New Year, New Hope

I feel the truth of what older friends and family have been telling me -- the years speed up as you go along. It seems like last month, I swear, that we welcomed 2009 with the prayer that it be a better, more stable and peaceful year for our families, our jobs, our country. Many feel like that hasn't happened. Yet there remains, as always, hope, and that's why today I'm eating black-eyed peas, soaked overnight and braised in the oven; and collard greens, this year the pre-chopped kind in the 2 lb. plastic bag, so much easier than rinsing fresh greens, cooked with a smoked turkey leg and served with red wine vinegar and coarse black pepper; cornbread baked in my cast-iron skillet; and homemade buttermilk-brined fried chicken.

I will take a moment to express sorrow for those non-Southerners without the grand tradition of this humble feast. The black-eyed peas are for good luck and the greens for lots of "greenbacks" during the year. The fried chicken and cornbread are because I can and I will.

So, I raise a fried chicken leg to my friends and family and readers and wish all of you health and happiness in 2010. May at least some of our wishes come true this year. And no matter what the year brings, may we still be able to afford black-eyed peas and greens when we welcome the new decade January 1, 2011.

New Year's Day 2009 Menu

Oven-Braised Black-Eyed Peas

Crispy Bacon

Skillet-Sizzled Buttermilk Cornbread

Collard Greens

Make Your Own Ice Cream Sundaes

We're starting the New Year with the traditional Southern meal of Black-Eyed Peas and Greens. For those not familiar with the tradition, the peas bring you good luck and the greens ensure a pocket full of greenbacks throughout the year. I usually cook the peas on the stovetop, but due to a gas leak, my stove is shut down temporarily. I cooked the peas in the oven instead, and I have to say they were the best I've ever made. The gentle oven braising ensured the peas didn't break open and the broth was unmuddied from vigorous boiling.

This is how I made the peas:

1. New Year's Eve, I opened a one-pound bag of dried peas and poured them into a shallow baking pan. After picking out the duds, I covered the peas with about an inch of water and left the pan on the counter overnight.

2. The next morning, I poured off the excess liquid and tranferred the peas to a Dutch oven. I covered the peas with water up to an inch above the pea-line. To the pot, I added one frozen smoked turkey wing, one chopped Vidalia onion, two smashed garlic cloves, salt and pepper.

3. I placed the pot in the oven and set it on 250 convection for four hours. I checked throughout the cooking time to make sure the liquid didn't get too low. After four hours, the peas were luscious and the house smelled warm and wintry.

4. I let the peas continue to cook in a low oven for a few hours. And that's it. How easy can it get? There was a lot of liquid, which made the peas more like soup, which was ok by me, especially nice to crumble the cornbread into.

Thursday Night Summer Supper

Menu

Broiled Dorado with Lemon

Black-Eyed Pea Salad with Balsamic Ginger Vinaigrette

Watermelon

A simple meal made special by the salad, which I found in Beans, Greens and Sweet Georgia Peaches by Damon Lee Fowler. I make Craig Claiborne's Black Eyed Peas Vinaigrette each New Year's, but I this recipe may replace it - the ginger in the vinaigrette gives the salad a fresh kick.

Here is the recipe as it appears in the cookbook. My notes are in parentheses.

Black-Eyed Pea Salad
serves four generously

2 cups (12 oz.) dried black-eyed peas
3 ham hocks (my version is vegetarian, see instructions)
1/2 medium red bell pepper, diced
1/2 medium yellow bell pepper, diced
1 shallot, chopped
1/4 small Vidalia onion, chopped
1 tbsp. chives, chopped
1 recipe Balsamic-Ginger Vinaigrette
8 to 10 fresh basil leaves

1. Rinse and sort the peas and soak overnight. Drain them and set them aside. Put the ham hocks in a 4-quart pot. (Instead of ham hocks, I cooked the peas with a couple of bay leaves and a whole onion studded with four whole cloves). Add 2 quarts water and bring the liquid to a boil over medium heat, reduce the heat to a simmer, cover, and cook for 1 hour.

2. Add the peas to the pot and raise the heat to bring the liquid back to the boiling point. Reduce the heat once more to low and simmer (covered) until the peas are tender, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours. The peas should remain covered with water, so keep a teakettle of simmering water handy in case more water needs to be added to the pot. (Mr. Fowler must have access to non-foaming peas. I skimmed the gray scummy stuff frequently, just like with stock, and kept the fire at a gentle simmer. This method yielded pretty, clean peas.)

3. Drain the peas, discarding the ham hocks. Allow the peas to cool, then mix them with the red and yellow peppers, shallot, onion and chives. (I used a single red pepper and skipped the chives.) Pour the dressing over the salad and toss until well mixed. The salad can be made a day or two ahead of time. Chill it until you are ready to serve it. (I think it's best at room temp.)

4. Just before serving, cut the basil into chiffonade (fine shreds) and strew it over the top of the salad. Serve cold. (I skipped the basil as well and it turned out fine.)

Balsamic-Ginger Vinaigrette

2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp. red wine vinegar
1/2 tbsp. finely minced fresh ginger root
2 tbsp. Dijon mustard
1 tsp. sugar
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Combine the two vinegars, ginger, mustard and sugar in a glass or stainless mixing bowl. Add a small pinch of salt (to help the oil emulsify). Whisk until smooth. Gradually whisk in the olive oil, a few drops a a time, until it is all incorporated and emulsified. Season to taste with more salt, if needed, and a few liberal grindings of black pepper. (I used chopped crystallized ginger instead of fresh, which gave mine a milder, white girl heat).

Peas on Earth, Goodwill to Men

Dried black eyed peas. Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

On Jan. 1, New Year's tradition holds to eat greens or cabbage for wealth and black-eyed peas for good luck. I don't mind the greens, but, honestly, black-eyed peas boiled with pork taste just like dirt boiled with pork. A few years ago, I discovered Black-Eyed Peas Vinaigrette in Craig Claiborne's Southern Cooking (I love the cover of Craig in his high-waisted trousers by a bountiful outdoors buffet). It is more refined than the usual boiled peas and a fine change-up for the New Year's Day menu.

Black-Eyed Peas Vinaigrette

1 lb. dried black-eyed peas

8 cups water

Salt to taste

Pepper to taste

1 onion stuck with two cloves

1 garlic clove, peeled

1 bay leaf

1/4 tsp dried thyme

4 sprigs parsley

1/3 cup finely chopped onion

2 tbsp finely chopped shallots

1 tsp finely minced garlic

1/4 cup finely chopped parsley

3 tbsp. red wine vinegar

2/3 cup olive oil

1. Rinse and pick over the peas and place in a kettle. Add the water, salt, pepper, and onion stuck with cloves. Tie the garlic clove, bay leaf, thyme, and parsley sprigs in a cheesecloth bag, and add it. Bring to the boil and simmer until the peas are tender, about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Set aside for 15 minutes.

2. Remove the onion and cheesecloth bag. Drain the peas.

3. Put the peas in a mixing bowl. Add the chopped onion, shallots, minced garlic, chopped parsley, vinegar, and oil. Add salt and pepper to taste. Toss to blend well. Serve lukewarm or at room temperature (my preference).

Text and images copyright 2008. Lucy Mercer