# New Years Traditional Food????



## jarjarchef (Dec 29, 2012)

We all grew up doing and eating different things for New Years Eve/Dinner. 

So what is your New Years Tradition????

As a kid we would all go to my Grandmother's House down the street.For New Years Eve we would snack on all kinds of Seafood that we caught (shrimp, crab and different types of fish). Then the very first thing we would eat after the strike of midnight was rice, greens, hog jowls/smoked pork something and black eyed peas. I don't recall the spacifics for each one, but they were for wealth, peace, health and happiness. We would all get a small plate and eat a little before we went to bed.When we all would wake, we would all go back and watch football and eat the same things again for lunch or if any was left some seafood. Great memories of a very simple time...

I remember as a kid not liking the greens, hog jowls and black eyed peas. But now as an adult I can't wait to eat them all together in a couple days with my wife and her family. My Grandparents passed several years ago and this is one of the things that reminds me of them. They loved to entertain friends and family.

Jeramy


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## kathrynn (Dec 29, 2012)

We always have something pork....black eyed peas...green beans or turnips greens and a piping hot pan of cornbread.


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## pote05 (Dec 29, 2012)

KathrynN said:


> We always have something pork....black eyed peas...green beans or turnips greens and a piping hot pan of cornbread.


That is what we do also with Fried Taters...


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## chef jimmyj (Dec 29, 2012)

Always have Chinese Food for New Years Eve supper, then assorted snacks leading up to Midnight. New Years Day has been a Rib Roast for many years although the traditional " Good Luck " meal in the area is Braised Pork and Sauerkraut, heavy Amish/German influence...I love it but the family is not crazy about it dish...JJ


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## diggingdogfarm (Dec 29, 2012)

Kielbasa and kraut.



~Martin


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## eman (Jan 1, 2013)

Corned beef ,cabbage, black eyed peas and cornbread.


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## link (Dec 27, 2013)

My family (wife and son) always make a nice Prime Rib, Yorkshire Pudding, Asparagus and Garlic Mashed Potatoes. This year I shot for leftovers and went with a 6 bone PR (it is huge like 14lbs) . 

I am sure after eating this and all the snack leading up to the big meal I will be in a food coma.


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## jarjarchef (Dec 27, 2013)

I have a very hard time playing with traditions..... So we will be having the same key 4 things: black eyed peas, hog jowls, collard greens and rice. Now that does not mean between now and then I do not add more to the menu :biggrin:

Happy New Year everyone.

May your smokers be full and the food be enjoyed by friends and loved ones.


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## handymanstan (Dec 27, 2013)

When I was young my parents always had a small party with 2 or 3 couples for New Years.

There were lots of snack trays with nuts, chips and dips, veggies. Cookies and cheeses.

Lots of wine and beer for the adults and eggnog and pop for the kids.

The main dish was Swiss Cheese Fondue with toasted French bread cubes. Everyone would sit around the table and dip bread cubes in the fondue pot and tell stories about the last year and laugh.

After my parents were gone I missed this special meal and time so I started having my own party a couple years ago and it is now a tradition.  This year is going to be a little different and there will be

two fondue pots one with Smoked Swiss thanks to this site and my new found love of smoked cheese. 

Happy New Year to everyone here at SMF.

Stan


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## leah elisheva (Dec 27, 2013)

These traditions are fantastic!

And Jeramy, yours sounds really interesting with the Guanciale etc.!!! (I have a bizarre story about my family, and the time my brother wanted me to hang a pig jowl in my cellar because he was in a home that didn't have a cellar, and, well, my family is straight out of "Meet The Fockers" and with frightening likeness, that there is never a dull moment, nor a moment devoid of laughter, sex talk, food, and so forth, but many an embarrassing time too.

In any event, somewhere (I will look) I have a photo of the rotted thing which "didn't work" out, dangling in a bad basement of my then rental. Tisk, tisk, tisk.

But your meal sounds fabulous, as do all of these.

New Year's Eve is my anniversary, and I'm smoking a simple, humble, piece of COBIA fish on my mini smoker with some hickory chips and drinking some simple New Zealand wine this year, and I'm thrilled! (Cobia is my favorite food on earth, seriously, and New Zealand wines don't give me an allergic/skin reaction - less chemicals added etc.). And so, viva simplicity! Bigger is not always better!!! Well, unless we're talking papayas!!!

OK, happy wrap up of the year to all!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I love the traditions from everyone!!!!!!!!

Cheers! - Leah


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## cappyr (Dec 27, 2013)

*The Cajun New Years traditional foods are cabbage blackeyes and cornbread, for wealth health and happiness.  Pretty sure the cabbage was for wealth but not sure the other 2 which is for wich.  usually accompanied by ham, pork roast or BBQ depending on weather.  It can be quite warm down in cajn country and I have been to whole hog roast out side for new years.  No matter what else though those BIG THREE are always present.*


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## mdboatbum (Dec 27, 2013)

We just like to cover all bases. Oyster stew, which is an old Catholic tradition to which the older generations of my family always adhered, Blackeyed peas for good luck and Collard greens to bring prosperity. The latter two we've adopted over the years after hearing about them from various sources. The blackeyed peas were introduced to my wife by an African American family with whom she spent new years about 20 years ago.  The family matriarch swore up and down that if you didn't eat them on New Year's Eve your whole year was going down the crapper. The collard greens were strongly suggested by a very nice and proper Southern lady in a Winn Dixie in Southeast Georgia. We were milling around the produce aisle looking for a veggie to prepare for dinner. The lady in question, whose age I won't attempt to guess, though I'd place her somewhere between "Miss Daisy" and Moses, overheard our conversation and advised us that collard greens were MANDATORY to assure a fiscally successful coming year. Guessing from our expressions that we had absolutely no idea what to do with the giant alien leaves, she proceeded to spend the next 15 or 20 minutes explaining in detail the process of cleaning and cooking them. Based on her demeanor, very proper speech pattern, jewelry and clothing, I'm guessing she'd enjoyed a lifetime of fiscally successful years. However she was more than happy to take the time to enlighten a couple Yankee whippersnappers on a delightful Southern tradition.


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## papap (Dec 27, 2013)

Pork roast, black eyes, and cabbage


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## longer73 (Dec 27, 2013)

Pork of any kind, black-eyed peas and cabbage is the New years day meal.  Matter of fact I'm looking for my method to smoke this years pork (and what cut to smoke) when I came across this post.  Wonderful reading as well as wonderful stories.

Happy New Year to All!!


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## rabbithutch (Dec 27, 2013)

Pan fried cornbread, black-eyed peas, collards (mixed with turnip greens and seasoned with a ham hock), pork roast, rice and iced tea.

Anybody have hoppin john in their traditional New Year's meal?


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## dls1 (Dec 27, 2013)

Our Holiday meal plans have been something of a moving target. Earlier in December, my wife picked up a 7 or 8 lb. boneless "Prime" grade prime rib for Christmas dinner which I intended to dry age for a couple weeks in a 2nd refrigerator in the basement. The Saturday before Christmas she showed up with really nice cured and smoked ham for me to double smoke for Christmas. She forgot about the prime rib. So, we had the ham for Christmas and the prime rib was moved to New Year's Eve, which is fine, though I now find that our daughter has to work that evening, and we may be going out for dinner. Hope that doesn't happen, but it's one day at a time around here this time of year. We try to keep the "Fun" in dysfunctional.

Reading Leah's mention of Cobia also got me to thinking as as I have a stock in the freezer, along with some other fish, that was caught on a spur of the moment one day fishing trip Islamorada in the Florida Keys a few weeks ago. Sounds great but I think I'll leave that for another time.

Whatever happens, the evening starts when I crack a bottle of 1990 Dom Perignon that's been hanging around far too long. Hope it hasn't gone bad, but I opened a bottle of the same last Holiday season and it was excellent.

For New Year's Day, I"ve made black eye pea jambalaya / Hoppin' John for 20+ years, and that's not open to discussion this NYD, or any other.

Happy Holidays, all.


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