do so. And please don't try to push your agenda based on increased health issues... I've had relatives that never darkened the doors to fast food restaurants, were overweight and died in middle-age, or were overweight and lived long happy lives. Do as you please, but leave the rest of us alone.
6-18-2010 @7:00AM Sunday said... @ anni - Ok, what would you have liked her to call them, morons? BTW, I hate finger-waggers too.
6-18-2010 @9:04AM Eddie said... How annoying is Maggie? Very !!!!!!!! Anyone you say people at the end of there sentences are complete asses.......Dont wory about other people's eating habits worry about yourself.....Its people like you and Jillian Michales that ruin america with your nonsense about eating......This is Amerrica you friggin Freak!!!!! And if people want to eat in these types of Fast food Resturants so be it.......Closet over eater........lol....
6-20-2010 @1:58PM bine said... As much as I find Maggie's tone annoying I have to agree with her. What we eat is not our own business. It's everyone's business. Why? you ask. We all are paying so much for health insurance to cover all of the obese people and the many ailments they are more likely to suffer from. Maybe if we all tried to be just a little healthier, our costs would be able to level off or even go down.
I wish you all healthy, satisfying lives.
xo
7-06-2010 @2:52PM Linda said... My response is to "bine's" comment on the resulting high cost of health insurance that we all all have to pay for obese people. My response? I thought that Mr Obama "fixed" all of that health insurance stuff! The cost of health care will is no longer a problem, right? . Don't you believe him? Well, neither do the rest of us smart folks.
6-15-2010 @8:45AM Rickrak said... The last time I went to Kentucky Fried Chicken there were 15 or 16 people in the line. The employees did their best to not see us. 9 people pretending to work. ( finally 1 person came to the front) By the time I got waited on they were out of Crispy.......they dont have to do much there. Just wait on customers and make sure they have chicken to sell. They wont see me again.
ATTENTION KFC! Do you want to increase business? Forget about new inventions, just give better service to the customers you already have, and they will keep coming back. Keeping the place a little cleaner would help too.
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6-15-2010 @12:08PM Sue said... I totally agree with you! The service sucks so bad it is non-existent. At our KCF, every time I went through the drive-up I was ALWAYS given wrong items. The inside staff can't even answer questions intelligently. No training is given other than how to take money for the register. My husband and I finally gave up going there. Not that we were there every day, but I do love the occaisional extra-crispy chicken, and we love the coleslaw. No more.
6-17-2010 @9:20PM karrumbaa said... The KFC near me was so bad they would hand you a cup when you walked in to pour yourself a free soda as if to say 'we're going to screw something up so here's a free drink to keep you from getting too upset'.
And then something would always get messed up.
6-18-2010 @5:51AM Charline said... Okay, So usually I keep my mouth shut when people who go to a KFC complain about not being served quick enough or when they get to the stand, suddenly were out of chicken. I work at KFC, Have worked at KFC long enough realize that a majority of customers have this idea that in the back of KFC we have mountains of cooked chicken that when five different people come in looking for 12, and 16 pieces of chicken we will ALWAYS have that amount of chicken. When we cook chicken we cook about four trays of 24 -30 pieces of chicken, takes 20 minutes to cook, Which is most likely the wait time that you recieved when you asked, How long they told you it would take. Now 15 to 16 people working in the store at the same exact time? I would love to go to that KFC since MOST KFCS have only four to six people on the floor, Two in the front, Two in Drive thru, You have the cook in the back and the prep person. One does money, One does the packing, same as the drive thru, Once in a while you have a third person there who will take the money for drive thru. KFC workers don't do much? Right..... You are complete right when you speak those words. We just have to deal with customers who will complain because they want a 16 piece chicken with ONLY legs and thighs, Someone who want a three piece meal with two sides, but when you ask which sides they look at you like your the dumb one for THEM not knowing what they have even though there are a BIG sign right above our heads. On top of that, We have to keep the store completely stocked, meaning you know all those ketchups, sauces, honey, and other packets, napkins, and whatever else you take handfuls of and most likely only use two of them...yea we have to re stock them, clean the bathrooms, lobby, and whatever mess that the customers leave behind, make sure that all the drinks are full, because oh no, A customer isnt able to get pepsi it's as if the world just stopped and there arent seven other different drinks right to pick from. However you are right, KFC is a magical place where we have chicken cooking at all time, all the employees dont do anything but sing and dance, and we all sit there going: Hey! You think we can do this to piss a customer off?! OMG great idea!!! MAtter of fact, your right when we got hired the manager asks, "Are you able to lie and say that we are out of chicken and make them wait just because we love to see the lobby completely full with people who will do nothing but look down at you and talk about how its -your- fault that the fryer doesn't cook chicken under a minute and a half." Maybe next time before you judge someone elses job and what someone does you should think and reconsider your words, or pay attention to what you say since you sound like an idiot who doesnt know what their talking about.
6-18-2010 @9:48AM Sunday said... Charline ~ Rickrak said in his post that there were 15 to 16 people in LINE. He didn't mean the one's that were working there. He meant the # of customers waiting.