New Years

New Year's Eve - Recipes for Good Luck

January 2002 - We spend our Christmas and New Year's at the Lake aboard "Solitaire". For the third year in a row, we enjoyed a Progressive Party on New Year's Eve. Guests move from boat to boat throughout the Marina - enjoying a different dish and beverage at each stop. This year, we are trying an international theme, with each boat featuring music, décor and menus from a different country. As I write this we are still looking forward to the event, but I'm sure it will be a lot of fun and fine dining.

Nearly every country in the world has traditional New Year's foods that assure good luck for the coming year. Lentils mean money to Italians. Sweet black beans guarantee sound health in Japan. The German and Dutch eat cabbage for wealth. The Spanish eat 12 grapes, one for each stroke of midnight to bring luck and happiness in each month. Prawns bring long life to some of the Islanders. The French traditionally dine on oysters, smoked salmon and champagne. Here in Oklahoma and Texas black-eyed peas bring good luck, corn bread brings gold and any leaf the color of greenbacks brings prosperity. Here are two traditional New Year's dishes. Both recipes are delicious and humble, which reminds me of a saying: "Eat poor on the New Year and eat rich the rest of the year."

Texas Caviar (from the Cowgirl Hall of Fame Restaurant) - Drain and rinse black-eyed peas. Stir in all ingredients and mix very well. Refrigerate for at least 4-6 hours or overnight in a covered container. The longer it sits, the better it gets. Serve with cornbread, crackers or tortilla chips.

Hoppin' John (brought here in the 1800s by West Africans) - Wash and sort the peas. Place them in a saucepan, add the water and discard any that float. Gently boil with pepper, ham hock, and onion, uncovered until tender, but not mushy - about 1-1/2 hours - or until 2 cups of liquid remain. Add the rice to the pot, cover, and simmer on low heat for about 20 minutes (do not lift the lid). Remove from the heat and allow to steam, still covered, for another 10 minutes. Remove the cover, fluff with a fork and serve immediately.

January 2004 - "To serve caviar is to honor the guest." - I recently had a wonderful opportunity to travel to Moscow, Russia as part of my job for the Federal Aviation Administration. In Russia, caviar is served at nearly every meal, including breakfast. Prior to this visit, my only real contact with fish eggs had more to do with baiting a hook than gourmet dining. After a week of eating lots of caviar, served in a variety of ways, I really started to enjoy it and even brought some back home to share with the captain and our friends at the Marina.

What is it and what do you do with Caviar? Caviar is the salted eggs from three types of sturgeon fish. It is sold in jars with color-coded lids: Beluga (blue), Osetra (yellow), and Sevruga (red). Contrary to what most people think, good quality Caviar processed in the "Malossol" (Russian for little salt) style does not have a salt taste at all. The taste of Caviar is best described as a breath of fresh clean ocean air. It has a consistency of butter and melts in your mouth.

Caviar, served as a simple hors d'oeuvre, will add elegance to any occasion. The traditional way of serving fresh caviar is in its jar or tin nestled in a large shallow bowl of crushed ice with its lid along side. Serve caviar with a non-metallic spoon, being careful to avoid crushing the eggs. Caviar should be kept as simple as possible, accompanied with crackers, toasted bread rounds or potatoes. Add perhaps a touch of sour cream, onions, capers and chopped eggs. Caviar's traditional partners are iced vodka, champagne, or black tea. Here are some other serving suggestions: Use as a garnish for scrambled eggs, Stuff baby new potatoes with sour cream and top with caviar, Garnish soup with sour cream and caviar, Top potato pancakes with a dollop of sour cream and a spoonful of caviar, or Spoon lobster salad into artichoke bottoms and crown with caviar.

Caviar Stuffed Deviled Eggs - Mash egg yolks with mayonnaise, sour cream, lemon juice and salt. After stuffing egg white halves with yolk mixture, sprinkle tops with fresh chives. Chill. When ready to serve, spoon a bit of cold caviar on each half.

Caviar Dip - Mix an 8 oz. package of cream cheese (softened) with 1 small jar black caviar, a few drops of soy sauce, 1 tablespoon lemon juice and 1 tablespoon finely chopped onions.

Caviar Pie - This is Candace and Jym's (“Shadowfax”) specialty. Drain the chopped onion on paper towels. Butter the bottom and sides of pie pan. Combine eggs and mayonnaise – spread on the bottom on the pan. Sprinkle with onion. Beat cream cheese and sour cream. Spread carefully over onions. Chill overnight. Just before serving, drain jar of caviar and arrange on top. Garnish with chives and parsley. Serve with melba toast or crackers.

Potato Crisps with Caviar - Peel and grate 3 baking potatoes. Mix in ¼ cup each chives and parsley. Salt and Pepper. Form 1 tablespoon of potato mixture into a small flat patty and fry in vegetable oil until crisp (about 2 minutes per side). Keep warm in oven while cooking all the crisps, reheat for about 5 minutes when ready to serve, or serve cold. Garnish each potato crisp with a spoonful of sour cream, caviar and a sprinkling of chives. Other good combinations on top of the potato crisps are sour cream and applesauce or sour cream and smoked salmon.

Crème Fraiche - Crème Fraiche is a thick cream used in sauces and soups and as a condiment for everything from fresh fruits to caviar. Mix 1 cup heavy cream with 2 T. buttermilk in a glass jar. Let stand at room temperature for 8 to 24 hours or until thickened. Stir well and refrigerate. Use within 10 days.