Black Eyed Peas or Beans for New Years?

  We will be making a pot of white beans and ham bones for the new year. Does anybody else have a bean tradition on the New Year? I usually put a silver dime in the pot before service for good luck to the recipient and also to choose who gets to wash the bean pot!

David O.

My mom used to make ham hocks and black eyed peas for new years b/c it was what my dad grew up with . I never cared for the sparse way she did it and it tasted awful and greasy. My spouse's family from TN used the leftover christmas ham to do pinto beans with canned Kentucky Wonder style green beans(like Italian green beans) which is served with home made chow chow (sort of like a sweet, spicy,pickled cabbage relish) mixed together with crumbled cornbread for their new years day meal. Wonderful combination with pleny of biscuits and sorghum on the side. The bean and pintos are cooked down to the point that it's in a thick,starchy ham/bacon flavored sauce. Totally Delicious.  

Black eyed peas; cooked with bacon and bacon (fat), onions, and bell peppers.  Simmered all day in a crock pot.  Don't forget the cornbread...

Texas caviar (spicy black eyed pea dip) for New Year's Eve and a regular pot of blackeyes for the next day. I have a couple of prime rib bones leftover from Christmas that I thought I'd put in the pot instead of the traditional ham hock. The symbolism of these dishes is frugality so waste nothing, right?

Texas Caviar is my favorite black eyed pea recipe.  I make lamb for the new year, no beans.

Black eyed peas and hamhocks, cooked slowly

We northerners picked up the black eyed peas New Years tradition while in the Navy. Before the internet the military might have been the one way regional traditions got known or passed around. When we moved to Minnesota in 1970 not a black eyed pea could be found in a store. They're available now.

FYI:

Texas Caviar (hot blackeyed pea dip)

• 1/2 bell pepper, chopped fine
• 2 stalks celery, chopped fine
• 1 onion, chopped fine
• 1 tsp. black pepper
• 2 Tbsp. Tabasco sauce (or to taste)
• 1/2 cup catsup
• 1 Tbsp. salt
• 3 chicken bouillon cubes

• 1/4 tsp. nutmeg and 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 2 - 15 oz. cans black eyed peas (one must have jalapeno)
• 1 can tomatoes with green chilies (Rotel)
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 tsp. brown sugar
• 1/2 cup bacon drippings
• 3 Tbsp. flour

Lightly saute the bell pepper, celery, and onion. Add black pepper, Tabasco, catsup, salt, bouillon cubes, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Over low heat cook and stir until it reaches a boil and the cubes have dissolved. Add peas, tomatoes, garlic, and sugar. Simmer for 30 minutes. Combine bacon drippings with flour and stir into peas. Cook 10 minutes more until thickened. Stir well and serve in a warm crock pot along with tortilla chips.

I do cheater's Hoppin John and everyone loves it.

Fry up some chopped bacon.  Saute a bunch of diced onion and when it's cooked through throw in some rice and a can of black eyed peas.
Sometimes I put in a pinch of sugar to even out the flavors. Add liquid to a knuckle above the top of the rice, bring to a boil, cover and cook for 20 minutes.
Stir it up when ready to serve.

I like eating it with Texas Pete's Hot Sauce.

Happy, Healthy New Year, everyone!

Fried hog jowl, black eyed peas, cabbage, mash potatoes and cornbread on New Years day= my favorite meal of the entire year.

black eyed peas and cabbage are a tradition where I'm from, but probably my least favorite foods.  I'm thinking of serving the cabbage some other way, either in a pot of beef-vegetable soup, or cabbage rolls, and for tradition's sake, opening up a can of peas, and seasoning them up a little as opposed to cooking a whole lb. of dried peas like most folks do.  

black eyed peas with a penny in the bottom of the pot for good luck!

We usually do chicken fried pork chops, spicy black-eyed peas, and stir-fried cabbage (in bacon grease). 

Here's another Texas Caviar recipe.  

1 can jalapeno black-eyes - drained
1 can field peas w/snaps - drained
1 red onion - chopped
2 tomatoes - chopped
1 bell pepper - chopped
1 can sliced black olives
2 cloves garlic - chopped
Chopped jalapenos (optional)
1 bottle Viva Italian dressing
2 avocados - chopped

Mix together everything but the avocado.  Refrigerate overnight.  Before serving mix in the chopped avocado.   

A penny in the bottom of the pot?

You cook with that penny in the pot?

Put it in afterwards?

I'd be afraid someone would swallow it.

Frankly, I have never heard of the white bean tradition. For me it is black eyed peas with greens. The greens are a must unless your name ends with Incorporated and you are too big to fail.
 
Thanks for the New Years reminder, around here black eyed peas tend to sell out quick around this time of year as well as the more choice selections of greens.

 I have heard of, and eaten black eyed peas, collards, and pork chops on New Years...Yum.

thank-you for posting the black eyed peas recipes. Black eyed peas are sooo yummy!

Here is a recipe for a black eyed pea casserole that I tried a few months ago for a potluck. It tasted great and everyone loved it- but it was probably the ugliest dish I've ever made in my life. If I ever make it again, I would probably present it as more of a dip than a casserole.

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 3 cups cooked black-eyed peas
• 1 medium jalapeno, diced
• 1 (10-ounce) can diced tomatoes (recommended: Ro-tel)
• 1 (10-ounce) can cream of mushroom soup
• 1 (10-ounce) can cream of chicken soup
• 1 (10-ounce) can mild enchilada sauce
• A few dashes of Louisiana hot sauce
• 1 package corn tortillas
• Butter
• 2 cups grated cheddar
• Chopped green onions, for garnish

Directions

Brown the ground beef in large skillet. Drain the excess grease and the add onion, garlic, jalapeno and Essence. Cook the mixture for 3 to 5 minutes or until the onion has softened. Add the peas, tomatoes, mushroom soup, chicken soup and enchilada sauce. Add a few dashes of hot sauce. Simmer until warm, about 10 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Tear the tortillas into large pieces. Grease the bottom of a large casserole dish with butter and then line the bottom with the torn tortilla pieces. Spoon on the ground beef mixture into a thin layer and then add a layer of cheese. Add another layer of tortillas and repeat with the beef mixture, finishing with a layer of cheese on top. Cover the casserole dish with foil to prevent the cheese from burning and place in the oven. Cook for 35 to 45 minutes. Remove from the oven, cut slices approximately 2 by 2 inches and serve. Garnish with chopped green onion.

These recipes look delicious!  BelleReve, I agree with you about the dried pea version, especially if you're only cooking for a few folks.

In Texas, it is next to impossible not to have Black Eyed Peas for New Year's.......being from the north, it took a long time to get my kids to even consider eating one lonely pea on their plate, but now that they are grown, for one day out of the year they will tolerate that one lone pea on their plate. As for me, I love  black eyed peas with smoky pork hocks, slow cooked all day, and served up with sauteed cabbage and onions. And of course, corn bread, cooked in a cast iron skillet, to mop up all the juices!

I'm doin Hopin Papa again this year. Ham, onions, bell pepper, Rotel, pickled jalapenos, rice and oh bep's.

I had one guest ast year who said they didn't like bep''s but changed his mind after 2 bowls of Hopin Papa.
Joe

Although I had a relatively modern suburban upbringing, I was exposed to a surprising amount of old Southern customs. For instance, I was always told to leave three blackeyed peas on the plate for good luck and that polk salad was the preferred side green. Admittedly, picking polk salad was more fun than eating it!

I found this article concerning blackeyed pea lore of interest.

Neat link Meister... Thanks!

Oh, some new kind of Bay Corn recipe has become somewhat of a tradition w/ my family. Last years Buffalo Bay Corn won't work. :~)
Joe

Around here -- Columbus -- it's pork and kraut.

 I have not had sour kraut and pork chops in a long time...any recipes folks to add with that combination?

Black-eyed peas are a basic requirement as the first thing eaten in the new year, right at midnight. At our house they're followed by champagne and sleep, as a rule, or else some TV-watching.

We kind of got out of the big-celebration mode when our son pre-empted the festivities with his New Year's Eve birth  . Jan just wasn't in the mood to party that year!

Rick F.


Black-eyed peas are a basic requirement as the first thing eaten in the new year, right at midnight. At our house they're followed by champagne and sleep, as a rule, or else some TV-watching.

We kind of got out of the big-celebration mode when our son pre-empted the festivities with his New Year's Eve birth  . Jan just wasn't in the mood to party that year!

 
Rick, your wife may have not felt like celebrating but I am sure you did. 
 
I will have a bit of champagne and maybe a bit more of Canadian.  I will have some black eyed peas (very few) as any legumes cause me issues along with a Smithfield ham, grilled burgers, baked beans, mac and cheese, sweet cole slaw and Italian creme cake.
 
My daughter and family are coming over where we will have a dinner, watch a bit of football and probably be sound asleep by 11PM.
 
Happy New year to all
 
Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

We prefer Hoppin John, made from the ham bone and leftover meat/trimmings  from Christmas....in fact, it's simmering now, so I can cool it and defat the broth.

We like the hopping john with onion, garlic, red pepper flakes, salt, pepper, bay leaf, diced celery, green bell pepper, and a bit of diced carrots.   With the blackeyed peas and rice, served with corn bread, it's a soul-satisfying meal.

Other years, we have pork and kraut, baked low and slow in the oven.  I'm still torn on which on I like better....

Everyone had better eat some greens with those lucky black eye peas !
We eat greens for luck as well as folding money !
And fried hog jowl for luck ...
We also have  hoecakes to go with everything as cornbread is a good luck food to bring gold in the New Year ...

bunny37


 I have not had sour kraut and pork chops in a long time...any recipes folks to add with that combination?

 
HI Bunny,
 
In order to not step on the OP's thread I was going to PM or Email a response to you. No can do, sorry.

John A

bunny37


 I have not had sour kraut and pork chops in a long time...any recipes folks to add with that combination?

 
HI Bunny,
 
In order to not step on the OP's thread I was going to PM or Email a response to you. No can do, sorry.

 Maybe I can start a thread on the subject?