The assumption is that for whatever reason, no judgements, you might want a food lying around that anyone can pretty much grab and go with minimal prep, whenever they want throughout the day. For us, it is an old family recipe: Cheesies
2 lb medium cheddar cheese block grated. Must be medium for taste vs meltability. Also, grated from a block as that melts better than pre-shredded cheese and that is critical in getting these right.
1 can tomato sauce. It won’t seem like enough but it is
1 can drained chopped olives. Not sliced, chopped.
Ass-load of dried oregano. Like one-third of a jar.
Cheap hamburger buns. I’ve tried this with more expensive buns and it doesn’t work. I get Ball-Park buns but I’ve made it with the cheapest generic buns and it works out fine.
Here is why it is NYE food. Prep is: put a spoonful or two (depending on spoon size) on a bun. Do NOT press down, it needs to be loose to melt correctly. Put under a broiler for a couple of minutes. If it just barely starts to char, that’s OK - some would even say that is better. Take out of the broiler. Take a bite. Say, “That’s too hot!” and sadly wait a few minutes. Eat the rest. Make more as needed.
Black eyed peas with jalapenos and ham hock. I used to dread this dish before my wife started putting jalapenos in it. Now I look forward to it every year.
Ham hocks and black-eyed peas.
Ham hock and collard greens.
Cornbread.
I’ve just taken the bones and fat off of the ham hocks, shredded the meat, and returned the meat to their respective pots. The beans are done, but I’ll let them sit in the slow-cooker for a while since my wife is asleep. The greens are de-stemmed, cut, and washed. They’re waiting to go into the pot of ham hock water and meat. The dry ingredients for the cornbread are mixed and waiting in a zip-top bag. I have an egg out, and the milk and oil are close. Still have to preheat the oven, and slather a cast-iron frying pan with Crisco.
I’ve resumed having some herring first thing. It’s supposed to represent silver coins, sure! I remember being completely grossed out by my grandmother’s custom as a kid but now it’s a cupboard staple. Mine is canned, her was pickeled fresh.
Last night’s was Rugenfisch herring in wine sauce.
We host a New Year’s Eve party. Our go-to food on New Year’s Day is leftovers. Whatever’s leftover. Might be something a guest brought.
I had blueberry pie for breakfast (it’s not very sweet. 3 pounds of fruit, ¾ cup sugar, serves about 12). I had salmon on a large cracker and a cranberry orange scone for lunch. I’ll have roast goose with stuffing and gravy for supper. I had some Hershey’s kisses and two triscuits as an afternoon snack.
I don’t know if I’m in the minority but New Years Day was never anything special even going back to childhood. When the kids were little NYE would be filled with hors d’oeuvres and no main dish. Just regular food the next day.
Oh, and I’ve been nibbling in the leftover crudites all day. The celery looked better yesterday, but it’s still crunchy. And the baby carrots are completely fine.
You know how it is: a child leaves home and traditions slowly fade away. Heck, she won’t even admit to being a Pittsburgher, she proudly proclaims she’s from “western P, A.” Sad, really.
This is very similar to the traditional New Years Day meal in the New Orleans area. Broadly, it’s pork, black-eyed peas, cabbage, and cornbread.
Ham hocks are uncommon locally — pickle meat/pickled pork (essentially salt pork) and pork sausage are used instead to flavor both the black-eyed peas and smothered cabbage. A minority of families will prepare a pork roast of some kind, and a small number will go with a baked ham.
I’ve never tried pickled pigs feet, but I don’t think it’s quite the same thing as pickled pork. For one thing, pickled pork is boneless. Here’s a representative brand sold locally:
My darling used to use county ham to season the greens and black eyed peas (and she tried turkey legs a couple of years). Country ham is so salty it might as well be pickled. I think they and the turkey legs both work, but I like the ham hocks the most.
