Hoppin' 2010

It's a great New Year's Day tradition to eat a meal of rice, beans, a little meat, and some folding money — I mean leafy greens. Hoppin' John. This is supposed to bring good fortune, and so far, it has been a success for me. I mean, I'm not rich but I'm stupidly happy.
Last year Cranky and I subverted the paradigm and ate a Hawaiian-ish New Year's Day meal of Spam musubi with edamame beans and kimchi. I guess it worked; we haven't had our house go into foreclosure.
So this year we went to a different part of the world for our inspiration. Poland.
What we came up with was stuffed Savoy cabbage leaves. The filling is rice and beans, a little chopped ham, bound with a touch of tomato sauce and flavored with the tiniest pinch of five-spice powder.
Last time I talked about stuffed cabbage, I learned from readers that there is a non-sloppy method of cooking the packets: You saute them in butter. Oh, man, I am so there.
Et, voilà. Topped with a smidge of crème fraîche.
We're calling it Hoppin' Januariusz.
Happy New Year, everybody.