New Year's Day - Good Luck Menu

As has now become a family tradition, I am preparing to cook our "good luck" New Year's meal this Thursday. My mother-in-law Debra, who is a wonderful cook herself, introduced me to this tradition the first year Cory and I were dating. She and Bill (my father-in-law) had come to visit us for New Year's and insisted I stay for the meal so that I could also have good luck. Although I don't necessarily believe in luck, I must say this meal is so delicious, I am happy to say it continues to be a tradition!

This "good luck" meal consists of the following:

• collard greens
• black eyed peas - make sure to put a dime in the bottom of the serving dish! Whoever gets the dime, will have the best luck! 😉
• colcannon potatoes - you may have never heard of these but they are AHmazing! 
• cornbread
• spiral sliced ham

Cornbread recipe, truly the BEST EVER cornbread recipe we have tried (Link Here). It is easy to make, fluffy and flavorful! Courtesy of Cooking Light (this is also the cornbread recipe used in the Cornbread, Chorizo and Jalapeno dressing recipe I mentioned in my Thanksgiving post).

Blackeyed Peas
1 bag frozen blackeyed peas

 chopped ham (Use about 1/2 cup of the ham you bought for the greens)  

Enough water or chicken broth to cover the peas in a pan (add chicken bouillon to the water, if not using broth)

Pour peas in medium pan, cover with the water/chicken broth & add ham. Bring to a boil then allow to simmer for about 45 minutes or until peas are soft (or your preferred texture). 

I also like to season mine with this awesome South African Smoked Seasoning Blend from Trader Joe's: http://www.traderjoes.com/fearless-flyer/article/1223. On a side note, easoning blends in grinders like this one, are one of my favorite things to have in the kitchen to cook with! 

Collard Greens - this is a side dish I had never tried making until a few years ago. Preparing the greens can be a little bit of work but the end result is SO worth it!

2 large bunches of Collard Greens
3 quarts of water (as much as is needed to cover greens)
Cooked ham pieces (I use Burger's Smokehouse)
1 T hot pepper sauce (like Tabasco)
1 T seasoned salt
1 t salt
1 t garlic powder
1 t black pepper
1 T butter

In a large pot, bring the water to boil and add all ingredients except the greens and butter. Let the water "season" for 1 hour. 

As the water is seasoning, prepare your greens, as follows. 

Step 1: look at those beautiful leafy greens! Wash them & let them drip dry. 
Step 2: using kitchen shears, cut the left and right side leafy parts off of the stem. 
Step 3: lay the cut sides on top of each other
Step 4: roll-up several leaves together
Step 5: cut the rolled-up leaves into 1" strips
Step 6: cut the 1" strips in half to create smaller pieces

Once the water is seasoned, add the greens. Make sure they are all dunked in the water. The greens will take up a large amount of the pot but they will boil down the more they cook. 

This is one recipe you do not want to under-cook. It will take the full amount of time to soften them into delicious cooked greens. I like to give them at least 2 hours to cook. 

Colcannon Potatoes recipe:1 lb of yukon gold potatoes (peeled or unpeeled, your preference)1/4 - 1/2 head of cabbage, chopped into 2x2" pieces1 stick of butter1/2 - 1 c of milkSalt & pepper, to taste 

1. Cook cabbage in boiling water until tender (should be slightly translucent), drain and set aside 
2. Cook potatoes in boiling water, until a wooden spoon breaks through them easily
3. While the potatoes are boiling, place 1 stick of butter in your mixing bowl to soften
4. Once potatoes are finished cooking, drain in a colander and put in your mixing bowl with the butter
5. Blend potatoes until pretty smooth at medium speed, slowly add milk until the potatoes reach the smooth consistency desired. Add salt & pepper to taste.
6. Once potatoes are to your desired consistency and seasoned, fold in cabbage. Enjoy!