Favorites – Page 18 – Feed Your Kids

Guacamole

We LOVE guacamole around here. We dip chips in it, we put it in burritos, we slather in on sandwiches. We’ve even been known to occasionally dig in with a spoon, but you don’t need to tell anyone about that….. Here’s how: (If you are one of those yella-bellied cilantro-hatin’ types, stop here and just … Continue reading “Guacamole”

Here’s how:
(If you are one of those yella-bellied cilantro-hatin’ types, stop here and just skip to the next post…..we don’t “cotton” to your kind around here.)

Texas Guacamole

3 ripe avocados
1/4 to 1/2 cup finely chopped purple onion (to your own taste)
2 finely minced or pressed garlic cloves
2 tsp. olive oil, separated
about 1/2 cup chopped tomato (de-seeded, if you like)
pinch of salt (1/2 tsp. or so)
juice of one small lime
one half to one whole bunch of cilantro, washed well and finely chopped
(you want at least 1/2 cup once it’s chopped)
a dash or two of your favorite “hot” spice (such as Tabasco, sriracha or finely minced, seeded jalapeno or serrano pepper) – your choice of type and amount. We tend to go mild because Girl LOVES guacamole, but not “hot” stuff

Peel, pit and mash 2 of the avocados. Peel, pit and coarsely chop the 3rd one. Gently fold in garlic, tomato, cilantro, salt, lime juice and half of olive oil. Pour into a serving bowl. If preparing for later use, place one of the avocado pits in the bowl with the guacamole, and then cover TIGHTLY with plastic wrap, so that the wrap completely covers the surface of the guacamole, leaving no air space (guac is VERY perishable and will turn brown and yucky if exposed to air). Drizzle with remaining olive oil just before serving.

You can vary this to your own taste, but you can’t omit the cilantro. There is NO SUCH THING as too much cilantro. If you must leave the cilantro out, for goodness’ sake, don’t tell ME about it!

Saucy Lemon Pudding

This is my all-time favorite dessert. Ever. I love creme brulees and I love any kind of citrus dessert, but this dessert combines the best of both: tangy lemon flavor AND a crunchy broiled sugar topping. Mmmmmm…… The recipe was adapted from a Betty Crocker “back of the box” recipe. If you’re serving this dessert … Continue reading “Saucy Lemon Pudding”

The recipe was adapted from a Betty Crocker “back of the box” recipe.

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If you’re serving this dessert for a dinner party, it is crucial to prepare your “mise en place” ahead of time. The puddings take a while to bake, once they’re prepared. You don’t want to have to be grating lemon peel and squeezing lemons while your guests are waiting for dessert.

Saucy Lemon Pudding
serves 6

1/3 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, separated
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
2 Tbsp. finely grated lemon rind
(Having the lemon peel finely grated is important – I didn’t do a great job last time and they were little chunky bits of lemon in it. Chop it up a little with a knife after grating, if you need to.)
1/3 cup flour
1 cup milk
Optional: 6 – 8 Tbsp. superfine (caster) sugar

Cream butter and 3/4 cup of the sugar until light and fluffy. Blend in egg yolks, lemon juice and rind. Add flour; mix well. Stir in milk. Beat egg whites (separately) until soft peaks form. Gradually add remaining sugar, beating until stiff peaks fork. Fold into batter; pour into 6 ramekins (6 to 8 ounce size). Set custard cups in baking pan; pour in boiling water to 1/2 inch depth. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes.

From here you have two options:
The original recipe says to invert on a small plate and serve.

I prefer, instead, to sprinkle the superfine sugar, liberally and evenly, over the surface of each pudding (while it’s still in the ramekin) and then broil it lightly and evenly with a kitchen torch (a regular hardware-store blowtorch will work fine, too, if you buy a small adapter to go on the end) until the sugar has caramelized into a smooth, crunchy layer. In the past, I have used turbinado sugar, but I’ve decided that it’s too crunchy and I prefer the superfine, since it melts better into one, thin, smooth crunchy layer. Place the completed puddings (still in the ramekins) on a saucer, small plate or shallow bowl and serve. Warn your guests that the ramekins will be hot.

These are very, very yummy.

Beef Broccoli Lo Mein with Eggrolls & Spicy-sweet dipping sauce

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I have served this delicious (and REALLY easy) Beef-Broccoli Lo Mein recipe from Cooking Light magazine before and we have really enjoyed it. The beef takes on the ginger-garlic flavor nicely (even though it’s not marinated) and the sauce has the perfect balance of sweet and spicy. I substitute wide Udon noodles for the spaghetti for a little more authenticity. The only drawback to this recipe is that it calls for a lot of ingredients that most people do not routinely have on hand (oyster sauce, fresh ginger, Thai chile paste, etc.). Of course, around here, we ALWAYS have sriracha on hand. Hubby loves that stuff and put it on his breakfast casserole this morning.

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I don’t “Mise en place” for everything that I cook, but I do think that it is especially helpful for anything stir-fried.

When the recipe was originally published (in 2002 or 2003?), it featured a whole “menu” complete with Egg rolls and “spicy-sweet dipping sauce”, but that feature is REALLY hard to find on their website now, even with a link (it’s buried in a long article on weekday menus and it’s hard to find that specific one), so I’ll just give you the instructions for that here:

While you are cooking the pasta, bake 6 frozen white-meat chicken egg rolls (we actually prefer vegetable, but it’s up to you) according to package directions. While egg rolls bake, combine 1 tablespoon minced green onions, 2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce, 1 tablespoon rice vinegar, 2 tablespoons duck sauce, and 1 teaspoon sriracha. Serve sauce with egg rolls. This sauce is DELICIOUS and is also great on potstickers. (Hubby and I learned how to make potstickers at our Chinese New Year cooking class last week – check back later for more info.)

This sauce is DELICIOUS and is also great on potstickers. (Hubby and I learned how to make potstickers at our Chinese New Year cooking class last week – check back later for more info.)
Hubby and I LOVE this sauce, but it’s a little too spicy for Boy and Girl; they usually use the “sweet and sour”-type dipping sauce that comes in the package of eggrolls.

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We also ate some in-the-shell edamame with this dinner.

Cooking Light suggests that you serve fortune cookies (natch) for dessert. When I was a kid, my mother and I made fortune cookies from scratch once (I cannot, for the life of me, remember WHY), but I do remember that it tough to get the cookies stuffed with a fortune, folded in half and rolled around a wooden spoon in time before the cookies hardened into unflexibility. This has been a running joke with Hubby and me. I told him once MANY years ago, when we were finishing dinner and having fortune cookies at a Chinese restaurant, “My mom and I made fortune cookies from scratch once when I was little”, thinking that he would be terribly impressed. In typical understated Hubby fashion, he said “cool” and went about eating his cookie. When I told him of my disappointment, he corrected his reaction so appropriately “Wow – fortune cookies – really? That’s great!” that I now remind him of my childhood Chinese baking pursuits EVERY time that we eat fortune cookies – so much so that he will now sometimes say, “Wow – fortune cookies – really?” when he sees the server coming with the check and cookies at the end of the meal.

Authentic Louisiana Gumbo

Authentic Louisiana Gumbo

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 cup oil (I use canola)
1 cup flour
1/2 pound sausage (your favorite variety), sliced into “coins”
(I used Elgin in this batch, but you can use linguica, boudin, etc.)
15 large shrimp, precooked, tail-off
1 large white onion, diced
1 cup diced celery
1 large green bell pepper, diced
1/2 pound (8 ounces) frozen okra
2 bay leaves
3 garlic cloves, minced or pressed through a garlic press
1 1/2 quarts (6 cups) HOT chicken stock
salt and and pepper to taste
approximately 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper (to taste)
Tabasco to taste
about 1 Tbsp. Emeril’s Baby Bam seasoning

1 tsp. gumbo file seasoning (sassafras)
chopped Italian parsley, for garnish

White rice (about 3 cups uncooked or 6 cups cooked)
enough chicken stock to cook rice in

Toss chicken pieces with Baby Bam seasoning. Saute sausage slices in a large, flat pan until lightly browned. Remove from pan (leave sausage fat in pan) and set aside in a large bowl. Add seasoned chicken pieces to hot sausage fat in pan and saute until browned. Remove chicken from pan and set aside in bowl with sausage. Add onion, garlic, bay leaves, green bell peppers, celery and okra to pan. Saute until veggies are softened and onions are translucent. Remove from pan, leaving any remaining fat in pan, and set veggies aside in bowl with cooked meats.

Add enough canola oil to pan to make 1 cup of grease/fat. Heat oil/fat mixture until very hot, but not smoking. Carefully add flour to pan, quickly whisking to get rid of lumps, to make a smooth roux. Cook roux over medium heat, stirring frequently, until roux is a dark chocolate brown. This may take some time, a half-hour or more.

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This roux is maybe a hair past what is called “blonde roux”, which can be used in making sauces, but for gumbo, it’s not quite there yet!

NOTE: If you cook on low enough heat, and stir frequently enough, it is VERY hard to burn or scorch your roux. Every time that I have thought that my roux was too dark or that I burned it, it turned out, once the gumbo was finished, that it was not too done, and was maybe even underdone. It is OK for it to be DARK. I used to even have a black cat named Roux, because if it is made properly, it really is almost black. Paul Prudhomme says that it should be the color of a Hershey bar.

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This is JUST about right…..

Once your roux is dark enough, gently stir in sauteed chicken, sausage, veggies and hot chicken stock. Be careful not to splash any of the hot roux on yourself – Paul Prudhomme (rightfully) calls this stuff kitchen napalm – ouch! Stir well to thoroughly combine. Increase heat and bring to a boil. When gumbo reaches a boil, lower heat and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring frequently. Gently drop in frozen shrimp and simmer for another 15 minutes.

Put rice in to cook, using chicken stock for cooking liquid.

NOTE: I use brown rice for almost everything else, but for gumbo, I MUST have plain-old white rice. Again, I suppose it’s a matter of what you’re familiar with. For me, brown rice would just not be right for gumbo.

Season gumbo with salt, pepper, cayenne and/or Tabasco to taste and serve over rice.

You can remove the bay leaves, if you can find them, but I don’t think it’s necessary. In my family, we always said that it was good luck to get the bay leaf, cherry pit, etc. in your portion of a dish. Of course, this could be something that my mother and grandmother (eternal “glass half full” types, both of them) “cooked up” to convince us that their cooking errors were “special surprises”.

Easy Buttermilk Biscuits/Chicken a la King update

I made this recipe again this week. It’s one of our favorites, but this time I actually made it the way that I usually do, with buttermilk biscuits instead of sweet potato and with green peas instead of green beans. t’s neither gourmet, nor particularly picturesque, but the kids do really like it. Great cold-weather … Continue reading “Easy Buttermilk Biscuits/Chicken a la King update”

I made this recipe again this week. It’s one of our favorites, but this time I actually made it the way that I usually do, with buttermilk biscuits instead of sweet potato and with green peas instead of green beans. t’s neither gourmet, nor particularly picturesque, but the kids do really like it. Great cold-weather comfort food. Hubby douses his with sriracha, but he does that with everything.

Here is the buttermilk biscuit recipe that I use. I usually use the biscuits for Chicken a la King, but they are equally good to accompany any dinner or for a special breakfast treat. Girl LOVES them with Strawberry Butter (mix together 1/2 cup softened butter and 1/2 cup strawberry preserves). I used to make biscuits with sausage gravy for Hubby every once in a while, but I’ve forgotten and haven’t done that in a while. Hmmmmm……maybe next weekend.

Easy Buttermilk Biscuits

2 sticks butter (NOT margarine)
4 cups flour
2 tsp. salt
4 tsp. baking powder
1 and 1/2 cups buttermilk
4 Tbsp. melted butter (1/2 stick)

Stir together flour, baking powder and salt. Cut butter into flour mixture with stand mixer or pastry cutter until mixture has a uniform, “mealy” texture.

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Blend in buttermilk only until ingredients are combined and starting to form a ball.

Place dough on a lightly floured surface. Roll out to about 3/4-inch thickness and cut with a biscuit cutter (mine is about 2.5 inches across), using a little extra flour, if necessary. Do not “twist” the cutter as you cut; only cut straight down. Place dough circles on a baking sheet that has been lined with parchment paper. Brush with half of melted butter.

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Bake at 425 degrees for about 15 minutes. Watch biscuits carefully; they should only be cooked until they are no longer “doughy” in the middle or on the bottom and are browned on top. Remove from oven and brush with remaining melted butter. Makes about 22 biscuits.

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Chocolate Kiss Cupcakes

These have been a family favorite since I was a little kid. Now, Boy and Girl LOVE to help make these and they are SO yummy. They have a wonderful, moist texture (because of the vinegar) and rich flavor (because of the coffee). 1/2 cup high quality unsweetened cocoa 2 cups sugar 3 cups flour … Continue reading “Chocolate Kiss Cupcakes”

1/2 cup high quality unsweetened cocoa
2 cups sugar
3 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. instant coffee
2 tsp. soda
2 cups water
2/3 cups oil (I use canola)
2 Tbsp. white vinegar
2 tsp. vanilla
24 chocolate candy “kisses”, unwrapped
24 aluminum foil muffin tin liners

NOTE: You don’t HAVE to use foil liners, but I think they’re fun, because the foil makes the cupcakes look like foil-wrapped kiss candies. I think that they also (unlike the paper ones) make the cupcakes less likely to burn on the bottom.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place a foil liner in each of 24 muffin cups. Mix all dry ingredients together until uniformly blended. In a batter bowl or small pitcher, stir together liquid ingredients. Pour liquid into dry ingredients, stirring until smooth.

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Pour about 1/4 cup of batter into each muffin cup. Place a chocolate candy into batter in each cup, point end down. Pour remaining batter over candies to completely cover them. Bake at 350 degrees for about 22 minutes, or until top is slightly “springy” to the touch.

These are VERY good, just as they are, but you may frost them if you’d like. I never have, but I think vanilla frosting would be better on these than chocolate, and go easy, because these are already VERY rich.

Texas Chili and Frito Pie

2 pounds ground beef
1/2 cup finely chopped white onion
2 or 3 cloves minced garlic
1 15-ounce can tomato sauce
1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes
1 6-ounce can tomato paste
1/2 cup chili powder
1 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
2 tsp. dried oregano
2 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
15 ounces water, or liquid from soaking dried chiles
(use one of your large, empty tomato cans to measure)
2 Tbsp. masa harina
(This is a flour for making tortillas – check in the “Hispanic foods” aisle at your supermarket)

Optional:1 15-ounce can pinto or kidney beans, if you must, but beans are anathema to truly authentic “Texas” chili. Even so, I occasionally add them, anyway – you have to get SOME kind of veggie into the kids, after all.

Place the onions, garlic and beef in a large, heavy stockpot or Dutch oven-type pan. Over medium-high heat, brown the meat (with the alliums), stirring to break up large chunks, until all traces of pink/red are gone. Drain fat off.

Lower heat. Add remaining ingredients except water and masa to pan. Stir well to blend. Simmer, uncovered, about 45 minutes, stirring occasionally so that bottom doesn’t scorch. Adjust seasonings to your taste: you can add a little Tabasco or more cayenne if you REALLY want to spice it up. This is a pretty basic, mild recipe to start with – appropriate for grandmas and toddlers in Texas. Of course, I did make a batch for a chili cook-off in Virginia once and it won first place in the “Burn Your Tongue Off” category. Wimps.

In a small bowl (or tomato can), blend together the water and masa. Add to chili and stir well. Add beans, if you choose. Stir well. Simmer another 20 – 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

For a gourmet presentation, top with a dollop of sour cream and a sprig of cilantro.

To make a decidedly non-gourmet Texas-style “Frito Pie”:
Place a handful of Frito chips in the bottom of a small bowl. Cover with hot chili. Top with finely chopped white onion and grated cheddar. Dig in.

Chicken a la King, or Emeril’s “Yummy Creamy Chicken”

OK, OK, so it’s not gourmet, but this is actually really tasty. It’s one of Boy and Girl’s absolute favorites. I actually get “Yay! Chicken a la King!”. Really. Hubby really likes it, too. To make it really fancy, you can add a little (1 -2 Tbsp.) finely chopped Italian parsley. It’s a recipe from … Continue reading “Chicken a la King, or Emeril’s “Yummy Creamy Chicken””

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It’s a recipe from Emeril’s There’s a Chef in My Soup cookbook for kids. This is a REALLY great cookbook. Emeril calls this “Yummy Creamy Chicken” (recipe here), but it’s really basically just a good version of Chicken a la King. This recipe is also another use for the “Baby Bam” seasoning that I mentioned that I use when I make croutons.

Cooking the veggies and chicken.

I didn’t have any frozen green peas today, so I used cut green beans, instead. I also usually use white onions, since I don’t normally keep yellow ones around. I also used the leftover Sweet Potato Biscuits from New Year’s Day, instead of making the normal Buttermilk Biscuits that I usually serve this on top of (recipe for those later).

This is one of our “tried and true” recipes. I almost always have the main ingredients around: carrot, onion, celery, bell pepper, frozen peas, chicken and chicken stock, so I can throw it together in a hurry. I already made a chicken pot pie out of tonight’s leftovers (poured the leftover Chicken a la King into a pan lined with Pillsbury pie crust); I’ll let you know how it goes.

FYI: The “Holy Trinity” of French cooking is onion, celery and carrot (mirepoix). The “Holy Trinity” of Cajun/Louisiana/Emeril-style cooking is onion, celery and bell pepper. By the way, Paul Prudhomme said that WAAAAAAY before anyone even knew who Emeril was.

Beignets/French Doughnuts

Boy and Girl started back to school today, after the Christmas holiday, so I wanted them to have a really nice breakfast. French doughnuts (beignets) are one of their favorites, although they are kind of a pain in the neck to make on a busy morning and they do make the house smell like grease for the rest of the day. We served these with some scrambled eggs and a fruit-yogurt smoothie. I must admit that I do routinely use a mix to make these, but I adapt the recipe a tad and add a little cinnamon, a little more water and cut them smaller than the mix makers recommend. I always use Cafe du Monde’s mix and generally don’t have a problem finding it here in Texas (although I did have some momentary, selfish and ultimately, unfounded, panic about this after Hurricane Katrina), but if it is hard to find in your area, you can order off Cafe du Monde’s website or try a Cost Plus World Market store.

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This is the Beignet mix that I use.

Beignets, rolled and cut, ready to be fried. I cut the rolled dough into strips about 2 inches wide, then cut across the strips to make squares/rectangles. This is a half-batch (1 cup mix to about 5 oz. of water and 1/4 tsp cinnamon). If I’m making them for company, I make more of an effort to cut them into more attractive, uniform, diamond-shaped pieces, but I was in a hurry today.

After frying, draining on paper towel. These are maybe just a TAD overdone, but still OK. I wasn’t patient enough this morning to mess with the thermometer to check the oil temperature. It’s also really important to use the right size pan and enough oil to allow the doughnuts to “float” as they cook – you don’t want to dough to be able to touch the bottom of the pan.

After being dusted with the absolutely crucial powdered sugar. The kids (OK, me, too…..) like to have an additional small mound of powdered sugar on their plates for “dipping/coating” after each bite.

I have enjoyed eating these since I was a little kid. I grew up in East Texas, just across the border from Louisiana, in an area strongly influenced by “Cajun” culture (gumbo recipe coming soon), and spent a lot of time at my grandparent’s house. My grandmother used to make these all the time. My grandfather and I would always pretend to “fight” for the last one, but, in the end, he would always let me have it. XOXO Pappaw!

New Year’s Day Menu

New Year’s Day Menu Click on names below for links to recipes. “Texas Caviar” (Black-Eyed Pea dip), served with Fritos “Scoops” chips (served as an appetizer, recipe below) Hickory Ham with Jezebel Sauce and Sweet Potato Biscuits (I made the Jezebel sauce in the blender to get it really smooth and set aside a little … Continue reading “New Year’s Day Menu”

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New Year’s Day Menu
Click on names below for links to recipes.

“Texas Caviar” (Black-Eyed Pea dip), served with Fritos “Scoops” chips
(served as an appetizer, recipe below)

Hickory Ham with Jezebel Sauce and Sweet Potato Biscuits
(I made the Jezebel sauce in the blender to get it really smooth and set aside a little bit of it, before adding the spicy hot horseradish, for the kids.)

Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Pancetta

Potato Gratin with Creme Fraiche and Gruyere
(too delicious for words and VERY easy)

Winter-Spiced Molten Chocolate Cakes with Rum-Ginger Ice Cream
(Last year, my sis-in-law said this was the best dessert she’s ever eaten.)

“Big As Your Head” Cinnamon Meringues
(adapted from this recipe – I made a batch and a half, with 12 egg whites, and used 1 tsp. vanilla and 1 tsp. McCormick’s new cinnamon extract, plus a couple of shakes of ground cinnamon.)

Ever since we’ve had kids, we have preferred to stay home on New Year’s Eve and watch Dick Clark (ever tried to find a babysitter for New Year’s Eve? Impossible!). We leave the crazy partying to the youngsters and celebrate the next day. This has become our traditional family New Year’s Day meal. We also tape a dime (Boy and Girl usually do this) to the bottom of each dinner plate before we put them out on the buffet (keep reading to find out why).

I first made these chocolate cakes (cover recipe of January 2004 Bon Appetit magazine) for a potluck going-away dinner party for some friends that were moving to Hong Kong (will be great to have you back stateside soon, Neaglis!). I didn’t cook them long enough the first time and they ran all over the plates – we had to rush them out to dining room to make sure they wouldn’t drip off the edge, but they were so tasty, I knew that I had to try them again. I made them again last New Year’s and they were a huge hit. I knew then that we had a new traditional New Year’s dessert. MANY MANY MANY thanks to Hubby, who went out on New Year’s Eve at 10:00 pm to buy more chocolate, after I mistakenly bought sweet instead of bittersweet – couldn’t have done it without you, Honey! Recipe tip: You have to work REALLY quickly to get these unmolded, garnished and served. The ice cream is softer than usual (it doesn’t freeze as “hard” as regular ice cream once you add the rum) and the cake is warm, so the ice cream will melt if you don’t move fast. Definitely slice the thin pieces of crystallized ginger for garnish ahead of time. Toss them with a little bit of plain, granulated sugar to coat them so that they don’t stick together and keep them in a small, airtight container until you’re ready for them.

The meringues were an afterthought – after using all of those eggs and yolks for the cakes, I couldn’t bear to throw away 12 egg whites, so I whipped up a batch of meringues. They finished baking right as the clock was striking midnight (but, of course, had to stay in the oven overnight afterward). It turned out that I didn’t bake them QUITE long enough and they were pretty chewy, but VERY tasty. They were a big hit with Boy and Girl, so I will probably try them again. Of course, then I’ll have to throw away egg yolks…..guess I’ll have to make Hollandaise or Zabaglione.

“Texas Caviar” Black-Eyed Pea Dip
(adapted from the GREAT Junior League of Austin cookbook, Necessities and Temptations.
I forgot to take a photo of this, but it looks more like a relish or salad than a conventional, smooth dip, since the peas remain whole. It is pretty and colorful, though, and is fairly healthy.

***REQUIRES ADVANCE PREPARATION***
This warning is for my BF, Eileen, who routinely starts to prepare the evening’s dinner without reading the recipe in advance, only to find that she’s overlooked a step that says “marinate overnight” or “allow bread cubes to sit overnight to dry” or “refrigerate overnight to completely cool”. It’s a charming little quirk that has the side benefit of giving us (me, Hubby and Ei’s hubby) lots of amusement at her expense. XOXO, Ei!

2 packages fresh black-eyed peas
(don’t remember how many ounces were in the bags of peas that I bought, but I think they were each about 2 cups)
3 to 4 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
3/4 cup olive oil
3 Tbsp. white balsamic vinegar
1 medium to large-sized white onion, finely chopped
2 green bell peppers, finely chopped
4 bay leaves, torn in half
salt and pepper to taste
a sprinkle of chopped fresh Italian parsley or cilantro, if desired

Cook peas (I cover them with water and microwave them for 20 – 30 minutes until softened, but not mushy) according to package directions. Drain. Combine all ingredients and pour into an airtight Tupperware-type container and refrigerate for at least 24 hours before serving, stirring once every 8 hours or so, if you think about it. Serve cold or at room temperature with Fritos “Scoops” chips.

It is also a family tradition to have someone (Girl, this year) read this as we are loading up our plates, so that we’ll remember what each item is supposed to “do”:

New Year’s Day Reading:
It is considered bad luck to wash, sign contracts or cry on January 1st. So, settle back with a serving of black-eyed peas for luck, cabbage for money, a slice of ham to look ahead (pigs root forward), and a dime under your plate for wealth and health all year long. No questions today, just answers to make the rest of the year as merry and bright as the holidays.