Braised Chicken with Apples and Cream (Poulet Vallée d’Auge)

In Paris, the restaurant Le Mouton Blanc puts the spotlight on the cuisine from Normandy. During a recent visit, we learned to make poulet Vallée d’Auge, a rustic braise that marries chicken with apples, Calvados, hard cider and cream, ingredients for which the region is famous. This is our simplified version. Calvados is an aged apple brandy produced in Normandy. If it is not available, domestic apple brandy is a fine substitute, as is applejack. As for the hard cider, use one that is dry, not sweet, and do not replace it with nonalcoholic cider or apple juice, both of which are too sugary. Though a braise like this one is commonly simmered in a covered pot, we prefer to slide the Dutch oven, uncovered, into a moderately hot oven so the chicken skin retains its crispness and browning. We lightly sauté the apples after browning the chicken, but they come out of the pot and are added back only at the end so the fruit retains its bright, fresh flavor.