Gateau Aux Amandes

This is a very unassuming cake, but let me tell you that this can be placed in any Parisian bakery!


1 1/3 cups sugar
8 ounces almond paste
1 cup AP flour
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup Crisco
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
1/4 teaspoon fresh nutmeg
6 large eggs
1/2 cup 60% cacao chocolate chips-must be 60%!

 Preheat the oven to 325º.  Grease a 9- or 10-inch cake or spring form pan with butter, dust it with flour and tap out any excess. In the bowl of a food processor, grind the sugar, almond paste, and 1/4 cup of flour until the almond paste is finely ground and the mixture resembles sand.

 In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining 3/4 cup of flour, baking powder, and salt.
 Once the almond paste is completely broken up, add the cubes of butter, Crisco, nutmeg and the vanilla and almond extracts, then process until the batter is very smooth and fluffy.
Add the eggs one at a time, processing a bit before the next addition.

 Add half the flour mixture and pulse the machine a few times, then add the rest, pulsing the machine until the dry ingredients are just incorporated, but do not over mix.

Scrape the batter into the prepared cake pan. Then sprinkle the chocolate chips on top of the cake. Bake the cake for 65 minutes, or until the top is deep brown and feels set when you press in the center. Invert cake to cool on rack and serve.

French Tarragon Chicken Salad

This is a light chicken salad for summer. If you want you can serve it as a main course with cheese and crusty bread. Take a look at one of my earlier posts for a great Italian bread recipe.

2 chicken breasts roasted until they reach 160 degrees
1 1/2 cups of homemade chicken stock
1/3 of a cup of champagne vinegar
3 tablespoons of fresh tarragon minced
1/4 cup of olive oil
3 tablespoons of honey
1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon of grated lemon peel
2 tablespoons of fresh orange juice
 1 teaspoon of grated orange peel
1 teaspoon of soy sauce
1 clove of garlic grated
3 level tablespoons of whole grain mustard
1/4 teaspoon of ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon of ground fresh nutmeg


1/4 teaspoon of ground ginger
1 teaspoon of green Tabasco
1 teaspoon of black pepper
1/2 a teaspoon of kosher salt
1/2 pound of broccoli in small pieces
1/2 red onion diced
1/4 cup of smoked green olives-see previous post for source
1/2 pound of diced fresh carrots


Reduce homemade chicken stock by half or more. Set aside to cool. Dice chicken in cubes. Then add to the vegetables in a bowl. Now place all the dressing ingredients in a bowl and whisk. The reduced chicken stock is add to the dressing. Pour the dressing over the vegetables and chicken.

St. Germain Potage

Traditionally, St.Germain Potage is made with dried marrow fat peas. Marrow fat peas are green mature peas that have been allowed to dry out in the field, rather than be harvested right away. One of the classic French preparations is the combination of fresh peas, soft lettuce, and onions to make Potage St. Germain, named for a count in the court of Louis XV. Over the past few years potager gardens have become extremely popular in the garden design world.

The potager kitchen garden (pronounced poe-ta-zhay), initially developed by French monks, became popular in the 16th century in France. The potager was quite widespread, from large chateaus to the common farmyard. Strictly speaking, the potager is really just a garden, but it now often means a decorative vegetable garden. The traditional potager garden contains symmetrical, geometrical garden beds, with the vegetables planted in patterns or groups rather than in rows, often with herbs and fruit intermingled.

Here is the recipe for my soup.

1 1/2 pounds of fresh peas
1 leek sliced thin
1 head of butter lettuce, chopped
2 tablespoons of unsalted butter
4 oz of potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
4 1/2 cups of homemade chicken stock
1/4 cup of heavy cream
4 small sprigs of fresh mint

Shell the peas and drop them into boiling water for a minute or two. Then drain them and set a few aside to add to the soup later. In a sauce pan add the butter and leeks. Saute until the leeks are clear. Now add the remaining peas. Then add the potatoes, lettuce and stock. Cook for about 15 minutes and then process for a minutes in a blender. Season the soup with salt, pepper and reserved peas. Stir in the cream and ladle into bowls. Garnish with fresh mint.