Week 11: Happy New Year!

Well, I totally missed the last week of December. I guess I will just have to go an additional week. There was much talk this past week the many things people do or eat on New Years Day to bring them good luck. At my house growing up we had black eyed peas and hog's jowl. I thought that I would just make that. I think it would be neat to serve some good luck dishes that would make people have a little more hope for the new year. I doctor my black eyes peas up a bit. Start out by putting a package of dry beans in a stock pot and add about 7 cups of water. Bring this to a boil, cover and let sit for an hour. Drain off the water. In the pot put a few tablespoons of oil and saute a large onion chopped and some celery chopped. Add the beans and a few pinches of salt and some coarse ground pepper. Sometimes I add a little oregano and a few dashes of hot sauce. Cover the beans with water and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat to low and simmer until done, about one hour. We like to serve this in a bowl with about 1/4 cup of rice. To fix the hog's jowl cut off the hard part and then slice as you would bacon. I use around a 10 inch skillet. Lay the pieces down and lay a cast iron press on top so they won't curl up and you have even cooking. Drain on paper towels. This is a great meal even if it doesn't bring you good luck but isn't it worth trying just in case? Happy New Year to all of you. I'm looking forward to sharing some great recipes with you this year.