Chicken with Cream and Calvados with Normandy Potatoes au Gratin

For those of you who have been paying attention I am travelling to Gatwick on Friday and then onto India on Saturday with my son Andrew for a a yoga teacher training course leaving my poor husband behind me. Mike is really nervous about our trip and becoming more disconsolate the closer we get to 'D' Day. So I asked him to find a meal he would like me to cook so we could have a lovely evening at home. He chose Pomme de Terre a la Normande au Gratin from Page 44 of Jane Grigson's book 'The Cooking of Normandy' accompanied by Poulet Vallee D'Auge on Page 78. I started with the potatoes slicing them very finely by hand as I do not own a Mandolin and then soaked them in water before drying thoroughly in tea-towels. Pulling it together was really easy and it didn't take long before it was nesting in the oven. Interestingly Jane Grigson did not detail what temperature to cook them at, only stating that it should be a slow oven, fortunately I had another book which advised me that a slow oven was 150 degrees. During cooking my sister Ann rang and also had the ingredients for the potato dish and decided to cook the same for tea - hopefully she will let us know how she got on. The chicken was also easy to prepare and the flaming of the chicken with calvados nearly removed my eyebrows. I had some leeks left over from the potato dish so I gently fried them off as well as some mushrooms which Jane Grigson had stated in her recipe could be added to the dish if you felt like it. 

Mike had opened a bootle of his finest wine to celebrate and we tucked in. The potatoes were outstanding but I felt I had put too much stock in and would reduce the amount next time. The chicken was ok, and Mike did love it. I used half fat creme fraiche and felt that the sauce had separated a little so would use full fat next time. Overall it was a good experience and I would certainly try it again, and as the last meal I would be cooking my husband for a month it was a good one and Mike declared the meal a real feast and that it would have to last him for the next 28 days but fortunately I am taking him out for dinner tomorrow night so I know I will manage to get at least one more meal in him before I go.