Café-calva

For ➊
1 small hot coffee ('petit café')
2 tbs + ½ ts Calvados

Pour the coffee into a serving mug.

Pour 2 tbs of Calvados into a small shot glass.

Sprinkle the remaining ½ ts of Calvados over the hot coffee.

This traditional French pousse-café is quickly sliding into oblivion. The related cafe normande is a much more elaborated concoction with brown sugar and cream.

Poulet au cidre (Normandy chicken)

For ➍
4 chicken parts
4 Golden Delicious apples
8 cl Calvados
8 cl fresh cream*
50 cl sweet cider**
2 cloves
1 cinnamon stick
2 bay leaves
2 branches of thyme
1 shallot
2 pinches of ginger powder
sugar
salt & pepper

Peel 2 apples. Cut them in quarters. Put in a bowl. Add the Calvados. Let rest for 1 h.

Preheat oven to 180°C.

Brown the pieces of chicken in a frying pan. Add cut shallot, salt and pepper the meat.

Put the pieces and the apples in a large oven-dish.

Arose with the cider. Add thyme, bay-leaves, cinnamon and cloves.

Cook for 30 m.

Cut 2 apples in small pieces. Sauté them with some butter. Add ginger, sugar and a pinch of pepper.

Set chicken and apples aside and half the sauce on low heat. Add the cream* and thicken the sauce.

Serve chicken and apples with some sauce.

*Optional.
**All French cider is American 'hard cider', with an alcoholic component. For this recipe, use cidre doux, the sweet variation. For drinking, serve the dry variety, cidre brut.

Read the chicken cooking tip.