Got any New Years food traditions?

[Jenise]

Have two pots of black eyed peas on the stove as I type: one in seasoned water, whose peas will be marinated and served as a cold salad and the other's going to be a soup: chicken stock, onion, tomato paste, some bacon and dry why vermouth along with green peppercorns and thyme.

Not a tradition I grew up with but one I learned rather later on that my beloved grandmother, a staunch Christian Scientist, quietly observed every year, and I've continued it in her honor. I say 'quietly' because such superstitions were like medical doctors--not in line with her beliefs, but she hedged her bets anyway!

Yeah, but we're too old to continue them. No guests or family today so we are just going to sauté chicken breasts, make some gravy and reheat the last of the mashed potato stuffing from Christmas, and serve with freshly made eggplant salad.

No New Year's Day traditions here, either. I'll be working on some of the leftovers from other recent cookery.

[Robin Garr]

Not a tradition I grew up with

Me either, but Mary did, so we compromised. I made a red-lentil and spinach dal. Close enough!

When I was a kid my mom always let me and my 4 sisters stay up til midnight New Years eve. To keep us busy (and her from being driven crazy by us) she always had us make batch after batch of Toll House cookies with peanut M&M's. I have no idea why - maybe it was the recipe printed on the Nestle's chips package. Anyway, we used to make sheet after sheet of them...and this was before KitchenAid mixers made their debut in our house. It took HOURS for our little arms to mix all that dough. Which I imagine was the plan.

I still associate warm Toll House cookies (with peanut M&M's!) with New Years, but it's been some years since I've been able to stay up and see the ball drop. So my new tradition is: sleep

No New Year's traditions in this family, but if anything involving black-eyed peas were involved, I would definitely not continue the tradition. While I like legumes, I was done with black-eyed peas after the first (and only) time my mom made Hoppin' John. She forgot to adjust the recipe downward for our family of 5 and we had the damn stuff for a week. Oh, and it lived up to its name too - kept us hoppin'.

[Jenise]

Oh, and it lived up to its name too - kept us hoppin'.

After our cup of black eyed pea soup for breakfast, and then a lunch of avocado halves stuffed with a black eyed pea and jalapeno salad, I have to admit that Bob and I are both happy that we didn't have any social plans for this evening. We're not good company except to someone similarly afflicted.

Our tradition (dating back to the 1999-2000 new year's eve) is to the night with a bunch of friends and for everyone to contribute food based around some sort of theme. We've done quite a range over the last 15 years, including French, Italian, New Orleans, Your Last Meal on Earth, your favorite dish, etc. This year, it was English food. We had a Bloody Mary salad, Toad in the Hole, a beef pie, and an array of English cheeses. My contribution was Lancashire Hot Pot, a lamb and onion stew baked in a casserole that's lined and topped with sliced potatoes. All of the food was delicious, but I think the Hot Pot got the best ratings. For such a very simple preparation, it was very tasty.

Next year, the dinner will be based around songs. Everyone is to pick a song and then to make a dish that reflects that song. The songs will be collected on an iPod playlist so that we can listen while we eat. Should be fun.

Saw this late. We've eaten black eyed peas, and sometimes collards, for New Years Day for many years. Back in the 1970's it was hard to find foods outside of their "normal" areas and we had some panicky New Years up in Vermont when we realized we had forgotten to bring the black eyed peas. Even in New Jersey it wasn't always easy to find them, either dried or in the can. Like the Chinese expression "gung hay fat choy" it has to do with economics. Collards are green dollar bills and the peas are coins. May you get rich in the new year.

At any rate this year I used a new recipe and put in tomatoes and onions and thick cut bacon and turned up the hotness. We enjoyed.