February 16 – February 22, 2026
Monday: Roasted Chicken with Root Vegetables, Skillet Potatoes Gratin, Salad, Appetizer of Benedictine Dip with Crudités
Tuesday: Pasta with Ricotta and Peas, Caesar Salad
Wednesday: Tacos Árabes (schawarma spiced chicken tacos currently the rage in Mexico)
Thursday: Dunnings Dinner
Friday: Fish Tacos with Pineapple Salsa and Avocado Crema
Saturday: Brussels Sprouts and Prosciutto Pizza
Sunday: Normandy Chicken with Apples and Mushrooms, Lentil Salad with Bacon
Apple Three Ways
“There was no way I could think it over without a second Calvados. After thinking it over, I decided that the really prudent thing was to go out and buy another bottle.”
To be honest, I don’t trust my thinking after even one small glass of Calvados.
After two, I can’t think at all. But thinking is not what Calvados is for – it is for enjoyment and relaxation and, if you can sip slowly, tasting the Platonic idea of the apple.
But don’t worry, if you don’t like strong drink or if you do but can’t sip slowly, you can still enjoy the wonder of Calvados by cooking with it. Cooking chicken with apples and Calvados and hard cider (apple three ways) and then finishing it with a bit of heavy cream will convince you that Normandy, in spite of its iffy weather and its tendency to invade England, is admirable for having discovered how to delight the palate and the soul with the essence of the apple. That last phrase is a reworked thought stolen from a new book by a fellow named Charles Droin entitled Le Livre Des Calvados (The Book of Calvados).
You will have noted that this dish calls for hard cider which, unlike Calvados, you will not find me even sipping because of its vinegary sweet taste. But hard cider is an excellent cooking liquid, adding sharpness, sweetness and a je ne sais quoi (Calvados has triggered memories of ALM French) to savory dishes.
Normandy Chicken with Apples
(Adapted from Milk Street magazine – Mar- Apr, 2026)
Timing: 1 ½ hours
Ingredients: Serves 4
4 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, trimmed, patted dry – you can use 2 breasts treated as above and cut in half, but they won’t be as tasty
2 medium sweet and tart apples – Honey Crisp, but Gala will do – unpeeled, cored and halved and cut into ½-inch thick wedges
¼ cup Calvados [you can substitute another apple brandy or apple jack]
12-ounce bottle dry hard cider (you’ll find this at the beer distributor)
8 ounces cremini mushrooms, trimmed and quartered
2 medium shallots cut into ¼-inch wedges through the root –keep the root end intact
1 tablespoon neutral oil
4 tablespoons butter, divided into 1 tablespoon pieces
½ cup heavy cream
Chopped Parsley to serve
Kosher salt and coarse or ground black pepper
Prep:
Heat the oven to 425 F and put a rack in the lower middle position.
Trim and dry the chicken and season all over with salt and pepper
You can measure out the other ingredients and prep the vegetables while you brown the chicken.
Cook:
Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high until shimmering, then add the chicken, skin side down. You don’t want to crowd the chicken, so you may need to do two batches. Cook until golden brown – about 7 minutes – adjust the heat, if the chicken begins to burn. Transfer the chicken, skin side up, to a platter.
Pour off any fat from the pot, reduce the heat to medium and add 2 tablespoons of butter and when the butter is just melted, add the apples and cook, stirring, until lightly golden – maybe 3 minutes. Transfer the apples to a separate plate.
Return the pot to medium, add the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and then the mushrooms and the shallots and ½ teaspoon of salt and cook, stirring until the vegetables begin to soften – about 2 ½ minutes.
Remove the pot from the heat and add the Calvados. Then return the pot to medium-high and cook, scraping up any brown bits from the pot, until syrupy – about 2 minutes.
Now add the cider and bring to a simmer and cook, stirring from time to time, until reduced by ½ – about 5 minutes.
Off the heat, return the chicken to the pot, skin side up. Add any juices from the chicken platter.
Place the pot, uncovered, in the oven and cook until the thickest part of the chicken meat reaches 160 F. If the chicken thighs are large, this could take up to 50 minutes and you might want to increase the temperature toward the end to get crispier skin. Small breasts or thighs might be done in 25 minutes.
Transfer the chicken to a serving platter and return the pot to the stove-top and medium high and stir in the apples and cream. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce lightly coats the back of a spoon. Taste and adjust seasoning and then spoon the apples and vegetables and sauce around the chicken. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.
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