Poulet Calvados

Chef Jeremy, one of my fabulous hosts in Paris, made this amazing dinner the other night.  Unfortunately I don’t have a picture of the plated meal because it was so good that we dug in right away without pausing for the photo.  Served with a baguette and white wine, this is an impressive and not too challenging recipe.

Jeremy found this recipe online, at allrecipes.com, and feels it is a close approximation to the recipe that he lost, which used chicken stock and cider, and was flambeed with calvados.

What you need:

1/2 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon salt or fleur de sel

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts

1/4 cup butter

3 cups fresh mushrooms

3 granny smith apples, peeled and sliced

1 cup apple brandy (calvados, or brandy in a pinch)

1-2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 cup cream

What you do:

1.  Combine the flour and salt in a bowl and the coat the chicken in it.  Heat the butter in a large pan over medium-high heat and brown the chicken on each side, about 3 minutes each side.  Transfer the chicken to a plate and cover.

2.  Put the onions, mushrooms and apples in the pan.  If the pan is too dry you can add a little olive oil.  Cook until the apples are tender, about 5 minutes, stirring from time to time.

3.  Stir in the brandy, thyme, salt and pepper and bring to a simmer.  Put the chicken back in the pan and cook, uncovered, for about 10 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked.

4.  Add the cream and simmer until thickened, for about 5 minutes.

Served with a baguette this is fabulous because you can use the bread to soak up the amazing sauce.  We had crème caramel for dessert… amazing, and hopefully a recipe that I will post soon!  Bon appetit!