I don't know why I always confuse Armagnac with Calvados. Not that the opportunity to confuse them arises all that often, but when it does, I'm confused. According to Wikipedia, Armagnac is a "distinctive kind of brandy or eau de vie produced in the Armagnac region in Gascony, southwest France. It is distilled from wine usually made from a blend of Armagnac grapes." Calvados, on the other hand, is "an apple brandy from the French région of Basse-Normandie or Lower Normandy." So obviously no sane person could confuse them. But, although M. Jacques might be shocked to hear it, Calvados makes an excellent (fake) Armagnac chicken.
Other than using the wrong spirit, I think I did everything else according to recipe: the potatoes, carrots, and onions,
the 3 1/2 pound organic chicken (mine was 3.4 pounds, but I'm not giving myself a demerit for that),
and the enameled cast-iron Dutch oven. (I got this to bake no-knead bread back in the heyday of NKB's popularity, and have loved it ever since).
This roast chicken is made with an amazingly easy technique. The vegetables are tossed in heated olive oil for a few minutes, the bird is plunked down in the middle of the pan, and the whole thing goes in the oven for an hour. An untended, carefree hour during which the enormously appetizing smells wafting from the kitchen make you wish the houro would go by more quickly.
Dorie says the chicken will be "beautifully browned." I wouldn't go that far, but maybe it would have been browner if I hadn't been so eager to eat it. I'll be curious to see how brown everyone else's chicken got.
It's a homey dish for sure. It's perfect for a Sunday night family dinner, but maybe a touch too rustic for a dinner party. However, if you did opt to serve it to your snooty boss, for example, the snootiness would last only until the first bite of aromatic, moist chicken and tender brothy vegetables. And even the snootiest of bosses wouldn't care that you don't know your Armagnac from your Calvados.
I think your dish turned out perfectly despite the slip in spirits! Great post!
ReplyDeleteI like Calvados in this recipe, it sounds good to me!
ReplyDeleteYour chicken looks so brown and pretty in the red dutch oven with the veggies around the sides. Even though our chicken didn't turn out very brown, we did enjoy it!
Calvados! It's been on my to-try radar for a while, but we have so many untouched bottles of booze in our liquor cabinet I have put it off for space issues. It's still French Fridays!
ReplyDeleteIt doesn't seem like anyone's chicken browned much. Oh well. No biggy, when everything else about it tastes sooo good.
ReplyDeleteI loved this recipe. I think one of my favorite things was just how care free it is!
ReplyDeleteI think Calvados would be great with this - and add a little extra oomph to the dish!
ReplyDeleteEverything looks good. I think the Calvados would probably work well with this recipe.
ReplyDeleteYou did get a nice color on your chicken, much nicer than mine before I broiled it.
Hubby and I really enjoyed the recipe as well as the vegetables.
I think everyone that I have read had a issue with browning for this recipe. I bet the apple undertones was really good with this dish. I think it would be fun to make this with the different liquors to see if there really is much of a difference.
ReplyDeleteI used cheap brandy, but I have a bottle of Applejack languishing in the liquor cabinet. Based on your success with Calvados, I'll try the Applejack next time. I never got around to trying No-Knead Bread, but I always meant to. Now that you reminded me about it, I might hunt up that recipe and give it a shot. Happy French Friday!
ReplyDeleteCalvados sounds like a good substitute for pricey Armagnac! I used regular brandy and it was delicious but I would like to try Armagnac sometime. You're chicken is much more golden than mine was!
ReplyDeleteWow- I am actually surprised at how brown your chicken did turn out. I had to but the broiler on to get any color. Thanks for sharing the info on the spirits- my lack of knowledge should have gotten ME a demerit for sure :)
ReplyDeleteI actually was wishing I had some Calvados to use in this! Yours looks great and definitely got a little browner than mine did!
ReplyDeleteI'll bet the Calvados was great - adding another subtle layer of flavor. We'll definitely make this again!
ReplyDeleteI've been wanting to try calvados! This might be the excuse I need. Glad you enjoyed it!
ReplyDeleteI agree with everything you wrote. I think your chicken got browned better than mine...I put mine back into the oven for at least an additional hour. I had extra veges that would have lengthened the time and a second pot which would have also lengthened the time, but I actually left the 2nd pot in for an additional 30 minutes and it finally got browned and also had more flavor. I like my chicken to look "done" and I'm seeing that most had similar issues.
ReplyDeleteBut this was really a delicious and simple meal...I'll do it again.
Beautiful chicken - I think you ended up with one of the more golden birds. Maybe Dorie's idea of brown is different that ours :-) Heaven knows I like leftovers more than she does! You are right that this was one of the best smelling things we've made yet. It was hard to wait for the hour to be up. Glad yours turned out well no matter the spirit you used.
ReplyDeleteI love my enameled cast iron. It sees a lot of use in my kitchen!
ReplyDeleteCalvados sounds great & I think there were a lot of pasty looking chickens. No tan in our house :-)