Do You Have Any Tasty New Year’s Traditions?

It’s time to bid farewell to 2012, and I want to know how you’re ringing in the New Year. Are you, like me, busting out some time-honored traditions to celebrate?

I’ll be honest. I HIGHLY doubt I will be able to stay up to see the ball drop at midnight. I get my daughter in bed around 9pm, and it’s just a matter of minutes until Momma passes out, too. I might bust open a bottle of champagne though; true story: I bought an expensive bottle of champagne for last New Year’s Eve and forgot about it. It has spent the year in my fridge. I hope it’s safe to drink. If not, I’ll be ringing in 2013 with some serious food poisoning.

Provided I don’t die from the Ebola I catch from sipping on that year-old bubbly, we’ve got plans tomorrow. As long as I have been on this Earth and eating solid foods, I’ve had two things to eat every New Year’s Day: collard greens and Hoppin’ John (a delicious dish made of black-eyed peas, ham, and spices).

I come from a long line of Southerners, okay? I’m 99% sure it’s a requirement that you have collards and black-eyed peas on New Year’s Day or they relocate you to some place north of the Mason-Dixon line… and while that may sound alluring (they have snow!), remember it is not: they don’t have sweet tea. NO SWEET TEA. I would die.

Eating collard greens and black-eyed peas is a time-honored tradition, stemming from the belief that eating these foods would bring good luck and wealth in the New Year. Fix up some collard greens (or any leafy green) to bring more “green” to your wallet this year. I can not cook collards to save my life. I’ll probably have my Southern Belle card revoked for admitting that but whatever; I usually open up a can of seasoned collards and we’re good to go. Pro Tip: Try Glory Brands or Margaret Holmes canned greens.

As for the black-eyed peas, you could just have plain old peas—or you could have Hoppin’ John. If you know what’s good for you, you’ll choose the later. No joke; I am getting hungry just typing this, y’all. I usually head to my Momma’s for Hoppin’ John, but if I can’t make it up to her place on New Year’s Day, I’ll cook up some of my own. I wish I had a recipe to share, but it exists (as all great Southern recipes) in my head as a “dash” of this and a “heap” of that.

I prefer my Hoppin’ John with ham. We’ve always begun ours by cooking the black-eyed peas with the ham bone leftover from the Christmas dinner. Resourcefulness, another hallmark of us Southern gals… anyway, you end up with this delicious ham/pea combo that we’ve always served with rice.

This recipe from Epicurious is most similar to our family’s. You could also give this recipe from The Pioneer Woman a try. I hope you’ll try adding these favorites to your New Year’s Day menu, and I hope they bring health, wealth, and happiness to you and yours in 2013!