I’m giving you a fairly standard black-eyed pea recipe so you’ll have good luck in 2023. The most important part, in my opinion, is to use some sort of smoked meat: ham hocks, sausage, turkey necks, ham, slab bacon, etc. It just needs to be smoked.
You want to put your smoked meat in a big pot of water and bring to a boil, then turn the heat down to a simmer for a couple of hours. You can even do this a day or two ahead. Cool and store in the fridge. Not everyone does, but I also ad chopped onions and garlic to mine. This is the liquid you’ll cook the peas in which is also called pot liquor, and it is delicious.
This recipe calls for salt at the end, but the smoked meat has lots of salt in it. Taste for salt before you add any.
The way I like to eat it is putting a piece of cornbread in my bowl, ladle over some peas, then some of the pot liquor, top with chopped fresh tomatoes and chopped green onions and lots of freshly ground black pepper. Good eatin’.
Black-Eyed Peas
1 pound bag dried blackeyed peas 2 or 3 ham hocks boiled in water for two hours 1 onion, chopped 1 bell pepper, chopped Chopped garlic to taste 2 bay leaves 3 tbsp onion powder 1 tsp red pepper flakes 1 tsp black pepper and salt After boiling the ham hocks for two hours, add all of the ingredients into the pot with the hocks. Bring to boil and then simmer until the peas are creamy and tender.
—kwc— Because my weather app says this week we’ll be back into the 70s after our Christmas cold snap, here is a pasta salad recipe. Although this one is more of a salad with pasta in it rather than a pasta salad.
Easy Pasta Salad
1 medium red onion, thinly sliced Zest and juice of 1 lemon 1 garlic clove, finely grated 1 lb. summer squash and/ or zucchini, halved lengthwise, thinly sliced crosswise 1/2 cup coarsely chopped pickled banana peppers 3 Tbsp. red wine vinegar 1-1/4 tsp. kosher salt 1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper, plus more 1 lb. orecchiette or other small pasta 2 pints cherry tomatoes, halved 1 cup halved pitted Kalamata olives 1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan, plus more for serving 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil 8 oz. fresh mozzarella, torn into small pieces 1 cup (packed) coarsely chopped basil, plus more for serving 1/2 cup finely chopped oregano, plus more for serving Toss red onion, zest and juice of 1 lemon, garlic clove, summer squash and/or zucchini, banana peppers, red wine vinegar, kosher salt, and black pepper in a large bowl to combine. Using your hands, gently massage vegetables to soften slightly. Let sit at room temperature, stirring occasionally, 25 minutes.
Cook orecchiette or other small pasta in a large pot of boiling heavily salted water, stirring occasionally, until al dente. Drain in a colander, shaking to remove excess water.
Add pasta, cherry tomatoes, Kalamata olives, Parmesan, and olive oil to vegetable mixture; toss well to combine. Add mozzarella, chopped basil, and oregano and toss gently just to incorporate. Taste pasta salad and season with more salt and pepper if needed.
Just before serving, top pasta salad with more Parmesan, basil, and oregano.
—kwc— And here’s a warm pasta recipe in case it gets cold again. You can lighten this up a little bit by using the Neufchatel cream cheese.
Spinach and Artichoke Pasta
12 oz. bowtie pasta 1 (14 oz.) can quartered artichoke hearts 1/2 lb. frozen chopped spinach, thawed 4 cloves garlic 2 tbsp olive oil 4 oz. cream cheese 1/2 cup sour cream 1/4 cup white wine 1/2 cup milk 1/2 cup grated Parmesan Few dashes hot sauce 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper (optional) Salt and pepper to taste Fill a large pot with water and bring it to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, add the pasta, stir, and continue to boil until the pasta is tender (7-10 minutes). Drain the pasta in a colander.
While the pasta is cooking, prepare the sauce. Drain the artichoke hearts and roughly chop into smaller pieces. Squeeze the excess moisture out of the thawed spinach. Set the spinach and artichoke hearts aside.
Mince the garlic and add it to a large skillet with the olive oil. Sauté over medium heat for about one minute, or just until the garlic softens. Add the cream cheese, sour cream, and white wine. Stir and cook until the cream cheese has melted and the sauce is smooth.
Whisk the milk into the sauce, and let it heat through. Once the sauce is hot again, turn the heat down to low and stir in the Parmesan cheese. Season the sauce with hot sauce, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper.
Stir the spinach and artichoke hearts into the sauce, then add the cooked pasta and stir to combine. Taste and adjust the salt, pepper, or hot sauce if needed.
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