Sautéed chicken breasts with a lovely pan sauce—spiked by Calvados, the famous apple brandy of Normandy—is the centerpiece to this easy menu. It’s quick enough for a weeknight meal, but special enough to share with friends on the weekend. Enjoy!
Chicken Calvados tastes opulent, but is actually a relatively inexpensive dish.
Sit-Down Starter
• A lovely pâté you’ve purchased from your favorite gourmet shop, served with pickles and olives
or
• L’Assiette Anglais (page 13 of the Bonne Femme Cookbook)
Plat Principal
• Chicken Calvados
• Any-Night Baked Rice
• Brussels Sprouts Bonne Femme Modern (page 254) or roasted asparagus
Cheese Course
• Selection of cheese, including a Camembert from Normandy, with a small puff of vinaigrette-tossed
salad (depending on how in-depth you want to go, see How to Serve a Cheese Course)
Dessert
• Walnut Gâteau with Cognac-Brown Butter Frosting (page 346 of The Bonne Femme Cookbook)
Wine Pairing: The fruitiness of a Chenin Blanc from the Loire Valley will serve this well. If you like a drier style (and you’re feeling splashy), go for a Savennières, also made from Chenin Blanc, but mineraly and dry.
Tips on getting it done:
• The sit-down first course is just a matter of shopping, then arranging the pâté or meats artfully on serving plates. So easy!
• For the main course, get the rice going first; then, prep all your ingredients for the chicken. Remember that the rice will keep well in a warm place for 30 minutes to an hour, if you use a very heavy pan to cook it in.
• Remember that cake freezes extraordinarily well, so you can make it well in advance if you wish.
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