Happy New Year 2021!
I am not a superstitious person, but for some reason I always try to have black-eyed peas on New Year’s Day. Obviously, this year we want to eat our weight in Black-Eyed Peas!!!!!
Here are a few of the recipes featuring black-eyed peas that have made it to the holiday table in year’s past.
Happy New Year Hummus
Spicy Black-Eyed Pea Dip with Green Chiles
New Year’s Day Chili
Healthier Hoppin’ John
For this year’s holiday snacking, I present a great hot and spicy dip.
Hot Black-Eyed Pea Dip
This hot and spicy dip is the perfect way to ring in the New Year.
Ingredients
- 1 T. dried onion flakes
- 1 (4 oz.) can chopped green chiles
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened
- 1/2 c. butter, softened
- 1 c. sharp cheddar, shredded
- 2 cans black-eyed peas, drained
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F.
In a bowl of a stand mixer, combine onion flakes, green chiles, garlic, cream cheese and butter. Using the paddle attachment, mix until smooth.- Add shredded cheddar and mix until combined.
- Add black-eyed peas, and mix just a few times until combined. It’s OK to smash a few of the beans but you want the majority to be intact.
- Prepare a glass baking dish with cooking spray. Spread mixture into prepared dish. Cover and back for 15 minutes. After fifteen minutes, remove cover and bake for another 15 minutes or until the top is golden and mixture is bubbly.
- The butter will separate out a bit as it cooks. Stir the dip before serving. Serve with tortilla scoops, frito scoops, or pita wedges.
Yield: 6-8
Prep Time: 10 mins.
Cook time: 30 mins.
Total time: 40 mins.
You can definitely make this dip ahead of time and refrigerate it until ready to bake. If so, add about 10-15 minutes to the baking time. And, if you need to stretch the recipe, just add one more can of black-eyed peas.
This recipe was adapted from Our Country Cookin’, a collection of recipes from the Junior Social Workers of Chickasha, Oklahoma (1984). It’s one of those great community cookbooks. The original recipe also included four hot peppers and 1 lb. of Old English cheese and one cup of margarine. Since one of these ingredients is non-existent anymore, I tried to copy the taste (as I remember it). I omitted the hot peppers because I was using some spicy green chiles.
I’m also using today’s post for January’s “In My Kitchen.” With Christmas gifts and gifts to self, there’s seems to be a lot happening.
New yari and bar set. Back in the day when we would visit a pub or tavern (bar), I remember seeing bartenders and mixologists using beautiful crystal mixing decanters. I thought they were just being retro. I had no idea it was a “thing” until a recent Zoom tutorial on cocktails. I had to order one immediately.
Kombucha. If you recall, my sister gave me a kombucha jar for my birthday last month. I’ve bottled my first batch. It’s super sweet so I need to adjust my recipe a bit.
Placemats. Also from my sister are these handcrafted placemats. She calls them “Cabernet, Coffee and Q-bert” placemats. She dyed twill tape with cabernet and coffee but she and the BiL thought the design resembled the old retro Q-bert video game. I love the colors.
Gift box from Mom. Mom sent us a gift box containing organic coffee, pure vanilla, an “all-purpose” spice, and cinnamon. (The box also contained some special soaps and vitamins. )
Wine. My bestie and her family sent us three wonderful wines. One of the rosés is made by Bon Jovi and his son. That one might stay corked for a while since the label says it’s “better shared with friends.”
Saki set. Our anniversary is a few days after Christmas and of course it was spent at home (which was still fabulous). The Hubs decided he wanted to make Yakitori (which turned out delicious). As I was shopping for our supplies I decided saki would be a good accompaniment. What did I find on the half-off table in the back of the grocery store? A saki set. How could I refuse?
Charcuterie and Cheese Boards. I saw recently that charcuterie boards were the next big thing in 2021. Well, we have been enjoying them for some time. I did attend another virtual workshop on charcuterie board building and here is one we made along with the presenter in early December. 
We made another one last night to ring in the New Year!
Gifts for giving. We found a great local store recently that I had to highlight. Instead of using an online company to send foodie gifts this year, we decided to put together our own food basket. Even with postage it was cheaper and better.
We sent spicy pretzels, nuts, fudge, teas, candles and a few other items, all locally made. The store is called Farm Hippie and if you’re ever in Collinsville, OK you must stop by this place!
Sushi ornaments. Nephew II loves sushi and I happen to have a culinary themed Christmas tree. When I saw these sushi and sashimi ornaments, I had to have them. I hung them on the tree this year in his honor.
Speaking of trees….We usually don’t put up a tree because we are usually traveling during the holidays. Since we were home-bound this Christmas, I decided I wanted to purchase an artificial tree. (If we did put up a tree in the past, it was either one we cut from a local farm or a balled one that we could plant after the holidays.) It was the week of December 7 that I decided all of this. I went to Target but a 9″ pre-lit tree was $400. Yep, not doing that. So, I ordered one on Amazon. I was desperately awaiting it’s arrival and watching the tracking on it. At 7:09 PM, UPS said it had been delivered. I went outside with a flashlight to search.
Nothing.
After 48 hours, I did a dispute with Amazon and they refunded my money. But, I did not have a tree. I finally decided to go to a big-box home store and see what they had. I did find a lovely 9″ pre-lit tree on sale and bought it. After spending the morning climbing the steps up and down to the attic to pull out decorations (some of which haven’t seen the light of day in ten or so years) AND climbing up and down a ladder to decorate the tree, I was done and more than pleased with my efforts. Not five minutes after I was done decorating, the doorbell rang. It was a neighbor from behind us. He said he thought he had a package for us that had been misdelivered.
Yep, it was the lost tree.
So, I now have two 9″ trees in the house. I even had enough ornaments to decorate them both, yet one does have all the foodie-ornaments from a small tree I used to put up in the kitchen.
There’s my curve ball for this month—my two new Christmas trees. It will be festive for many years to come around here.
Curveball
I’m linking up with “In My Kitchen” hosted by Sherry’s Pickings. 
I’m also linking up with Weekend Cooking, hosted by Marg at The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader. 