Tuesday, January 01, 2008

Hoppin' New Year

It was just going to be another ordinary day, chez Cookiecrumb and Crankycrumb. But a couple of bold friends decided to infuse our new year's day with friendship, cordiality, and eating. I say bold, because Anita and Cameron invited themselves to stop over, driving down from their vacation stay in Napa. We were on their way back home.
Amazingly, we pulled together a traditional feast made with food already on the premises. Dried black-eyed peas. Brussels sprouts in the fridge. Bacon in the freezer. Onion and garlic in the onion and garlic bowl. Homemade pear vinegar.
It was supposed to be a humble Hoppin' John, but the ingredients were so ratcheted up (Prather bacon, local brussels sprouts instead of cabbage) that we decided to call it Hiphop Jonathan.
Happy New Year to all of you!

16 comments:

peter said...

Impromptu is often best. Happy new year to you too.

Anonymous said...

Mmm... bacon and brussels and black eyed peas? Definitely hip hop. Looks fabulous to me.

Sam said...

Deja Vu: "Amazingly, we pulled together a traditional feast made with food already on the premises"
I love that!
Happy New Year to you all.

Anita (Married... with dinner) said...

Easily the best new year's day feast I can recall. Seriously fabulous. Thanks for letting us invite ourselves over.

Anonymous said...

I'll forgive the heresy of sprouts in the hoppin' John, wishing you and Cranky and the other Sprout a very Happy New Year!

I had peppered bacon in mine, which upped the zip ante along with the red chile flakes.

Greens -- traditionally served alongside -- mean "folding money" to add to the coins respresented by the peas.

Anna Haight said...

Happy New Year to you too Cookiecrumb! Black eyed peas here as well, but not like yours!

Bri said...

Happy New Year! Gotta love those impromptu occasions to entertain. What a great excuse to catch up and everyone knows it was last minute, so you can be pleasantly surprised when it turns out kinda good.

Kalyn Denny said...

HipHop Jonathan sounds great, and Happy New Year to you both!

Dagny said...

I stopped by my dear friend BWB's last night and had my black eyed peas fix. She served collards cooked with prosciutto on the side. And cornbread. Mmmm.

Happy New Year!

Anonymous said...

That looks soooooo good. Recipe?? Puhleeze? I love me some black eyed peas.

Anonymous said...

Oh, yum. I had BEP yesterday but I think that I am going to have to make a cookie & cranky inspired lunch today b/c this looks delish.

Happy New Year ... let's do something soon!

cookiecrumb said...

Peter: Thanks!

Jennifer: It's the bacon. Flava flav!!

Sam: It's nice not to have to fret in advance; we just winged it.

Anita: Thank you for coming!

Kudzu: Even you would like the sprouts; give it a try. And, OK, I was wrong about the folding money part.

Anna: Astonishing, isn't it, how many non-Southerners have taken to black-eyed peas on New Year's Day.

Bri: I forgot to add that Cranky made a faux Waldorf salad with ingredients on hand. We weren't aiming for high class, just fun and folksy.

Kalyn: I just riffed on that name while I was writing my post. I think it will stick!

Dagny: Cornbread! Oops, forgot that. HNY!

Cat: Oh, sorry, dollin'. I don't do recipes I especially don't do measurements or times... :)

Jen: BEP two days in a row? Such strength.

Anonymous said...

PS The important part is the peas, of course. Last year (uncertain of my audience) I brought some to a party in a vinaigrette with lots of hot pepper and parsley. Those folks -- who may have passed by humble hoppin' John -- loved them. Since I ear bep all year long, I'm always amazed that more peeps don't use them more than once a year.

And I adore Waldorf salad!

Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...

Use up the goods in the refrigerator. It still looks amazing no matter what you call it!

Beccy said...

Sounds like a fun impromptu visit and a delicious meal you threw together.

Happy new year cookiecrumb.

San Francisco Photos said...

Love the photo and it looks good enough to eat!