What is traditional New Year's fare???

[fancyn]

Okay, I'm trying to make a themed spread of traditional fare and have no clue where to start. I know black-eyed peas are something of a tradition. My best friend said collard greens was another? Can anyone help with what is supposed to be lucky or just traditional?

[funniegrrl]

In the South, you serve black-eyed peas for luck, and collard greens to bring you money. Other foods that are traditional with those (although it has nothing to do with New Year) would be ham or some other sort of pork, hoppin' john, cornbread, etc.

[veschke]

http://www.fabulousfoods.com/holidays/newyears/ny.html

This had some info on traditions. My only tradition is sparkling wine. :-)

[blazedog]

Depends which New Year you are talking about --

Jewish New Year -- foods made with honey are traditional to ensure a "sweet" New Year -- honey cake, honey taglach, apples dipped in honey.

Chinese New Year -- I believe moon cakes of some sort are traditional. I generally go to a dim sum parlor at some point around Tet.

I just sent my friend this recipe as her husband has developed a sudden passion for lentils like his Italian grandmother used to make.

Lentils with Italian Sausage Recipe


A traditional New Year's Day dish in some regions of Italy.

Lentils with sausage will appear as a New Year's Day dish. It symbolized money, and in some areas today it is believed that eating them will guarantee a year of prosperity and good luck.

Lentils with Italian Sausage

Ingredients

2 cups lentils, rinsed
4 cups water
2 cups dry white wine (or chicken stock)
4 Tbs olive oil
2 large tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped
2 slices of pancetta (or bacon), diced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
12 peppercorns
3 bay leaves
salt to taste
4 pounds of Italian sausage
1 large onion, quartered
1 large carrot, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
Directions


Combine lentils, water, wine, oil, tomatoe, bacon, garlic, half the peppercorns, 2 bay leaves, and salt in a pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer covered about 1 hour, or until lentils are soft.
Put the sausage, onion, carrot, celery, and remaining peppercorns and bay leaves into a large pot. Add enough water to cover by 1 inch. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer covered 30 minutes. Remove the sausage from the liquid. Remove the casings, and cut into slices.
Serve the sausage slices with lentils.
Paula Laurita
Italian Food Host

[sneezles]

In Scotland when you visit someone for the New Year you bring a loaf of bread, a hunk of coal and a bottle of wiskey! And then there's that pesky haggis! :p

[kellydoodle]

Living in the south all of my life new years day dinner was ham, greens, black eyed peas, rice and cornbread. The greens symbolizing $$$ and the black eyed peas for good luck.

[fancyn]

Wow, I was apparently oblivious to so many "traditions". Thanks for the suggestions/recipe/link.


The Scottish tradition is very interesting. I'd take the whiskey, but dare I ask, what is haggis??? :o I only remember it being mentioned in the movie "So I Married an Axe Murder".

[sneezles]

The Scottish tradition is very interesting. I'd take the whiskey, but dare I ask, what is haggis??? :o I only remember it being mentioned in the movie "So I Married an Axe Murder".


Well you'd need the wiskey for the haggis! It's very similar to boudin but made from lamb/mutton.

[jimjimmerjim]

You'll need a bottle of single malt to get haggis down.

Years ago I was invited to a Scottish themed dinner party where they served haggis. All during the meal the host complained that they couldn't get hold of a sheep's stomach to properly boil the rest of the concoction in.

I would up washing down each bite with a bit of single malt. As you can imagine, I was in great form by the time dessert rolled around.

That link was interesting. My mother's family is German, and we always had poro and sauerkraut on New Years.

[jimjimmerjim]

FANCYN: here is a recipe for haggis. Please don't let me know when dinner is... :D


Title: Haggis
Keys: Lamb Unusual Meats Scottish Scotland European
Yield: 6 Servings

Ingredients:

1 x Sheep's stomach, thoroughly cleaned
The liver, heart, and lights (lungs) of the sheep
1 lb Beef suet
2 lrg Onions
2 tbl Salt
1 tsp Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tsp Cayenne or red pepper
1/2 tsp Allspice
2 lb Dry oatmeal (the old-fashioned, slow-cooking kind)
2 x Or 3 cups broth (in which the liver, heart and lights were Cooked)
Utensils
4 qt Pot with lid


Method:
What you need: Canning kettle or a large spaghetti pot, 16- to 20 quart size with a lid to fit it Meat grinder Cheesecloth What to do: If the butcher has not already cut apart and trimmed the heart, liver and lungs, do that first. It involves cutting the lungs off the windpipe, cutting the heart off the large bloodvessels and cutting it open to rinse it, so that it can cook more quickly. The liver, too, has to be freed from the rest.

Put them in a 4-quart pot with 2 to 3 cups water, bring to a boil, and simmer for about an hour and a half. Let it all cool, and keep the broth.

Run the liver and heart through the meat grinder. Take the lungs and cut out as much of the gristly part as you easily can, then run them through the grinder, too. Next, put the raw beef suet through the grinder. As you finish grinding each thing, put it in the big kettle. Peel, slice and chop the onions, then add them to the meat in the kettle. Add the salt and spices and mix. The oatmeal comes next, and while it is customary to toast it or brown it very lightly in the oven or in a heavy bottomed pan on top of the stove, this is not absolutely necessary. When the oatmeal has been thoroughly mixed with the rest of it, add the 2 cups of the broth left from boiling the meat. See if when you take a handful, it sticks together. If it does, do not add the third cup of broth. If it is still crumbly and will not hold together very well, add the rest of the broth and mix thoroughly.

Have the stomach smooth side out and stuff it with the mixture, about three-quarters full. Sew up the openings. Wrap it in cheesecloth,so that when it is cooked you can handle it. Now, wash out the kettle and bring about 2 gallons of water to a boil in it. Put in the haggis and ***** it all over with a skewer so that it does not burst. You will want to do this a couple of times early in the cooking span. Boil the haggis gently for about 4 or 5 hours. If you did not have any cheesecloth for wrapping the haggis, you can use a large clean dishtowel. Work it under with kitchen spoons to make a sling with which you can lift out the haggis in one piece.

You will probably want to wear lined rubber gloves to protect your hands from the hot water while you lift it out with the wet cloth. (You put the dish cloth in the pot only after the haggis is done; you do not cook the towel with the haggis as you would the cheesecloth.)

Note: Even if the
butcher has cleaned the stomach, you will probably want to go over it again. Turn the stomach shaggy side out and rinse. Rub it in a sinkful of cold water. Change the water and repeat as many times as necessary, until the water stays pretty clear and handling it does not produce much sediment as the water drains out of the sink.

[Angelina]

Definitely lentils. You must have lentils. Oh, red underwears. But you don't eat those, unless you are so inclined.

Angela

[fancyn]

Err, Jim? Thanks for the recipe....I think ;) . I think if I were to make that, I'd need two bottles of a malt beverage.

red underwears. But you don't eat those, unless you are so inclined. <giggling to self at work and people are staring> :p

[ramson]

We always had pork roast, black eye peas and cabbage. This year we are instead having
Qunicy Jones Ribs (http://www2.oprah.com/foodhome/food/recipes/print/food_print_20020916_ribs.jhtml)
cole slaw
and I am attempting to make a bean dip out of the black eye peas since no one eats them the regular way.

Same traditional foods, just mixed up a bit.

[masimmons]

Growing up in the midwest, cabbage was mandatory for good luck. I usually make either corned beef & cabbage or ham & cabbage. Now that I'm in the south, black eyed peas are the thing. To be safe, I make both. Actually I love both, so its a lucky day for me no matter what the new year brings.

[Terri_A]

Pork, sauerkraut, cabbage and potato pancakes were the tradition in my family....I think the cabbage was for luck...don't know what anything else was for...except good eating!!!

This year, I'm serving cabbage rolls stuffed with pork, potato pancakes, applesauce, sauerkraut and a black eyed pea dip, just b/c I live in the south!

[Anne]

I grew up with Scandanavian traditions. New Year's Eve is always duppa (a traditional stew made will various meats that you dip chunks of bread into). New Year's
Day - Yulecaka (sp?) for breakfast and the main meal is ptarmigan (or goose, grouse, or duck) and roasted root vegetables.