Chicken with Apple-Mushroom Sauce and Steamed Asparagus

Name: Chicken with Apple-Mushroom Sauce and Steamed Asparagus
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons EVOO (extra-virgin olive oil), twice around the pan; 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts; Salt and black pepper; 1 teaspoon dried thyme, 1/3 palmful; 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning, 1/3 palmful; 1 pound pencil-thin asparagus, tough ends trimmed; Juice of 1/2 lemon; 2 tablespoons unsalted butter; 8 button mushrooms, thinly sliced; 2 shallots, finely chopped; 1 small green apple, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced; 1 shot of Calvados or other apple brandy (look for a nip, a 2-ounce bottle; see Note); 1 cup chicken stock, plus more as needed to thin out the sauce; 1/4 cup sour cream; 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, a palmful

December 9, 2011

Chicken and applesauce . . . sounds like hospital food, huh? Well, if that were the only way to get this elegant, savory supper, I’d check myself in!

Cooks' Note

If you cannot find Calvados in a nip size and you’re not into buying an entire bottle, don’t sweat it! Calvados is just apple brandy, so you can get close to that flavor by substituting about 1⁄4 cup of apple cider or juice, 1 teaspoon of sugar, and a big splash of white wine.

Recipe notes

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