Black eyed peas with New Years dinner?

traditional food | Uncle George

[Uncle George]

A family tradition in millions of homes the humble black eyed peas are eaten as a symbol of a prosperious coming year. Not a lot of people like the taste of them but some inventive recipes make them delicious. My wife and I and family have had them every New Years for our 49 years of marriage so why tinker with success? What is your favorite recipe for the humble little black eye?

[shetlan]

Should one be in a rush---

Fry cooked ham pieces, fat side down in a pot with butter.
Open canned blackeyed pea bean cans.
Add water, canned beans, and hot sauce.

"Serve."

[gorio]

Okay, I'll bite! I know the punchline already, but some folks may not.... What's a henway? uh......about 2 or 3 pounds..... ROFLM!!! Happy New Year to All!

[Dane]

Grandma made him cook them(chitlins) outdoors because they stunk up the house so bad you couldn't stay in it.

The only time I smelled chitlins was when I was working down south in a hotel. A cook during the late hours was cooking chitlins and I walked into the kitchen. I swear the subliminal meaning of the Lynard Skynard song "Ooh That Smell", is that they were talking about chitlins.

[PhilSC]

I prefer field peas. We will have hoppin' john tomorrow which is very good.

Title: Hoppin' John
Categories: Vegetables, Main dish
Yield: 6 servings

1 c Frozen black-eyed peas
4 c Water
2 ts Salt
1 c Uncooked rice
4 ea Slices fried bacon
1 ea Medium onion

Fry bacon; remove from skillet. Chop onion and fry in bacon grease.
Crumble bacon.

Boil peas in salted water until just barely tender. Drain peas, reserving 1 cup of liquid.

Place rice, peas, 1 cup of pea liquid, onion, bacon grease and crumbled bacon in top of rice steamer. Cook until rice is done.

Tip: Rice will cook quicker if pea liquid is heated to boiling before adding to other ingredients in top of rice steamer.

[Cultural Jihad]

  Black-Eyed Peas  

Black-Eyed Peas

Black-eyed peas are actually a small, almost white bean with a black spot along their side. Originally brought to the United States by slave traders, this bean has been a popular food in the Southern US for hundreds of years. These beans, sometimes referred to as cowpeas, are also popular in Africa in different fermented dishes. In India they are often eaten like lentils.
        Thin skinned black-eyed peas cook up in only 30 to 60 minutes and require no presoaking. Traditionally served with rice or corn bread, they remain a popular Southern cuisine. On New Year's Day in the South there's a tradition of black-eyed peas being made into Hoppin' John which has the reputation of bringing good luck. Black-eyed peas cooked with onion, garlic and tomato sauce make a delicious dish.

Source: http://waltonfeed.com/self/beans.html#blackeyepea

[RedBloodedAmerican]

ya know, i wait ALL FREAKIN YEAR to say that, and then WHAM someone has to SPOIL ALL MY FUN. I *hate* when that happens.

Happy New Year to you, too

[g'nad]

Add some crushed red pepper, a few jiggers of Worcestershire and tabasco, cilantro, and the secret ingredient...epazote'....yeah I know...try finging that in Virginia...got hooked on it in SoCal when I was stationed there...

Annual

Erect stem, 1-3 feet, average

Popular with Mexican cooks, Epazote is used as a spice in many dishes. It is most prized for its gas-reducing qualities in bean-cookery.

A leaf or two of the fresh herb, or a teaspoon (to start) will impart a slight and distinctive flavor to a pot of beans.

[SpookBrat]

Does anyone know why or how the tradition came about of eating Blackeyed Peas for luck on New Years?

This is the story I grew up with and I think there is some truth to it. My grandma was the daughter of a sharecropper from Tennessee. She always told us this story as we sat around and ate our blackeyed peas.

“During the war of Northern Aggression, Sherman burned the south. They left the cowfeed or horsefeed (Blackeyed Peas). So to keep from starving during the winter months, the Southerners lived off Blackeyed peas. So “cowfeed” saved their lives”.

I think this was especially true for Vicksburg during the siege. Anyway, I loved that story. Blackeyed peas ARE lucky.

Please don’t anyone attack me or start an 800+ thread over the civil war. My grandmother was biased for obvious reasons growing up in the south, and I could care less. I’m just sharing a story from my childhood, which I think is true, after I did some quick research on Google.

Anyway, Happy New Year, and I thought you might enjoy knowing why we eat Blackeyed Peas on New Years for good luck. We have an old uncle from Buffalo who refuses to eat what he calls “horsefeed”. ROFL

Oh, and by the way. I’ve got my Blackeyed Peas cooking on the stove right now, with a ham hock and I’ll put a small amount of hot pepper sauce in it later. Then I’ll cook some corn bread. Sorry but we don’t do collard greens in this house. GROSS!!! That was the one thing I could not STAND of my southern grandma’s. YUK! Blech!

[Mo1]

Oh my .. thank you for this Thread .. This YANKEE Girl had no idea about blackeye peas till I married a southern boy .. lol

We have been doing this since we were married and I haven't found a good way to serve them yet .. I think I may try your suggestion ..

You saved my day .. lol

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

[piasa]

A full selection of tripe, tongue, hoofs, pigs knuckles and jowls. Yum (NOT)

LOL, if you've been eating hotdogs, balogna or salami you've been eating either pig or beef pieces-parts like that all your life anyway...

: D

[madfly]

epazote'....yeah I know...try finging that in Virginia...got hooked on it in SoCal when I was stationed there...

Looks like a Hempy New Year!!! aka Hippy New Year!!!!

May I ask where were you stationed? what year??? Happy new year, mi amigo!!

[Cinnamon Girl]

I'd like to try black eyed peas, Uncle George. Can you think of another kind of meat I could substitute in place of pork?

[madfly]

Happy New Year MO1 and MO2, lol, I am assuming....

[Physicist]

I love black-eyed peas, but here in Pennsylvania Dutch country the New Year's dish is sauerkraut and pork.

[RedBloodedAmerican]

I have a plastic-lined lunch sack for you. Where do I mail it to?

[lonestar]

On a side note, does anyone else have cabbage with their peas for a financially-prosperous New Year? The idea is cabbage is green, so is money. My wife's family never did it, but mine does. And we both grew up in Texas. Just curious if this is a cultural thing...

We have cabbage but you're supposed to put a dime in the peas for prosperity.

I like a little sugar in the peas. Cook ours with the bone left from Christmas ham.

[Cultural Jihad]

...but here in Pennsylvania Dutch country the New Year's dish is sauerkraut and pork.

Pardon my drool. Happy New Years, Phy!

[tubebender]

LOL, if you've been eating hotdogs, balogna or salami you've been eating either pig or beef pieces-parts like that all your life anyway...

I don't know why but I just developed a strong dislike for you. What did I ever do to you that was this shattering? :( Happy New Year anyway...

[joathome]

Two pounds dried black eye peas. Two pounds favorite smoke sausage. Two large onions, a bell pepper, and lots and lots of fresh garlic. Lots of seasoning. Serve over rice. Yummmm

[joathome]

Yep, cajuns cook blackeye peas and cabbage. :)