I just bought a nice little 10-pounder.
WHAT??? :eek:
New Year’s dinner is blackeyed peas and ham hocks (probably with the addition of some ham steak, too), cornbread, and possibly collard greens. Blackeyed peas are supposed to bring money (coins) and luck, and collard greens are supposed to bring money (bills). The cornbread is served because all dried beans and peas NEED to be served with cornbread. And lots of butter.
I made collard greens for the ex-fiancée once. She’d lived in the South when she was in the Army, and had recently been living there for a few years before moving back to the PNW. She said mine were the best she’d ever had. (But then, I’m from SOUTHERN California! 
)
The funny thing is, there was nothing in them. Just ham hocks, collard greens, and water.