New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day have their own food traditions, be it sharing appetizers with friends as you count down to midnight or ensuring good luck for the new year by dining on traditional foods for health and wealth. These simple dishes feature fresh ideas for dishes to include in your New Year’s celebrations.
Photo by Gwénaël Le Vot
EASY EMPANADAS
MAKES 20–24
3 or 4 rolls 9-inch pie dough, homemade or store-bought
1 pound bulk sausage
½ onion, chopped
½ red bell pepper, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
½ teaspoon cumin
Pinch of kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
1 cup grated Mexican cheese
1 egg, slightly beaten
Salsa for dipping
Preheat oven to 400 F. Line a shallow, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Roll out dough on a flat surface, and use a cookie or biscuit cutter to cut pastry dough into 4-inch rounds. Set aside.
In a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook sausage meat, breaking it up as it cooks, until browned. In a medium skillet over medium-high heat, saute onion and bell pepper until translucent; add garlic, and cook an additional minute. Add this vegetable mixture to meat, and stir to combine. Add paprika, cumin, salt and pepper, and stir. Add tomato paste, and stir. Let cool. Add cilantro, and stir.
Spoon ½–1 teaspoon meat mixture in the middle of each pastry round, and add a pinch of cheese. Fold pastry over, and crimp edges closed. Place on baking sheet. In a small bowl, whisk egg with 1 tablespoon cold water. Brush empanadas with egg mixture. Bake 12–15 minutes, until lightly browned. Serve with salsa, if desired.
MUSHROOM PIZZA BITES
Photo by Gwénaël Le Vot
MAKES ABOUT 15
16 ounces large cremini mushrooms, cleaned
½ cup pizza sauce, heated
Pepperoni slices
Black olives, halved
1 cup grated mozzarella cheese
Grated Parmesan cheese
Preheat oven to 400 F. Line a shallow, rimmed baking pan with parchment or foil. Remove and discard stems from mushrooms. Place mushroom caps on baking pan, and bake 8 minutes. Remove from oven. Turn mushrooms upside down on a paper towel to drain liquid that has accumulated during baking; use another paper towel to dry insides completely. Turn on oven broiler.
Spoon ½–1 teaspoon pizza sauce into each mushroom, followed by pepperoni, olive half and mozzarella. Broil until cheese is melted, about 2–3 minutes. Remove from oven, and let sit for 3–5 minutes before serving. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
JALAPENO COLLARD GREENS
Photo by Gina Moore
SERVES 6
2–3 ham hocks
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
1 bay leaf
1 bunch collard greens, washed and chopped
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
1 cup unsalted vegetable stock, more if needed
2 tablespoons canola or olive oil
1–2 jalapeno peppers, minced
2–3 garlic cloves, minced
Kosher salt
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper
In a large pot over medium heat, add ham hocks, peppercorns, bay leaf and water to cover. Cook until ham hocks are falling apart, about 2–2½ hours. Remove ham hocks to a bowl to cool; reserve 1 cup of cooking liquid, and discard the rest. When ham hocks are cool enough to handle, remove and discard skin and bones. Cut remaining meat into bite-sized pieces. Set aside.
Return reserved liquid to the same pot; reduce heat to medium-low. Put greens in heated liquid gradually, allowing greens to shrink down until all are incorporated into the pot. Mix vinegar and sugar until sugar is dissolved; add to greens. Cook until greens are tender, about 45 minutes. (If liquid level gets low, add stock as needed.) Halfway through cooking, in a small saute pan, heat oil. Saute jalapenos and garlic until translucent but not brown. Add to greens, and continue cooking for the remainder of the 45 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning, adding salt and crushed red pepper, if desired. Return meat to pot, and cook an additional 5–8 minutes.
HOPPIN’ JOHN WITH ANDOUILLE AND OKRA
Photo by Gina Moore
SERVES 6
1 pound dried black-eyed peas*
2 andouille sausages, sliced
2–3 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, diced
1–2 stalks celery, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 cups unsalted chicken stock
Kosher salt, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Pinch of cayenne pepper
1 cup frozen, sliced okra
2 green onions (white and green parts), thinly sliced
Prepare dried peas either by soaking overnight in water or by boiling 5 minutes and then letting them sit in hot water for 1–2 hours. Drain, rinse and set aside.
In a large skillet over medium heat, brown sausage slices on both sides. Drain on paper-towel-lined platter, and set aside. To the same skillet, add oil, and saute onion, celery and bell pepper until tender. Add garlic, and cook an additional minute.
In a large pot over medium-low heat, add peas, sauteed vegetables, stock,* salt, pepper and cayenne. Simmer until peas are tender, about 1 hour.* Stir in sausage and okra; cook just until okra is heated through but not mushy, about 5–6 minutes. Transfer to serving bowl, and sprinkle with green onions. Serve over rice or with cornbread.
* You can use frozen black-eyed peas in this recipe, but if you do so, do not soak them overnight or cook them ahead. Add them to the large pot with the sauteed vegetables, but reduce stock to 1 cup, and reduce simmering time to 10 minutes.
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More hors d’oeuvres – Looking for more appetizing finger foods to serve to holiday party guests? Try some of these Chef Belinda crowd pleasers:
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- Chocolate-apricot lollipops – (Dried fruit takes a quick dip in dark chocolate and comes out delicious.
- Spicy deviled eggs – Bring a little sass to traditional deviled eggs at your next party spread.
- Pork-and-shrimp wontons – Finger food with Asian flair is flavored with fresh ginger and served with its own dipping sauce.
- Crab dip – A creamy mix of cheeses blended with crabmeat makes a tasty topping for crackers, crusty bread or raw veggies.
- Mini ham quiches – Enjoy these bite-sized appetizers, stuffed with ham and mushrooms, warm from the oven.
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BELINDA SMITH-SULLIVAN is a chef and food writer who lives in Trenton, where she is a member of Aiken Electric Cooperative. She has a culinary degree from Johnson & Wales University and is certified in wine studies from the Culinary Institute of America in Napa Valley, Calif. Her articles have been published in several regional magazines and in her blog, “The Flying Foodie.”