An Apple a Day…

By Marie-Christine Perry

The end of September and beginning of October bring apples, and orchards all around offer pick-your-own opportunities, which Cheryl and I never miss! From the first time over 20 years ago near Lake George, which was also our first date, we welcome again and again the fall with a day of apple picking. The last few years we have done this at the nearby Sandisfield Orchards, where Cheryl can pick Macouns, the only apples she is not allergic to, and I can get a bounty of my favorites, Fujis.

Apples are versatile, providing both sweet and hard cider, Calvados, fruit to eat out of hand and a number of desserts, as well as some great savory dishes.

While I love the carefully constructed French apple tart with its rows of carefully arranged thin slices and buttery thin crust, I am also partial to the rustic apple galette. I fill my pantry with dehydrated apple disks for impromptus snacks and many cans of apple compote and apple jelly. But one of my fa-vorite ways to use apples is in the “poulet à la normande.”

APPLE GALETTE

For the pastry: one sheet of store-bought puff pastry, thawed; one egg and a half teaspoon of water for the egg wash.

For the filling: four Granny Smith medium apples, peeled, cored and sliced thinly; a half-cup of granulated sugar; two tablespoons of cold sweet butter; a pinch of sea salt; a pinch of cinnamon; zest of a lemon and one table-spoon of raw sugar to sprinkle on top.

For the glaze after baking: a quarter cup of apricot preserves and a spoonful of calvados to dilute.

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place the thawed sheet of puff pastry on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and unfold. Apple slices should be very thin so pastry does not cook before apples are tender.
• Combine sugar, cinnamon and lemon zest. Pour over the apples and toss to coat.
• Make circular apple rows, leaving an inch of pastry exposed all the way around, overlap-ping the apple slices by 2/3. Dot apple mix-ture with cold butter and fold exposed pastry crust over the apples to only cover the edges.
• Make egg wash and brush over folded pastry crust. Bake for about 15 minutes; the crust should be puffed up and golden brown.
• While galette is still hot, brush the warm apricot preserves diluted with Calvados on top. Sprinkle with raw sugar and serve warm with a scoop of good vanilla ice cream.

POULET À LA NORMANDE

Ingredients

• 4 to 6 chicken pieces (bone-in thighs or drumsticks)
• 2  apples  (peeled,  cored  and  sliced into wedges)
• 2 tbsp. butter and 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 2 shallots (finely chopped)
• 1 cup hard apple cider
• 1/4 cup chicken stock
• 2 tbsp. Calvados
• 1/2 cup crème fraîche
• Salt and black pepper to taste

Instructions

• Brown the chicken: Season the chicken piec-es with salt and pepper. Heat butter and oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and sear until golden brown on all sides (about 8–10 minutes). Remove the chicken and set it aside.
• In the same pan, add a bit more butter and sauté the apple slices until lightly caramel-ized and soft. Remove the apples and set them aside.
• Sauté aromatics: Add the chopped shallots to the pan and cook until soft and translucent (3–4 minutes).
• Flambé: Return the chicken to the pan. Pour in the Calvados and carefully ignite it with a match to burn off the alcohol and build rich flavor (or simmer gently off-heat if you pre-fer not to flambé).
• Braise: Pour in the hard cider and chicken stock. Bring to a simmer, cover the pan and let it cook on low heat for 20-25 minutes un-til the chicken is cooked through.
• Add cream: Remove the chicken and apples. Stir the creme fraiche into the pan juices, turn up the heat slightly and let the sauce simmer and thicken for 5 minutes.

Serve

Return the chicken and apples to the pan to warm through in the creamy sauce and serve hot with steamed rice and crusty sourdough bread to mop up the sauce. The same hard cider you used in the sauce would be a great accompaniment! Bon appétit!