New Years Day Recipes to Bring you Good Luck throughout the Year!

Entry #869, December 30, 2011

Tomorrow is New Year’s Eve and it is common in the United States to have traditional recipes that are said to welcome good luck into the new year. On New Year’s Day serve these recipes by Southern Living, and enjoy the good luck fortune that surrounds your family dinner.

Look at this Southern Living explanation of this southern American tradition.

New Years Day Recipes to Bring you Good Luck throughout the Year!

Collard greens, and black eyed peas are Southern favorites!

Image via: Southern Living

According to folklore, this auspicious New Year’s Day tradition dates back to the Civil War, when Union troops pillaged the land, leaving behind only black-eyed peas and greens as animal fodder. Rich in nutrients, these were the humble foods that enabled Southerners to survive. Details of stories differ, but each celebrates a communion of family and friends bound by grateful hearts and renewed hope for good things yet to come.

Cornbread

Cornbread, which some say symbolizes gold, completes the Southern New Year’s triad. Native Americans were the first to bake a cornmeal mixture, and Southerners made it daily when wheat was a rarity in the region. For authentic Southern flavor, choose a recipe that uses little, if any, sugar and flour. Don’t forget the cracklings, crispy morsels produced during the rendering of lard.

Cornbread isn’t complete without collard greens and black-eyed peas.

Ingredients

2 to 3 teaspoons bacon drippings or vegetable oil
2 cups buttermilk
1 large egg
1 3/4 cups white cornmeal
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
Butter

Preparation

1.    Coat bottom and sides of a 10-inch cast-iron skillet with bacon drippings; heat in a 450° oven for 10 minutes.
2.    Whisk together buttermilk and egg. Add cornmeal, stirring well.
3.    Stir in baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Pour batter into hot skillet.
4.    Bake at 450° for 15 minutes. Serve with butter.
5.    Note: This recipe is adapted from Hoppin’ John’s Lowcountry Cooking by John Martin Taylor.

Black-Eyed Peas

Black Eyed peas are a wonderful side to a New Year’s Day meal

Ingredients

2 1/2 pounds fresh black-eyed or pink-eyed peas, shelled (3 cups)
3 cups water
2 large beef bouillon cubes
1 medium onion, chopped

1/2 (16-ounce) package kielbasa, sliced, browned, and drained (optional)

Preparation

1.    Bring first 4 ingredients and, if desired, sausage to a boil in a saucepan. Reduce heat; simmer 40 minutes or until tender. Serve with Sweet Onion Relish.
2.    1 (16-ounce) package frozen black-eyed peas may be substituted. Reduce cooking time to 30 minutes or until tender.

Collard Greens

Collard greens have been cooked in my family for years!

Ingredients

12 hickory-smoked bacon slices, finely chopped
2 medium-size sweet onions, finely chopped
3/4 pound smoked ham, chopped
6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
3 (32-oz.) containers chicken broth
3 (1-lb.) packages fresh collard greens, washed and trimmed
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon pepper

Preparation

1. Cook bacon in a 10-qt. stockpot over medium heat 10 to 12 minutes or until almost crisp. Add onion, and sauté 8 minutes; add ham and garlic, and sauté 1 minute. Stir in broth and remaining ingredients. Cook 2 hours or to desired degree of tenderness.

Enjoy these tasty holiday cooking favorites this New Years! Good luck is sure to follow.

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