New Year's Recipes

Every New Year's Day my Mom get's busy cooking Black Eye Peas and smothered Cabbage. It is a Cajun tradition in my family. Dad or I act as sous chefs helping chop, stir, taste for seasoning or just watch the pot. This is how I learned to make these traditional dishes. Eating these dishes are suppose to bring you good luck and fortune in the year to come. My dad says the peas bring coins and the cabbage folding money. So you can imagine; a year never, ever, goes by without observing this Cajun tradition.

New Year's Black Eye Peas(Traditional)

Source: Mom

1 lb dry Black Eye Peas

1 Onion, chopped

1/2 lb Ham, chopped

Salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes, to taste

Parsley, chopped

Soak peas overnight or use fast soak method. Bring peas to a boil and when boiling turn off the heat and let sit covered for one hour. Drain and return to the pot.

Add water to just cover the peas, the onion and ham. Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer until tender and creamy. Season with salt and peppers to taste. Add parsley (optional). Serve over rice to bring coins in the New Year!

Note: You can use fresh or frozen peas, just omit the first step.

New Year's Cabbage(Traditional)

Source: Mom

2 lbs. Pork loin chops, sliced into large pieces

2 Onions, chopped

1 bunch Green Onions, sliced

3 heads of young Green Cabbage, chopped

Salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes, to taste

Parsley, chopped

Heat olive oil in large pot. Season pork with salt and peppers, add to pot and cook until brown.

Add the onions, then green onions and finally the cabbage stirring until all cabbage it added. Add parsley (optional) if using. Cook until smothered well and cabbage is very soft. Serve over rice to bring folding money in the New Year!

My new tradition of spending New Year's with my favorite person in the world (FPITW) has giving way to a slight variation on Mom's Black Eye Peas.  We use bacon instead of ham and we skip the rice and eat with spoonfuls of cold Chow Chow. FPITW and his family have always served Chow Chow with their Black Eye Peas. This Chow Chow is not cabbage and green tomato, it is a savory, spicy, chunky, red tomato condiment. It is not hot or peppy it is just flavorful with warm spices like cinnamon and cloves. It is still a FPITW family canning secret, I will let you know if the secret gets out. I am just happy to have this new tradition, a blend of both families.

New Year's Black Eye Peas(New Tradition)

1 lb dry Black Eye Peas

1 Onion, chopped

1/2 package of Bacon, chopped

Salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes, to taste
Tony Chachere's creole seasoning, to taste

Soak peas overnight or use fast soak method. Bring peas to a boil and when boiling turn off the heat and let sit covered for one hour. Drain and set aside.

Add bacon to a dutch oven and brown on medium low. When bacon it almost brown remove and drain on a paper towel. The bacon will continue to brown and crisp. Add onion to the bacon dripping and saute until they begin to soften. Add peas and just enough water to cover, bring to a boil lower heat and simmer covered until tender. Season with salt, peppers and Tony's to taste. Garnish with bacon and serve with Chow Chow for good luck in the New Year!