Let’s have a lucky 2024

 

Hoppin' Uncle John
image by Freepik

By this time, most of us have that big Christmas dinner planned (except maybe my daughter who says she missed the planning-ahead gene). But we will roast two smaller turkeys for seventeen people, and serve with mashed potatoes, gravy, green bean casserole (made according to Campbell Soup’s classic recipe), dressing (not stuffing), and, we hope, fresh dinner rolls following my mom’s classic recipe. Nobody ever eats dessert, but we may have one or two pies. The non-planning daughter usually makes one of her lattice apple pies.

But now, since I do have the planning gene, it’s time to think about New Year’s. Having spent the first twenty years of my life in Chicago and then a couple of years in northeast Missouri, I’d never heard of black-eyed peas, let alone the tradition about them bringing good luck until I came to Texas. In fact, I came from a household where the only beans we had were northern sweet beans, so I was suspicious of these things—they might be called peas, but they looked like beans to me.

For several years, I just avoided the whole subject, but I’m a sucker for traditions, and eventually I was drawn in. I heard of something called Hoppin’ John. My kids were used to stews and soups, and I thought they might like Hoppin John, with it’s rice, better than a straight serving of peas. So I investigated recipes, adapted one to our taste, and fixed it. The kids called it Hoppin’ Uncle John, in honor of my brother (I don’t know that he was particularly honored!). Here’s what I did:

Ingredients:

4 Tbsp. butter

1 large onion, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 stalks celery, diced

1 lb. black-eyed peas (there’s no shame using canned peas—just use two 15oz. cans, and you don’t need to drain off the liquor—it’s full of taste and vitamins; you also probably don’t need to cook the peas as long)

5 cups chicken broth

1 whole ham hock (you can also use bacon or salt pork, but I like ham best)

1 14 oz. canned tomatoes, optonal

Salt and pepper to taste

Cayenne pepper to taste (optional, and I don’t do it)

2 Tbsp. white vinegar

Rice

Directions

If using dried beans, soak in cold water at least six hours, drain and rinse. Pick out any bad or shriveled peas.

Melt bitter over medium heat, and sauté onion and celery until tender. Add garlic and cook for a couple minutes, stirrng to be sure garlic doesn’t burn. Add peas, broth, and ham hock. Season with salt and pepper and cayenne, if using. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 30-45 minutes.

Remove the ham hock and let cook until you can handle it. (I used to think we needed a whole, bone-in ham, but they are expensive and not popular with my family.) Trim skin and fat off hock and get as much meat as you can. If necessary, chop into small pieces.

While ham hock is cooling, check the pot for liquid. If there’s too much, cook on low wth the lid off until it thickens up; if it’s too thick, add more broth, a bit at a time. You don’t want soup, but you do want enough pot likker to pour over the peas.

Return ham to pot and heat through. Add the vinegar. Serve over rice. If you like, you can mix the rice in, but if you expect to have leftovers, I’d keep it separate. Rice, like pasta, tends to soak up liquid. Garnish with chopped parsley if you’re feeling fancy.

I haven’t made Hoppin’ John in years. I served whole hams and a separate pot of peas, but I think this is the year I’ll try Hoppin’ John again. Serve it with leafy greens (spinach for me, no kale or turnip greens) which represents paper money and cornbread which symbolizes gold. I’ve heard you will earn a penny for every pea you eat on New Year’s Day (hard way to get rich), while others say you should eat 365 peas that first day but leave three on the plate for good luck. You do you—I guess it all depends on how superstitious you are.

Here's to a joyous 2024 with plenty of money, food, and comfort for all!

More vintage holiday recipes

 

Blue cheese cheeseball

The approach of the holidays seems to fill many of us with an urgency to celebrate and see dear friends and family before whatever holiday we observe. At my cottage that means there are lots of cries of, “We’ll get together before Christmas.” The days to do that are slowly counting down, but there are still enough evenings for some happy hours, and I have been searching old recipes for cocktail food ideas.

Cheeseballs have been a standard for the holidays all my life. When I was quite young, my family traveled each Christmas Eve from our inner city home to the home of one of Dad’s colleagues in what was then far south Chicago, a trip of close to an hour. A lavish buffet awaited us, but I particularly remember the cheeseball. Not just any cheeseball, it was, I think, the signature recipe of the hostess, whose name also was Judith. Those traditional evenings stopped for some reason when I was a teen, but we had the recipe and continued to make “the” cheeseball. Later, I served it every year for my big tree trimming party and my kids counted on it. In recent years, one of my girls has made it. We know that some folks consider cheeseballs old-fashioned and out of style, but we don't care. It's part of our traditional Christmases. This year, Lisa and are tactfully tossing that ball back and forth, but I sort of suspect it will land in my lap. It’s not a lot of work. Here’s what I’ll do:

Blue cheese cheeseball
½ lb. Roquefort

1 pkg. Old English cheese (no longer available—I use an 8 oz. pkg of Velveeta)

l eight-ounce pkg. cream cheese, softened

½ lb. pecans, chopped fine

1 bunch parsley, chopped fine

1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

1 small onion, chopped fine         

½ tsp. horseradish

Let the cheese soften to room temperature and mix thoroughly. Add Worcestershire, onion, horseradish and half of the parsley and pecans. Mix thoroughly and shape into a ball. Do NOT do this in the food processor, as it will become too runny. Even a mixer makes it too smooth and creamy—wash your hands thoroughly and dig in, so the finished cheese ball has some texture and credibility. Roll the ball in the remaining parsley and pecans. Chill. Serve with crackers. Leftovers will keep a month in the freezer, but mold will grow within a few days if you leave it in the fridge.

The other dish that my kids associate with tree trimming parties and Christmas is bourbon hot dogs. I suppose when they were teens, the hefty amount of bourbon had something to do with it, but they still like these. I made a half batch recently for guests, and they all disappeared quickly.

Bourbon Hot Dogs

2 lbs. hot dogs

¾ c. bourbon

2 c. ketchup

½ c. brown sugar

2 Tbsp. minced onion

Cut hot dogs into half-inch pieces. Combine other ingredients and simmer until sugar melts. Add hot dogs and continue to simmer. Serve warm with toothpicks.

Cheers! Sláinte! Salud! Santé! Prost! Saluti!

 

 

 

Vintage recipes for a cocktail party

 

The very idea of a cocktail party is vintage now that we have happy hour. But whatever you call that early evening gathering, it's the most popular way to entertain at the holidays. I remember once during a past holiday season a friend moaned to me, “I need a real, sit-down meal. I’m so tired of grazing buffet tables of appetizers.” Some may tire of these events, but I love the food. I prowled through some old files and came up with three recipes to share. I’m not sure where “vintage” begins (purists say it only applies to wine, but that’s almost archaic)—some say fifty years ago but others say twenty-five. If the latter, these recipes are vintage. They are dishes I used to fix back in the eighties and nineties when I threw huge Tree Trimming parties at Christmas. I did all the cooking myself for parties of up to seventy-five. As you’ll see, I was on my caviar kick even back then.

Caviar/cream cheese spread

3-1/2 8-oz. packages cream cheese, softened

1 cup mayonnaise

1 small onion, grated

1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

1 Tbsp. Lemon juice

Dash of hot sauce

1 3-1/2 oz. jar caviar

3 hard-boiled eggs, finely chopped

1 cup chopped fresh parsley

Beat cream cheese with an electric mixer until it is softened and smooth. I find it really works best to leave it at room temperature for half a day before you try to work with it. Add mayonnaise, onion, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, and hot sauce. Beat well until all ingredients are thoroughly incorporated.  Spoon the mixture into a shallow serving dish. Top with caviar, parsley, and eggs. Serve with crackers.

The recipe says it will serve 35. I had leftovers with 75, but it was one of several dishes. You might try halving it.

Artichoke hearts with caviar

1 8-oz. package cream cheese, softened

2 Tbsp. sour cream

2 tsp. mayonnaise

1 tsp. lemon juice

1 8-oz. can artichoke hearts, thoroughly drained and chopped

2 tsp. grated onion

Dash of garlic salt

Caviar

Mix cream cheese, sour cream, mayonnaise, and lemon juice. Add artichokes, onion, and garlic salt. Mound the mixture on a serving plate (maybe a 5-inch mound) and slightly flatten the top. Spread caviar on top. Serve with crackers. Serves ten.

Hot mushroom spread

4 slices bacon

½ lb. mushrooms, chopped

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

2 Tbsp. flour

¼ tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. pepper

 1 8-oz. package cream cheese, cubed

2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp. soy sauce

½ cup sour cream

Fry the bacon until crisp. Drain on paper towels and set aside. Leave 2 Tbsp. bacon drippings in skillet and pour the rest off (I keep a small jar of bacon drippings in the fridge for cooking, and I never let any other kind of cooking grease near it).

Add mushrooms, onion and garlic to skillet. Cook, stirring frequently, until mushroom liquid is absorbed. Stir in flour, salt, and pepper. Then add cream cheese cubes, Worcestershire sauce, and soy sauce. Cook, stirring constantly, until cheese melts. Do NOT let it boil.

Serve warm with crackers. Makes about two and a half cups.

Have a jolly, holly holiday!