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1
Season chicken with salt and pepper. Melt butter and oil in a large saute pan or enameled cast-iron Dutch oven over medium-high heat until just bubbling.
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2
Add chicken skin sides down; cook, turning once, until golden, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Transfer chicken pieces to a plate and remove pot from heat; let cool slightly.
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3
Drain oil leaving a light coating on the bottom of the pan (enough to saute leeks.).
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4
Return pot to medium-low heat, and add leeks. Cook, stirring frequently, until leeks begin to soften and are pale golden, about 3 minutes.
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5
Add hard cider and thyme. Move leeks to edges of pot, and add all the chicken pieces to pot, skin sides down. Arrange leeks over chicken. Cover, and cook 15 minutes (if liquid is bubbling rapidly, reduce heat to low). Turn chicken pieces, and cook until breasts are cooked through, about 5 minutes more.
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6
Transfer the chicken to the serving dishes leaving the juices behind. Remove leeks from pot, and arrange the leeks around the chicken.
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7
Return pot to medium heat. Cook, uncovered, until liquid has reduced by about half (to about 1/2 cup), 8 to 10 minutes. (If the liquid is already cooked down, skip this step and add a few tablespoons of cider so that there is about 1/2 cup of liquid in the pan and warm).
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8
Reduce heat to medium-low. Whisk in the creme fraiche and optional parsley. Ladle pan sauce over chicken and leeks.
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9
Serve immediately.
