Poulet Vallee d'Auge
Chicken, apples and mushrooms with calvados and cider. A delicious dish from Normandy that I make a couple of times a year.
Cook sliced apples in butter till well browned. Take them out and then saute seasoned chicken pieces in more butter till well browned. Take them out, lower the heat and put in finely sliced French shallots with more butter, don't let these go brown otherwise they will taste bitter. Flame with Calvados (apple brandy), throw in some thyme and a bay leaf. Put in a stubby of good cider (I used a cloudy English scrumpy) and reduce to half volume. Add some chicken stock, and put the chicken back in, and cook slowly with the lid on till done.
Meanwhile, cook mushrooms in more butter till done and browned
Take the chicken out of the pan, and add some cream. Reduce to sauce consistency and season with salt and pepper.
Whisk up some creme fraiche (or use regular cream with half sour cream) with an egg yolk and add to sauce on a low heat (don't let it boil) to thicken the sauce slightly.
Put the chicken, mushrooms and apple back in and you are done.
Serve with crusty bread and a salad or a few beans.
It's not bad, and not too hard to make, but like a lot of French dishes, the devil's in the detail.