new years meals

I would imagine it is a Southern US tradition - certainly not a tradition in the Northeast.

We don't have a traditional New Year's Day dinner, but New Year's Eve - I love to have lobster and steamers (now that is a traditional New England dinner) - New Year's Day is my birthday so I frequently request this dinner for my birthday - but usually have it on New Year's Eve with Champagne of course.

Next question, if I may, Linkat. What are "steamers"? (I feel like I'm learning about a totally "foreign" cuisine!)

And happy birthday in advance!

Thanks for the birthday wish! Sometimes when you use a term so often you forget that others not in the area wouldn't know what steamers are. Steamers are clams found in the northeast (they are a softer-still hard, but softer than say a cherrystone clam) and we steam them sometimes with just a bit of water and the way I like it with a bit of beer. After steaming them, they are served in a big bowl or bucket and you simply pluck them out of the shells and dip them in melted butter and gobble them up. They are messy, but sweet and yummy.

Ah I see.

Thanks for explaining, Linkat. They sound delicious!

The New Years black eye peas recipe is really a southern thing. In New England, whenever we spent NYE in Eastport Me, we always pigged out on scallops and lobster stew. Here in The PA DUtch Country, its saurkraut and pork (The saurkraut has a rather prosaic relationship since it is a fall vegetable and keeping cabbage had always involved pickling and brining in the days prior to freezers and refrigerators. So the cabbage was made into saurkraut in October and it was the first winter vegetable that was traditionally "busted out" at the first of the new year.) SO, nothing really mysterious re saurkraut, its a typicl Germanic practicalism manifest as a mealtime choice. The pork was the same thing, pigs were butcered in the fall and winter so it was an available meat. (The real hardasses would eat scrapple with saurkraut) You dont want to know about scrapple but the first five letters sum it up in thye meat department)

I dont know the legend of black eye peas and good luck in the new year. Lotsa traditions have a really humble beginning that just gets added to legend as time goes on.
We have entire Volunteer Fire Companies whose auxilliaries spend their post Christmas time preparing for these massive saurkraut feeds for 1000 people. Each of whom, shells out 8 bucks a head and this is a money maker for the fire company (Fire companies raise money by these kinds of events throughout the year)

STEAMERS ARE THE BEST. YOU HAVE TO learn how to remover the "foreskin" before dipping in butter.

Sounds yummy Linkat. I was just telling someone the other day of my desire to travel to your part of the country for a big seafood pigout session. I can't seem to find clams anywhere these days. Not even in Savannah.

My family also had Hoppin' John on New Year's but the side dish was always cornbread.

There were so many questions about its meaning that I googled and found this site--I have included a few excerpts which give a good idea of its origins and why it is considered lucky...

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3676/is_200501/ai_n9465890

The hearty combination first emerged on Lowcountry rice plantations. Abundant Carolina Gold rice and field peas re-created the rice-and-pigeon pea combination familiar to West African slaves, who were hungry for the comforting flavors of their homeland. Good food travels fast, and soon this stick-to-your-ribs specialty made its way out of the fields and into kitchens throughout the South.

One of the more popular theories suggests it's a Southernization of pois à pigeon (pwah ah pee-ZHAN), which is French for pigeon pea.

Tradition holds that when eaten on New Year's Day, Hoppin' John brings good luck. The rice signifies abundance for the coming year, while peas-specifically black-eyed peas-are thought to bring wealth in the form of coins. (Collard greens, a classic Hoppin' John partner, represent dollar bills. Pork also plays an important role in the dish, and it's for more than just flavor. Hogs can't look back, so pork represents the future.

(I never knew that hogs can't look back, hmmm).

I didn't either. And never knew of the pork symbolism at all. Thanks for that info Diane.

Thank you for your informative posts, farmer & Diane.

Food & the ties to culture & tradition ... it's so interesting!

I've modified the plan...

jambalaya for NYE (along with a side salad of spring greens, orange 'jewels' and red onion)

and black-eyed peas, collard greens, and smoked sausage for New Year's day.

Oh, if only I could be enjoying it in New Orleans instead of northern IL.

msolga, I love blackeyed peas and must have them for New Years too...however, it's not entirely necessary to cook them with meat.

I dice up a sweet onion and saute it until it starts to brown, then I add to the fresh blackeyed peas and water (cover them by an inch or more, they expand, and check the water level later)...then I do something I'm sure others will find horrific...

I add in for flavor barbeque sauce...to taste. I like it to taste smoky, and I'll put in a third to a half a bottle to a pound of raw peas.

Plus, I don't let it simmer for hours. Maybe 45 minutes is all.

Excellent source of fiber, and very nutritious.

Thanks for a vegetarian version, Chai!
I love black eyed peas, too. My lingering favourites in the bean/pea/lentil/etc ingredients area, following something like 15 vegetarian years. (Soya beans, however, no longer interest me greatly! :wink:) Most of my "tried & true" black eyed pea recipes tend to be based on Indian vegetarian cooking, so this is very interesting. I had no idea that that they were such a US tradition, too!

I was just thinking about what I might cook (or eat) at New Year. No idea yet. There aren't really any traditional Oz new year dishes that I'm aware of. Mind you, someone else from Oz might promptly set me straight on that!

Well I'll be having New Year's Eve dinner at the Volcano House at Volcano State Park. Most incredible prime rib in the world.

Black eye peas are for New Years Day.

Ohmygosh, seaglass, please send pics!!!!

I'm not going to do a shot of whiskey.
My great aunt and uncle fed us pickled herring and champagne when we were kids. That was at midnight. New Years day was pick food. Appetizers. I always try for the stone crab claws. Cold. Homemade honey mustard dipping sauce. Yummy.

I'm not going to do a shot of whiskey.
My great aunt and uncle fed us pickled herring and champagne when we were kids. That was at midnight. New Years day was pick food. Appetizers. I always try for the stone crab claws. Cold. Homemade honey mustard dipping sauce. Yummy.

mmmmm, 'twas delish.


Happy New Year, y'all.

Re: I'm not going to do a shot of whiskey.


Alex, my parents always had a big spread of finger foods and appetizers for New Year's day. Any holiday was an excuse to play cards and finger foods meant you didn't have to stop the games in order to eat.

Today I'm working on a pot roast with potatoes, brussel sprouts, corn on the cob, a 5 bean salad and a blueberry pie. Made the ice cream last night, but slept late, so it's going to be a late one.

Back to the kitchen :-D

Happy New Year everybody :-D