New Year's Eats

Some foods that are traditionally eaten on New Year's Day are Hoppin John and Smothered Collard Greens. Both are supposed to bring prosperity and good luck. I started making Hoppin John a couple of years ago. This year was my first attempt at Smothered Collard Greens.

I use Emeril Lagasse's recipe for Hoppin' John. Our son was a bit upset with me for not adding smoked sausage like I did last year. Oh well, you go with what you have and what you can afford, right? For the Smothered Collard Greens I kind of combined parts of 2 recipes I saw online. I made a lot so that I can serve the leftovers with ham on Saturday.

Lola's Smothered Collard Greens
3 bags of Pre-washed Collard Greens
1 Ham Hock
8 ounces of Bacon cut into small slices
Kosher Salt (a good amount, about a tablespoon, more or less to taste)
Tony Chachere's Original Creole Seasoning (to taste, I used about a teaspoon) (You can substitute any hot sauce.)
Medium Size Red Onion Sliced
water

I started with the Ham Hock in about 3 cups of water and added in Collard Greens as they wilted and continued to add more as there was room in the pot.

In a frying pan I cooked the bacon until crisp, then removed and reserved. In the bacon drippings, I sauteed the sliced Red Onion until transluscent, but not yet browned.

I then added in some of the Collard Greens and cooked them in with the onions and bacon drippings. I then added the bacon.

Then I removed the Ham Hock (I added that to the Hoppin John) and poured the contents of the frying pan into the pot of Collard Greens and let it simmer. It's done when the Collard Greens are a deep green in color and are soft.

The Hoppin John is always a hit because my kids love all kinds of soups and beans. The Smothered Collard Greens I wasn't too sure of, however, our son went back to refill his plate with the Smothered Collard Greens 4 times! I'm hoping he doesn't eat the leftovers for breakfast!

Lola's Victory Garden
©2009-2010