Favorite New Year's Day dishes

[cartman]

Since I have to start the black eyed peas soaking tonight, I figured I'd see what other people consider their traditional New Year's Day foods.

For me, you've gotta have:

ham
cornbread
hopping john (this one is a must have)

[Greyroofoo]

I didn't even know there were new year day dishes

[Galaril]

I am having it right now as I type: Guinness Extra Stout.

[st.cronin]

Originally Posted by Greyroofoo

I didn't even know there were new year day dishes

Me either. This is the first I've heard of it.

[Lorena]

Eating black eyed peas is supposed to bring luck and prosperity for the New Year

[cthomer5000]

Originally Posted by Dodgerchick

Eating black eyed peas is supposed to bring luck and prosperity for the New Year

Alright, then i got dibs on Fergie. The rest of you can split up the dudes between yourselves.

[GrantDawg]

Originally Posted by Dodgerchick

Eating black eyed peas is supposed to bring luck and prosperity for the New Year

And greens money. I'll be having Black eyed peas, collard greens, fat back and cornbread at the inlaws tommorow. I love my inlaws.

[Eaglesfan27]

My inlaws also believe that Black eyed peas and collard greens are good luck, but I can't stand them, so I'll risk the bad luck

[Galaril]

Seaweed soup is what we will be eating first thing in the morning and noodles. The noodles are for good luck and the seasweed is because it is our daughters birthday.These are Korean traditions so don't ask.

[Grammaticus]

Originally Posted by Dodgerchick

Eating black eyed peas is supposed to bring luck and prosperity for the New Year

Ditto, good luck to all.

[cartman]

For those who are interested, here's the recipie for Hopping John. I usually just double this, since a bag of peas is usually 1 pound, and so is a package of bacon. This is one of those dishes where I hope for leftovers, because it is as good or better reheated. Enjoy!

Hopping John

1 Cup black eyed peas (1/2 lb.)
3-1/2 Cups water
1/2 pound bacon
1 onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 dashes Tabasco (or to taste)
Cajun seasoning to taste
1/2 Cup raw rice

Either soak peas overnight, or boil peas in a pan about 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Cover and leave
them for an hour. Fry the bacon in an iron skillet. Remove the bacon,
chop, and reserve when cooked. To the grease, add the onion, green
pepper, celery, and garlic. Cook until soft. Stir bacon and vegetables
into the peas. Heat to boiling; reduce heat to a simmer. Cook 1-1/2
hours or until peas are tender. Add rice and seasonings. Cover and
cook 25 minutes or until rice is tender and water is absorbed. Serves 6.

[JeeberD]

I had a Hungry Man dinner. Wish me luck in not clogging the toilet later!

[ISiddiqui]

The black-eyed peas and greens for good luck are definetly just a Southern thing. I never heard of that when I was in New Jersey and THIS year (after 3 years of living in the South) is the first time I've heard of it.

[terpkristin]

An interesting follow-up to this thread on things that are "lucky" for the new year...
link

New Year's Superstitions
Besides getting sloppy drunk and kissing everybody in the room at the stroke of midnight, celebrants throughout the ages have observed numerous lesser-known New Year's customs and superstitions. Many of the superstitions associated with the event bear the common theme that activities engaged in on that day set the pattern for the year to come. Others have to do with warding off evil spirits or attracting luck.

Because January 1 is the first day of the new year, we have drawn a connection between what we do on that day and our fate throughout the rest of the year. Here are some of the ways we attempt to guarantee a good outcome through our acts on that portentous first day:

• Kissing at midnight: We kiss those dearest to us at midnight not only to share a moment of celebration with our favorite people, but also to ensure those affections and ties will continue throughout the next twelve months. To fail to smooch our significant others at the stroke of twelve would be to set the stage for a year of coldness.
• Stocking Up: The new year must not be seen in with bare cupboards, lest that be the way of things for the year. Larders must be topped up and plenty of money must be placed in every wallet in the home to guarantee prosperity.
• Paying Off Bills: The new year should not be begun with the household in debt, so checks should be written and mailed off prior to January 1st. Likewise, personal debts should be settled before the New Year arrives.
• First Footing: The first person to enter your home after the stroke of midnight will influence the year you're about to have. Ideally, he should be dark-haired, tall, and good-looking, and it would be even better if he came bearing certain small gifts such as a lump of coal, a silver coin, a bit of bread, a sprig of evergreen, and some salt. Blonde and redhead first footers bring bad luck, and female first footers should be shooed away before they bring disaster down on the household. Aim a gun at them if you have to, but don't let them near your door before a man crosses the threshold. The first footer (sometimes called the "Lucky Bird") should knock and be let in rather than unceremoniously use a key, even if he is one of the householders. After greeting those in the house and dropping off whatever small tokens of luck he has brought with him, he should make his way through the house and leave by a different door than the one through which he entered. No one should leave the premises before the first footer arrives — the first traffic across the threshold must be headed in rather than striking out. First footers must not be cross-eyed or have flat feet or eyebrows that meet in the middle. Nothing prevents the cagey householder from stationing a dark-haired man outside the home just before midnight to ensure the speedy arrival of a suitable first footer as soon as the chimes sound. If one of the partygoers is recruited for this purpose, impress upon him the need to slip out quietly just prior to the witching hour.
• Nothing Goes Out: Nothing — absolutely nothing, not even garbage — is to leave the house on the first day of the year. If you've presents to deliver on New Year's Day, leave them in the car overnight. Don't so much as shake out a rug or take the empties to the recycle bin. Some people soften this rule by saying it's okay to remove things from the home on New Year's Day provided something else has been brought in first. This is similar to the caution regarding first footers; the year must begin with something's being added to the home before anything subtracts from it. One who lives alone might place a lucky item or two in a basket that has a string tied to it, then place the basket just outside the front door before midnight. After midnight, the lone celebrant hauls in his catch, being careful to bring the item across the door jamb by pulling the string rather than by reaching out to retrieve it and thus breaking the plane of the threshold.
• Black-Eyed Peas: A tradition common to the southern states of the USA dictates that the eating of black-eyed peas on New Year's Day will attract both general good luck and money in particular to the one doing the dining. Some choose to add other Southern fare to this tradition, but the black-eyed peas are key.
• Work: Make sure to do — and be successful at — something related to your work on the first day of the year, even if you don't go near your place of employment that day. Limit your activity to a token amount, though, because to engage in a serious work project on that day is very unlucky. Also, do not do the laundry on New Year's Day, lest a member of the family be 'washed away' (die) in the upcoming months. The more cautious eschew even washing dishes.
• New Clothes: Wear something new on January 1 to increase the likelihood of your receiving more new garments during the year to follow.
• Money: Do not pay back loans or lend money or other precious items on New Year's Day. To do so is to guarantee you'll be paying out all year.
• Breakage: Avoid breaking things on that first day lest wreckage be part of your year. Also, avoid crying on the first day of the year lest that activity set the tone for the next twelve months.

Other superstitions attaching to the beginning of the new year are:

• Letting the Old Year Out: At midnight, all the doors of a house must be opened to let the old year escape unimpeded. He must leave before the New Year can come in, says popular wisdom, so doors are flung open to assist him in finding his way out.
• Loud Noise: Make as much noise as possible at midnight. You're not just celebrating; you're scaring away evil spirits, so do a darned good job of it!
  
  According to widespread superstition, evil spirits and the Devil himself hate loud noise. We celebrate by making as much of a din as possible not just as an expression of joy at having a new year at our disposal, but also to make sure Old Scratch and his minions don't stick around. (Church bells are rung on a couple's wedding day for the same reason.)
• The Weather: Examine the weather in the early hours of New Year's Day. If the wind blows from the south, there will be fine weather and prosperous times in the year ahead. If it comes from the north, it will be a year of bad weather. The wind blowing from the east brings famine and calamities. Strangest of all, if the wind blows from the west, the year will witness plentiful supplies of milk and fish but will also see the death of a very important person. If there's no wind at all, a joyful and prosperous year may be expected by all.
• Born on January 1: Babies born on this day will always have luck on their side.

Barbara "baby boon" Mikkelson

Last updated: 30 December 2005

/tk

[ISiddiqui]

*Listens to the washer going*

Shit

[cuervo72]

Well, pork and saurkraut is more popular up north (had never heard of a "hopping john"...closest guess would have been a guy trying to high-tail it out of a brothel whilst pulling up his pants). Of course, I still screwed this up and am cooking corned beef and cabbage. Oh well, only 2 1/2 months early...

[oliegirl]

Originally Posted by ISiddiqui

*Listens to the washer going*

Shit

I am assuming this is b/c your wife was washing the greens in the washing machine, like my mom used to?

[Draft Dodger]

leftovers from last night's party (the Jack Daniel's Meatballs and the pulled chicken sandwiches in particular) for lunch and applebees take out for dinner - nice to be able to pick up dinner in your PJs...

[GrantDawg]

Originally Posted by cartman

For those who are interested, here's the recipie for Hopping John. I usually just double this, since a bag of peas is usually 1 pound, and so is a package of bacon. This is one of those dishes where I hope for leftovers, because it is as good or better reheated. Enjoy!

Hopping John

1 Cup black eyed peas (1/2 lb.)
3-1/2 Cups water
1/2 pound bacon
1 onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 dashes Tabasco (or to taste)
Cajun seasoning to taste
1/2 Cup raw rice

Either soak peas overnight, or boil peas in a pan about 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Cover and leave
them for an hour. Fry the bacon in an iron skillet. Remove the bacon,
chop, and reserve when cooked. To the grease, add the onion, green
pepper, celery, and garlic. Cook until soft. Stir bacon and vegetables
into the peas. Heat to boiling; reduce heat to a simmer. Cook 1-1/2
hours or until peas are tender. Add rice and seasonings. Cover and
cook 25 minutes or until rice is tender and water is absorbed. Serves 6.

This sounds very good. I'll have to give it a shot. Lunch was great, btw. I pity those who do not know the joy of collard greens.