Normandy Chicken uses French apple brandy to make a wonderful sauce. You’ll love the flavor added by mushrooms, shallots, and thyme…
Hi! I’m Mary Kay from the blog Homemade Cravings and I’m your new Sunday Suppers Fanatic. I’m so excited to be here chatting with you about my favorite meal of the week! Our family has a pretty crazy weeknight schedule and Sunday night has become our time to enjoy a delicious meal and spend quality time together.
With a family that includes 4 kids ages 12 and under, I have a lot of eaters and tastes to please. I like to plan meals where everyone with find a little bit of something they like. We have everything from meat and potatoes to Italian, or one of my favorites, French.
Back in my senior year of college, my graduation present was a trip to visit my sister while she was studying abroad in the Loire Valley of France. From the pain au chocolate, steak frites to, of course, the wine and cheese, I was smitten. Needless to say, I’ve been a bit of a Francophile ever since. I recently posted my favorite version of the Croque Monsieur, a decadent French version of a grilled ham and cheese on Homemade Cravings.
One of the things my sister brought back from France was a recipe she learned in a cooking class for Normandy Chicken. She made it for our family and friends at a welcome home party and it was a big hit.
After reminiscing with my mom and sister about the Normandy Chicken recipe, I pieced together my own version. The basics included a whole chicken cut up, shallots, mushrooms and Calvados, a french apple brandy. I added apples with the mushrooms and some crème fraîche at the end to make a creamy sauce.
The best part of all is setting the Calvados on fire to burn off the alcohol. Not only does it reduce the alcohol and make it a more kid friendly meal, but it’s a party trick the kids will love! Just make sure they are standing back and you are ready to smother the fire with a tight fitting lid!
Try serving this over some creamy mashed potatoes with a green salad and warm, crusty french bread to soak up all the sauce.
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Normandy Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 whole Chicken cut up, about 1.5-2 lbs
- 1/2 teaspoon Dried Thyme dried
- 1 tablespoon Butter
- 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
- 1 cup Shallot roughly chopped (about 2 large shallots)
- 2 cloves Garlic minced
- 12 ounces White Mushroom quartered
- 2 large Granny Smith Apple peeled, cored, and cut into 8 slices each
- 1/2 cup Calvados Apple Brandy
- 4 ounces Crème Fraîche
- Salt
- Black Pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cut each breast into two equal pieces. Season chicken with salt, pepper and thyme.
- Heat butter and olive oil in a large sauté pan that has a tight fitting lid over medium high heat. Place chicken in the pan, skin side down, cook 5 minutes on each side until golden brown. Set aside browned chicken on a plate.
- Turn heat to low and add garlic and shallots, cook 2 minutes, stirring until softened. Add mushrooms and apple slices and cook 5 minutes, stirring to coat. Season with salt and pepper.
- Add chicken pieces back to pan and any juices from the plate. Turn heat to high and pour over the calvados. With a lid ready, pour the calvados over the chicken. Using a long match or lighter, set the calvados on fire. Let the fire burn for 30 seconds then smother with the lid. Turn heat to low and cook covered for 20 minutes until chicken is cooked through.
- Remove chicken to a serving platter. Remove the pan from heat and stir in the crème fraîche. Serve chicken with sauce poured over.