I Think I'm in France CHICKEN BROCCOLI BRAID

Doesn't this stunning piece of art look like it came out of an oven in some French Bistro? Or some fancy French restaurant in Paris?
 
It looks like it's name should be something like "je ne sais quoi!"  or " je t'aime chicken braid".

Every time I take this out of the oven I can't believe I made it.  I look upon this gorgeous piece of work and say "c'est magnifique!"

Beautiful AND Delicious!  So typical of the French. They have it all don't they?

You simply must pretend you are in France, and give this a try!

This is all you need:

2 3/4 cups diced cooked chicken (I just use a Rotisserie chicken from the grocery store.  Saves loads of time)
1 c. frozen broccoli florets
1/2 c. portabella mushrooms, diced
1/2 c. Mayonnaise
4 slices Swiss Cheese (or 1 c. shredded)
2 (8 ounce) cans Refrigerated Pillsbury Crescent Rolls (Original)
1 egg white to brush pastry (not pictured)

You will need a pretty large cookie sheet.  Spray it pretty well with Pam.

Pop out the Crescent Rolls and try not to have a heart attack when they pop.

Now this is the most difficult part to explain, lay the crescent sheets down on the cookie sheet, side by side, and start pinching the seams together. like shown below.

After all the seams are pinched, and you have one large rectangle, lets start with the filling.

I like to use frozen broccoli.  Grab a nice large handful of the florets.  Since they will be frozen, all you need to do is let them soak in a bowl filled with tap water for just one minute.  They will thaw instantly.  Be sure to squeeze out any excess water.

Now chop up these darlings to bite-sized pieces.

Combined the broccoli together in a large bowl with diced cooked chicken, mayo, & diced mushrooms.

Lay the mixture right down the middle of the crescent sheet, leaving about six inches of dough on each side like in photo below:

Now lay the Swiss cheese slices on top of the mixture.  If you are using Shredded Swiss, then now is the time to sprinkle away!  I prefer to use slices cause I want to make sure there is cheesy goodness over everything.

Now comes the fun part.  See all the extra Crescent dough on the sides?  This is where you cut strips, so you can start with the braiding. 

Take a sharp knife, an start slicing 1 to 1 1/2 inches wide.  Kinda like this, but ignore that wide slice, I should have made that thinner!

Now turn your cookie sheet long-wise so it's facing you from top to bottom, an start braiding away.
It should start looking like this:

P.S. Please dont' judge my wonderfully well used cookie sheet.  It's not shiny, silver and new. Oh NO it's not! This cookie sheet is my favorite air-bake cookie sheet that I've had for years upon years.  It could tell you stories of all the wonderful baked goods that its produced.  I refuse to buy a new one because this broken-in cookie sheet never fails me!  Please people, haven't you ever seen a Frenchman's cookie sheet?

Once you've showed off your braiding skills, this is what the final product will look like:

Look at this precious bundle, all ready to be baked to perfection!

Now is the time you want to take the egg white, and gently brush the top.  This is what gives it the beautiful golden look. It's like LIPSTICK for the French women.  The cherry on top of the cake for us Ameicans.

 

Bake in a preheated oven at 350 for about 30 minutes.  You will have to keep checking this, as it will start to turn a beautiful golden brown but you will need to be careful because the dough in the center of the braid might not be done yet. So you will need to add more time.

 I would start checking at 30 minutes.  Sometimes the wonderful golden braid will get you so incredibly excited, and it will look so pretty, that you won't realize that the center dough is not finished. 

When it is done, it should look something like this:

Oh La La!

Stunning isn't it? Simply stunning!

Flaky Crescent, with Cheesy goodness.

This recipe has it all.  It's gorgeous AND tastes good!

It's like that beautiful cheerleader, who is super nice, smart AND funny.

 Imagine if she was from France too!

No body's that lucky!

P.S.  This is magnifique for a bridal or baby shower, or great for any dinner that you really want to impress someone!  Just tell them that it's a little something that you picked up when you were living in Paris one summer!

C'est la vie!

Oh La La Click Me for Printable Recipe