Far East meets Down South

Here in good ol' S.C., we all rang in the New Year in our traditional way.  Food, drinking, and food.  The food is integral and is pretty much the same for us all. Superstition and tradition dictates it.  Every January 1st, all us South Carolinians (and other Southerners too) cook up some kind of pork (for good luck and wealth), collard greens (for cash), black eyed peas (for coins) and cornbread because, well you know, we like it with just about everything.

So, I chose to do BBQ in the crockpot and cooked my peas and collards low and slow for most of the afternoon.  Mom and Dad came over and we all feasted.  It was pretty awesome, if I do say so myself!  And today, we are fortunate to have lots of tasty leftovers to not only reheat and enjoy again, but to experiment with and reinvent!

Neil and I got the idea in our heads to go the route of the eggroll.  And, I'm so glad this thought crossed our minds.  

First, I made one with just collard greens inside.  Super.  Then, I added a little cream cheese to make the filling just a little more silky.  Good idea.  Next, we added black eyed peas to the mix.  Still going strong.  And lastly, I put some of the BBQ inside with the others.  Neil ate three of these.  And gave me a thumbs up. And, the little one ate one as well and proclaimed that it was "fantastic!  Keep up the good work, Mommy!" as she slapped me on the fanny.

I'm so glad we tried this.  It really worked! It sounds a little far out, but trust me, it works well.  Tomorrow, I'm using some more of the black eyeds for some pea cakes.  Maybe with a big ol' salad.  Or maybe with more BBQ...it was awfully good too!

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Crowd Pleaser

Do you ever have the occasion to take a dish for a potluck?  Covered dish? Brunch?  I have the knock-out recipe of all time.  My mom found it years ago.  We all fell in love with it, made it non-stop for awhile, then lost the recipe and forgot all about it.  Then, years later, it resurfaced thanks to the Internet.

Once we found it again, I made it one day when it was my turn for snacks at Sunday School.  The guys always love this dish because it's hearty, filling, spicy and it has pork (you know how they are about pork, right?).  The women always love it for all those reasons, but also because it's so out-of-the-norm and interesting.  After that first time of "guinea-pigging" my SS buddies, it's now become a staple.  In fact, when it's my turn to bring snacks, I sometimes get a request for this cornbread.  Most recently, we all met for wings the night before the Carolina-Clemson game and I remembered that two days later was my day.  The request was made.  I complied.  They ate, they smiled, they said nice things!

So, here's my recipe to share with you guys.  I must say...it is damn good and it's totally different, so it always gets people's attention.  It can be a brunch (or Sunday school "snack"), a lunch paired with a salad or soup, or a cool dish to take a sick friend.  I hope you'll try it and I certainly hope you'll love it as much as my family and friends do.

BLACK-EYED PEA CORNBREAD

• 1 lb spicy bulk sausage
• 1 cup cornmeal
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 (15 oz) can black-eyed peas, drained
• 2 cups shredded cheddar
• 3/4 cup creamed corn
• 1/4 cup chopped pickled jalapenos (my husband loves fresh jalapenos, but the pickled ones are hotter, most of the time because of the pickling; fresh ones can be inconsistent in heat)
• 1 (4.5 oz) can chopped green chiles

1. Cook sausage in large skillet over med-hi heat to break up and brown.  I like to drain it well, let it cool and then chop with a butcher knife to make it fine.  This is because I'm not crazy about hunky pieces of sausage.
2. Combine cornmeal, flour, salt and baking soda.
3. Stir together the eggs, milk, and oil until combined. Add to the dry ingredients, stirring until just moistened.  The batter won't be smooth.  Add sausage, peas, cheddar, corn, jalapenos & chiles, stirring well.
4. Pour into a greased 13x9" baking dish and bake at 350 for an hour, until golden and set.

***Freeze baked cornbread up to a month, thaw overnight in fridge. Bake, covered, at 350 for 30 minutes.  Uncover and bake 10 more minutes until thoroughly heated through. To reheat directly from the freezer, bake covered at 350 for an hour. Uncover and bake 10 more minutes until heated thru.

So, that's the magic cornbread recipe.  It may look weird on paper, but trust me.  Make it, share it with friends and you're going to get rave reviews.  And, future requests!