New Year’s Day Dinner…

This Southern dish is traditionally a high point of New Year's Day, when a shiny dime is often buried among the black-eyed peas before serving. Whoever gets the coin in his or her portion is assured good luck throughout the year. For maximum good luck in the New Year, the first thing that should be eaten on New Year’s Day is Hoppin' John. At the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve, many southern families toast each other with champagne and a bowl of Hoppin' John. If it is served with collard greens you might, or might not, get rich during the coming year.

Hoppin' John is found in most states of the South, but it is mainly associated with the Carolinas. The Low Country cuisine reflects the cooking of the Coastal Carolinas, especially the Sea Islands ~ a cluster of islands stretching along the coasts of South Carolina and Georgia; where I have been spending Christmas & the holidays with my family. Black-eyed peas, also called cow peas, are thought to have been introduced to America by African slaves who worked the rice plantations. Hoppin' John is a rich bean dish made of black-eyed peas simmered with spicy sausages, ham hocks, or fat pork, rice, and tomato sauce.

There are many variations to traditional Hoppin' John. Some cook the peas and rice in one pot, while others insist on simmering them separately. I like to cook it as one dish and serve it with my Collard Greens with a Dash of Soul and Aunt Carrie's skillet cornbread. Let's hope it brings luck to us all in the New Year.


New Year's Dinner 2010

Hoppin' John

Ingredients:
1 pound dried black-eyed peas
2 small smoked ham hocks or meaty ham bone
2 medium onions, divided
3 large cloves garlic, halved
1 bay leaf
1 cup long-grain white rice
1 can (10 to 14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes with chili peppers, juices reserved
1 medium red bell pepper, chopped
½ green bell pepper, chopped
3 ribs celery, chopped
1 jalapeno or serrano pepper, minced
2 teaspoons Cajun or Creole seasoning
½ teaspoon dried thyme leaves
¾ teaspoon ground cumin
¾ teaspoon salt
4 green onions, sliced

In a large Dutch oven or kettle, combine the black-eyed peas, ham bone or ham hocks, and 6 cups water. Cut 1 of the onions in half and add it to the pot along with the garlic and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer gently until the beans are tender but not mushy, 2 to 2 ½ hours. Remove the ham bone or hocks, cut off the meat; dice and set aside. Drain the peas and set aside. Remove and discard the bay leaf, onion pieces, and garlic.

Add 2½ cups of water to the pot and bring to a boil. Add the rice, cover, and simmer until the rice is almost tender, about 10 to 12 minutes.

Mince the remaining onion then add to the rice along with the peas, tomatoes, and their juices, red and green bell pepper, celery, jalapeno pepper, Creole seasoning, thyme, cumin, and salt. Cook until the rice is tender, 5 to 8 minutes. Stir in the sliced green onions and the reserved diced ham. Serve with hot sauce and freshly baked cornbread.

Serves 6

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George’s notes:

• Most food historians generally agree that "Hoppin' John" is an American dish with African/French/Caribbean roots. There are many tales or legends that explain how Hoppin' John got its name.


• It was the custom for children to gather in the dining room as the dish was brought forth and hop around the table before sitting down to eat.


• A man named John came "a-hoppin" when his wife took the dish from the stove.


• An obscure South Carolina custom was inviting a guest to eat by saying, "Hop in, John”


• The dish goes back at least as far as 1841, when, according to tradition, it was hawked in the streets of Charleston, South Carolina of a local restaurant by a man who was know as Hoppin' John.


• The photograph at the top left was taken walking long the northwest portion of St. Simon's Island (GA) looking across Buttermilk Sound toward Broughton Island.