Habi-chat

Last summer we started Habi-chat. Our intent and purpose was to embark on a year long journey through COOKING by James Peterson; learning his techniques and being challenged in our cooking skills with the company of others. So far every month has been full of challenging recipes and new foods to try. However, the last few months have been very quiet and we have come to the decision that Habi-chat will be ending. Thank you so much for your participation! Your- comments and pictures that you shared with us were enjoyed- thank you.

We will be leaving our blog open for your comments and questions for awhile longer. Keep cooking.

This past month in addition to the recipes selected I tried the banana cream pie - in fact I had to make it twice. While it was great the first time I wasn't totally pleased with the lumps in the pudding/cream filling. (You can see in the picture. Sorry, no picture of the second pie- though it was just like this one minus the lumps!) So I tried again and found the lumps were due to using flour as a substitution for corn starch (if flour is being used, you must whisk it in much longer). The instructions are clear and it is a much easier recipe than I thought it would be. It being my father-in-law's favorite pie we shared the second one and it was thoroughly enjoyed by all. No lumps. The flavor of the filling is wonderful! I found that it was a great pie for spring! It certainly will be on our table for Easter! We liked it with whipped cream on top as well.

So keep trying recipes. There is much to learn about what we eat and how to prepare it.
Thank you again for joining us. Our best wishes for your cooking endeavors.

Welcome to March. You'll have to forgive us for being a bit late this month- between traveling, cooking, Fur Rondy and a baby being born- we've been a bit busy!

Here are the Recipes for March

Salad Nicoise pg. 76
Fresh Egg Pasta Noodles pg. 376-379
Ravioli with Spinach-Ricotta Filling pg. 383
Sautéed Sea Scallops pg. 119
Compound Butters (Fines Herbes Butter) pg. 348-349

Salad Nicoise
My first recipe to try was Salad Nicoise. I have another similar recipe that I have made but it takes quite a bit of time, especially the preparation of all the ingredients beforehand. It is always a big hit, so I was curious to see if this one would compare. This salad looks beautiful when it is all put together and can feed quite a crowd. It is also very good as an entrée. I used butter leaf lettuce and Yukon gold potatoes. I think little peanut potatoes or fingerlings would also be good.
The dressing for this salad is just a simple oil, garlic and vinaigrette mixture. When I make this again, I think I will mash the anchovies into the dressing mixture. That way they won’t be quite so strong if you bite into them by themselves, but you still get the flavor needed. I also didn’t peel the tomatoes. I used cherry tomatoes and peeling and seeding them seemed like way too much work.
I used fresh ahi and just seared it on both sides. With fresh tuna available, it seems like cheating to use canned tuna. It would make it more economical, however. One thing I think you should be sure to do is toss the potatoes, beans, tomatoes, and peppers in the dressing before you put it all together. This cuts down on too much dressing on the greens.

This salad is delicious and I took it to a Super Bowl party to see if people liked it as much as I did. It was a big hit. It doesn’t save well and should be prepared and eaten right away. Having the eggs, potatoes, beans, and dressing made ahead of time definitely makes it a less time consuming endeavor. In my haste to make the salad and get other things ready for the Super Bowl, I didn’t notice until I got back home that I had forgotten to put the green beans in! It was not a major blunder and no one even noticed. In fact, I didn’t even notice until I was cleaning up.

Fresh Egg Pasta Noodles
with Ravioli with Spinach-Ricotta Filling
I have been wanting to make my own pasta for some time and figured this would be a good challenge. I have been curious if you can actually tell much of a difference between dried, store-bought pasta and fresh. Also, is the difference worth the trouble? I debated back and forth as to which method to use for the pasta, totally by hand or food processor. I finally chose the food processor because of consistency and also the mess. I don’t use my food processor that often, (it is ancient but still plugs away), and so I wanted to take advantage of the fact that I had one. The dough was very easy to make, and I divided it into two batches.
I borrowed a pasta machine from a friend and found it fun and easy to use. You just keep rolling the dough through the machine and adjusting the knob to a narrower setting until you get the desired thinness. The dough does become very long and I did have to cut each piece in half. I was going to make ravioli the next day so I put the pasta on waxed paper, covered it in plastic wrap, and placed it in the refrigerator. From the looks of it, I figured I had enough pasta for a couple meals.

For the ravioli, I used the spinach ricotta filling. I laid out the sheets of pasta, placed the filling down two sides, brushed on water to seal and placed a second sheet over the top. I do not have a ravioli cutter and I just used a knife to cut it into squares. You do have to be careful not to make the filling size too large as it makes the ravioli too big and harder to handle.

My worry over having too much pasta soon went away as I was cutting them out. Since the pasta was not totally even on the edges, I probably wasted much of it trying to keep the ravioli nice and square. Now all I had to do was boil water and cook it. I wanted to keep the sauce light and simple, so I could really appreciate the pasta. I just put some olive oil, salt and pepper, and grated parmesan cheese on top.

My family really enjoyed it. You could taste the freshness. It was not gummy or thick and wasn’t as filling as I thought it might be. I would probably make a different type of sauce, since it was a bit plain and you could jazz it up some. Overall, it was delicious and I would definitely make it again. In fact, I really want to try and make fettuccini noodles now. Where to hang them all as you are making them, could be a concern. For every day type meals, I doubt I would give up store bought pasta, but for special occasions and when you have an abundance of time; it was very simple and delicious.

Sautéed Sea Scallops
with Compound Butters (Fines Herbes Butter)
My last recipe was Sautéed Sea Scallops. I love having them in restaurants but do not cook them at home too often, mainly because they tend to be soggy and rubbery. This is a simple recipe with easy to follow directions that made a huge difference in the taste of the fish. I would never have thought to cook them , remove them from the pan, and then make the compound butter at the end. Usually, I would just have melted the butter and herbs and cooked them all together. This took some time to cook the scallops a few at a time on such a high heat. I had to constantly hold back and let them each brown and not try to rush things. I knew that the key was to cook hot and fast, but two or three minutes apiece seemed long while you were cooking.

Placing them on a paper toweled lined plate to soak up some of the moisture turned out to be a real key. The compound butter was easy to make and as soon as it turned frothy in the pan, you just add the scallops back in to coat them in the sauce. I chopped up some fresh herbs with half a cube of butter, rolled it in some waxed paper, and put it in the fridge until I was ready to use it. I added some Coral Sea Sal Ravioli with Spinach-Ricotta Filling t for color and a little punch after I removed them from the pan. The dish was delicious. The scallops were fresh, tender and not rubbery at all. It is amazing how just a few key steps make such a difference. Mmm, mmm, mmm they were good.

We do have picture evidence of our cooking! We'll have it up as soon as possible- until then try these out yourself. If you have been cooking with us, you'll notice that the ravioli recipe was a repeat- our mistake. However, try it a new way. If you made these by hand try using a pasta machine or testing out a different filling. Let us know how it turned out!

For the month of February the recipes chosen are ideas for a romantic personalized breakfast for that special person.

Coffee Cake pg 418
Crepes pg 394
Crème anglais pg 497
Classic French Apple Tart pg 454-55

The coffee cake is a recipe that can be made the day before and served to that special person in bed with a favorite coffee and fruit.
The recipe is a mixing a bread style with a cake style coffee cake. You make a sponge, let it rise then mix it with a cake batter with the idea of giving a light airy texture to the old favorite. A key component is the yeast. Make sure that the yeast you use is new. I used yeast that I had been using for a few months and I did not get a sponge from the mixture. I also think that I will adjust the milk to flour ratio on my next attempt of this recipe. I continued the recipe with the resulting liquid. When the liquid was mixed with the cake batter, it too became a thick liquid so when the streusel was added it sank to the bottom. Once baked, the cakes (as the recipe makes 2 ten inch cakes) were a moist dense cake with the streusel on the bottom almost like an upside-down cake. The cake was a failure but when tasted, it was very good. The next time I make the cake it will be with fresh yeast.


The next recipe was a combination of two.The crème anglais is soft stirred custard that has many uses. The recipe gives you the options of making thin custard for the making of eggnog or thicker custard that can be eaten in its own right or made as filler for the crepes. My idea was to make the crème anglais to use in the crepes with fresh (frozen) strawberries, sliced, and laid across the top. In the crème anglais recipe I again used what ingredients are common in my household. This time, as it called for a quart of milk I used a quart of the 1% milk that my family drinks. For this recipe, it is necessary to use milk with a higher fat content. I followed the basic recipe of 12 eggs, and the quart of milk (1%). The custard never thickened at all. I think that it was because of the fat content. I will be trying the recipe again soon, while it was liquid and would have made a fantastic shake. The flavor was just what I was expecting. I will be attempting a new batch with whole milk and 20 eggs for thick custard that can be topped with fruit or added to those crepes.

I also made the crepes, and I have to admit, it was the first time and they were a lot easier that I had imagined. I was concerned about getting them thin enough but they really turned out pretty well. I think the key was to lightly butter the pan every couple of cakes. When the butter is not used they still turn out but they do not have the same expected look. It is also important to make sure that the temperature on the burner is around medium. The temperature will vary from stove to stove and it will take a few tries to get it right. Also I found that if you want to keep them soft for later use make sure to layer with waxed or parchment paper and cover immediately so that the edges do not dry out. The only concern was that they really did not have a lot of flavor so I will add a little more vanilla the next time I make them, but as they are supposed to be mild in order to enhance the flavors of the toppings or fillings, I will do so sparingly.

The last recipe, the Classic French Apple Tart, was my favorite. The recommended crust was not light and flaky but it was a little heavier and sweet, almost like a sugar cookie. The combination of the applesauce and the thinly sliced apples on top was wonderful. I have always loved my apple pies but I think this tart has topped any of the pies I had made in the past. The only recommendation I can make is to cover the crust with a guard so that it does not brown too soon.
Otherwise this is a fantastic breakfast idea that would go well with a cup of coffee curled up with that special person.

For January we wanted to make a meal minus the dessert part--to make up for December's two desserts.

Bread: Brioche p. 416
Meat: Leg of Pork (Fresh Ham) p. 228
Salad: French-Style Potato Salad p. 87
Vegetable: Cabbage with Bacon and Apples p. 292



The Brioche requires early planning. With a maximum total resting and rising time of 12 hours, it is a full day's project. You might want to start the afternoon before and have the 6-hour rising time occur overnight. If you want the fresh baked brioche to complement your meal, then the rest of the meal should not require oven time (unless you have a double oven). I adapted by baking the Brioche before I put the pork in the oven. I then re-heated the brioche with a pat of butter for the meal.

All of the photos in the cookbook for the brioche are most helpful. I used active dry yeast, a stand mixer, and made a loaf. I think the mixing times are for a lower wattage mixer than my Bosch. Rather than following the mixing times, I adhered to the dough appearance guidelines. The dough did not rise to match the handmade dough pictures, but I persevered to the end and was pleased that the real rising happened in the final one-hour bake. Watch this baking closely--I covered my brioche with tinfoil after 20 minutes because the top had already browned. My total baking time was 55 minutes. The baked brioche was mouth-watering good!

Leg of Pork
Sooooooo easy and soooooooooo good! WOW--I prefer the taste of this to a cured ham, very tender and juicy. I used a high rack in my dutch oven pot and poured enough water into the bottom of the pot so I did not have to worry about juices burning. I added to that water after about an hour. Be careful about getting your meat thermometer into the center of the meat
and not close to the bone. I am delighted to discover this recipe.

French-Style Potato Salad
A perfect accompaniment to the leg of pork. Peterson is accurate--it IS a much lighter version of potato salad. The next time I make it, I will blenderize some of the shallots with the oil, wine and vinegar. I found it hard to distribute the vinaigrette evenly due to the large quantity of finely chopped shallots. The purple you see in my photo is a style of potato I used from Full Circle Farms. I really think the largest red potatoes you can find are the best idea for this dish.

Cabbage with Bacon and Apples
Again, a perfect accompaniment to the leg of pork. I used Savoy cabbage and appreciated it's leafier appearance. Be sure to watch the bacon closely--I burned my first batch. Also--I went to Fred Meyer's and Carrs and neither carried juniper berries, so I am glad that ingredient was optional.

I was chastised for not inviting some family members to enjoy this meal with my husband & me--it is a definite company-pleasing meal, a post-holiday gift.

December Recipes

The holidays make for busy times and often lots of goodies at every turn. However….don’t miss out on these recipes!!! They are incredible! All of the recipes that I’ve chosen for December were tested out on guests that we’ve had over so you’ll be getting my opinion as well as our friends’.

French Onion Soup pg 46
Grilled or Broiled Porterhouse pg 171
Pithiviers (Almond Galette) pg 482
Old Fashioned Butter Cookie pg 508

To start with the French Onion Soup was by far our favorite recipe this month! It was fabulous!!!!! One of our friends even took home the leftovers because the onion soup was just so good. As to making it, I made the mistake of not letting the onions spend enough time in the freezer before cutting them… so it was with many tears that this soup was made! (Tip: freeze your onions for 1-2 hours before cutting/slicing them and you won’t cry as the juices that make you cry are then frozen and won’t get in your eyes.) It is a mound of onions, but believe the author- they do cook down. I selected a heavy French bread that did really well with the soup. I went with the medium sweet Madeira which I think was perfect. If this had been served to me at a restaurant I would be returning again and again and again. As it was it came from my own kitchen and I will definitely be using this recipe again and again!










The next recipe was one that my husband and I were greatly looking forward to! We love a good steak so this was a big hit. We were surprised at how pink the steak was, but it was cooked to the 125 F which looked to us more like rare than the medium rare.







However, it was warm inside, done and tender. Everyone we served loved this. We used the broiler and the oven which worked really well. It will be fun to try this in the summer on the grill. Mmmmmm.







Pithiviers…. Well this is the only recipe that I’ve made so far that didn’t thrill me. My first confession is that I did not make the puff pastry… time constraints, papers to write for school…ect. However, my disappointment with this recipe wasn’t the puff pastry but rather in the Frangipane filling. We found that it not only looked like peanut butter but tasted a bit like it to. This was definitely not a sweet dessert. As we were discussing with our guests about how we could make it better the suggestions that came up were: apple filling, a chocolate layer and then the Frangipane or a filling full of berries. It was quite easy to make (especially since I did skip the puff pastry part) and even the Frangipane came together exactly like the author said it would. However, I won’t be making this again without changing the filling up somehow.


But, this month was redeemed again by another great recipe! The Old-Fashioned Butter Cookies were excellent. Someone said that they were the perfect cookie to accompany tea, coffee or hot chocolate. My response, I think they are the best any time cookie! Just about as easy as buying premade cookie dough at Carrs, this recipe worked well in every way. I must admit that my oven is to blame for the extra brown edges….argh. But all in all these were still a hit! They would be perfect cookies to add to a Christmas present of gourmet coffee or hot chocolate. Hmmm….maybe that is a good idea. I might just be making these again in the next week or so.

All in all, this has been the best month yet. Mostly because these recipes really suited us! The cookbook is fabulous, I love all the author’s comments and how clear he is about what to do when. The tips regarding steak certainly took all the mystery out of cooking a great steak. I hope you enjoy December as much as I did.

Hello Habi-chat! Glad to be back for another month of cooking!!! Sorry we're having a slight delay in our posting of the recipes and what we've done with them. In fact all that will be posted today is the recipes. You'll have to check back in a couple of days to see how we made ours. SO....go ahead and try these out! We have two soups this month, everyone seemed to enjoy the soup making so we thought we'd continue and fine tune our soup making while it is so cold! Enjoy!

Starter: Cheese Straws p. 19

Soups: Miso Soup p. 41

Seafood Soup Model p. 52

Dessert: Lemon Souffle p. 500


This was my first time making puff pastry by myself. The book has two recipes, there are definately pros and cons to both. The recipe on page 476 requires at least a 12 hour "refrigeration/resting" period.....which if I had read thru the entire recipe before starting wouldn't have been such a surprise! While the "Quick" recipe on page 478 can be completed in a couple of hours, it's downfall is that you're challenged by working with pastry with "exposed" butter, rather than neatly tucked in between layers! Either way...... I found myself thinking "these better taste REALLY good!"


Once the Puff Pastry was ready I used grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese and paprika for the layer in between the rolled out pastry. I imagine you could use many other combinations of cheeses and spices or herbs. I think Feta and fresh basil would be a great combination! The book called for a knife to cut the puff pastry into strips, but I used a pizza wheel which was very easy. The tricky part
was getting the pastry to stay twisted on the baking sheet, so I used a dab of the egg wash to glue the ends down.

They certainly were delicious once baked! The book says to serve within 24 hours, but they really are best within 30 minutes of baking.


I fell in love with Miso soup several years ago while in Japan on business. It was a big bowl of comfort and flavourful broth, uniformly sliced al dente veggies and soba noodles. I love this recipe because it is the perfect combination of flavour and simplicity, you can make with whatever starch, veggies, protein or herbs you have on hand.

In Fred Meyers "Natural" refrigerated food section I found 3 types of miso: brown, red and white. I chose the brown miso. Once I made the dashi, added the miso and brought it to a low boil I added the buckwheat soba noodles to cook in the soup. I served it on a bed of fresh baby spinach, and added grated carrots and sliced green onions. I love fresh baby spinach with hot soup ladled on top..... it is a perfect blend of crisp and slighlty wilted, then more tender with each bite there after.
Next time I will try either the white or red miso!

We are in our second month of cooking from James Patterson's Cooking: 600 recipes, 1500 photographs, one kitchen education. So far we've been learning a lot, it is very exciting to have new recipes to "have" to make each month!

These are the recipes for October:
European Peasant-style Vegetable Soup Model p. 50
Ravioli with Butter, walnuts and sage p. 384
Carrots (either glazed or baked) p. 300-301
Angel Food Cake p. 424

Having begun slightly earlier I have made two of the four recipes.
The European Peasant Soup Model was a surprising learning experience. I had never cooked with beans that didn't come out of a can and I also had never made rice without my rice cooker. Both turned out great. Due to the time that it takes to soak the beans this was not a quick recipe, but with the little bit of prep, it actually came together quite quickly. My soup consisted of: prosciutto, olive oil, onions, carrots, beans, tomatoes and a bouquet garni (something else new for me), jasmine rice, peas and garlic. It felt like an odd combination of ingredients but turned out nicely. I enjoyed the fact that everything was fresh and not from a can!

I must admit I was extremely excited to make the ravioli recipe! I'm a huge fan of Italian food, so my mouth had been watering over the pictures in the book! I was surprised and shocked at how easy it was to make the pasta. I made the dough by hand and even rolled it out by hand (well with my rolling pin). I used a fork to crimp the edges of the ravioli- which was fun. My husband and son even came to help with the crimping and putting them in the pot to cook.
(My husband's were the best, as he rolled his dough out just a bit thinner than mine and when crimping the dough he pressed the fork into the dough and pulled out, then trimmed the edges. It made for thin dough around the edges as well, which tasted better. My thicker ones were a bit chewy.) Needless to say it was the freshest pasta I've ever had! My total cook time for making the pasta, filling and cutting the ravioli, and boiling them was around 25 minutes. I boiled them for only4-6 minutes before sauteing them with the butter, sage and walnuts. My kids preferred them plain with just a bit of butter on top. I think I will try out some of the other pasta recipes in the book, since it was so much fun and a lot faster than I had thought it would be!


I picked up some organic carrots from a farm in the valley so I was looking forward to the carrots as well. And they were great!
Since my normal cooked carrots are roasted carrots I decided to try the glazed carrots. I really liked all of the clear instructions- even pictures for how to chop them! My liquid didn't all evaporate, but I tested the carrots and they were perfect so I just poured off the rest of the liquid. All in all they were the best cooked carrots I've ever had! They rivaled with the ravioli for the "best recipe" this month for me!

Angel food cake coming this week as well! Yum!

Well you know some of how my recipes have turned out. Let us know how you are getting along!