Southern Foodways: Lucky New Year's Dishes
Southern Foodways appears weekly as part of our collaboration with the Southern Foodways Alliance, an organization based in Oxford, Mississippi, that "documents and celebrates the diverse food cultures of the American South." Dig in!
Looking for good luck and good fortune in the new year? Secretly wishing for both while publicly resolving to do good unto others? Maybe you're just looking for a way to celebrate the new year that doesn't involve Champagne, Times Square, or staying up late?
Try a New Year's Day feast of black-eyed peas and collard greens. Both are thought to bring a year filled with prosperity. Some think the black-eyed peas represent copper—pennies, specifically. So, for truly good fortune in the new year, be sure to eat 365 black-eyed peas (the only way to get a whole year's worth of good luck).
Many Southerners choose collards for their New Year's Day meal. Others round out the meal with cabbage. Either way, the piles of uncooked leafy greens, if looked at the right way and in the right light, look a bit like a pile of money.
It's hard to remember in the new South (suburban Atlanta and booming Charlotte, North Carolina, to name a few) that many Southerners live lives in which even a tiny bit of good fortune would be a welcome visitor. And, if prosperity has found you and yours, why not make sure it feels comfortable enough to stay for a while?
You won't need much more—some cornbread, perhaps, or a little pork if you're feeling fancy (or if your ham hock is generous enough).
Have a happy and prosperous 2008!
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10 Comments:
Or a braised pork hash over grits with bacon-cheddar-jalapeno cornbread. I'm skipping the cabbage/collards tomorrow, since they looked not so worth buying/eating at the market yesterday. I'll think of something green to get the cash flowing.
kitchengeeking at 3:02PM on 12/31/07
My family always had stewed tomatoes to go with the black-eyed peas.
feep at 3:07PM on 12/31/07
Hoppin' John - black-eyed peas, rice, cooked with some ham hocks.
dksbook at 4:31PM on 12/31/07
In honor of hubby's TN roots, we'll be having black-eyed peas cooked with ham hocks, some slow-cooked turnip greens (didn't see any good collards, and I can get easier frozen turnip greens at the supermarket), fried okra and corn bread (buttermilk, no sugar, cooked in a skillet with bacon drippings).
Mom-in-law still lives in TN -- she'll be cookin' some hog jowl to have with her black-eyed peas and greens. Reminds her of being the oldest of eleven kids on a poor tenant-farm during the Depression
LoCo at 5:48PM on 12/31/07
when yankee troops began burning everything edible during the war, they didn't know what blackeye peas were so they left them alone. "what luck, we still have blackeye peas to eat".
olddad at 7:21PM on 12/31/07
I made Hoppin' John and collard greens, and my half Filipino boyfriend made spare ribs and sauerkraut, which he says is a good luck tradition in his family. A very yummy and lucky feast!
laurakitty at 9:18PM on 01/01/08
Ooh, kitchengeeking, can I come over to your house? That sounds smashing. I'm sucker for grits and cornbread. :)
sheeats at 9:53PM on 01/01/08
It would not be New Year's Day without black-eyed peas and greens. This year I made something a little non-traditional, however, in the form of black-eyed pea, kale, and chorizo soup spiked with garlic and chipotle. We had it gumbo-style with a quinoa pilaf tossed with olive oil, sea salt, and fresh cilantro. I hope it brings increased luck in proportion to its increased heat!
MarkO at 10:38AM on 01/02/08
MarkO: Can that be shipped to Baltimore??
:-)
RichardCrystal at 11:56AM on 01/02/08
Sounds delish, MarkO... Kale is my #1 most favoritist vegetable, and the idea of chorizo and cilantro sounds heavenly! I'll skip the chipotle, though!
I too made my black-eyes soup-style. A pound of of dried and a pound of fresh-frozen. Cooked 'em all day long in the slow cooker, on high, with a couple of big meaty hamhocks, sauteed celery and onion, some finely chopped carrots, a couple of bay leaves, sage, thyme, and chicken stock.
I simmered my frozen turnip greens in some of the pea broth, along with a jalapeno, and served them on top of the soup (the fresh collards looked too scary when I went marketing). A couple of shots of Tapatio hot sauce, and we were good to go!
All accompanied by some hot skillet buttermilk cornbread cooked in bacon drippings.
We're repeating the process tonight, except there'll also be some fried okrey (okra) on the table. And maybe yeast rolls instead of cornbread (I need an excuse to use the new stand mixer).
LoCo at 3:30PM on 01/02/08