A New Year

We brought in the new year in our usual way by gathering with two other couples for games and good food. Our favorite game is Pictionary, the guys against the girls. We got off to a great start this year, but the guys made a stunning comeback and ended up beating us.

As always, we had way too much food. One of the dishes I took was a new recipe for pumpkin pie dip. I thought it was great and so did two of my kids who stopped by the house earlier that day. It didn't go over that well at our gathering, though. Still....I consider it a "keeper" and want to share it here with you.

Pumpkin Pie Dip

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
Gingersnap cookies

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and confectioners' sugar until smooth. Beat in the pumpkin, sour cream, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice and ginger until blended. Serve with gingersnaps. Refrigerate leftovers. Yield: 4 cups.

A new year

My husband and I welcomed in the new year in our usual way. We gathered with two other couples, ate entirely too much food, laughed, talked and played boards games. We've done it for years and years and always have a good time.

Today we slept in, had a late lunch of Black-Eyed Pea Soup and Mexican Cornbread, then headed to the movies to see Avatar. Considering my attention span is sometimes a bit short I wondered if I would enjoy an almost three hour movie. I did have to shift around in my seat and peek at my watch a couple of times, but the movie was wonderful and I really liked it!

When I finish here and shut down my computer for the evening I plan to settle in with my handwritten journal to make my annual New Year's entry. I'm not always good about writing on a regular basis throughout the year, but I always write on New Year's Day. It's my time to look back and reflect on how well I met the goals I set a year ago and to decide what I want to work on in the coming year. First, though, I'll share a few recipes from our New Year's eating.

Eggnog Tube Cake

Contributed to Simple & Delicious by Mary Ellen Severance of Biggs, CA

1 pkg. (18-1/4 oz) white cake mix

1 pkg. (3.9 oz) instant vanilla pudding mix

4 eggs

1 cup eggnog

1/4 cup canola oil

2 tsp. rum extract

1-1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg

Glaze:

1 cup confectioners' sugar

1/4 tsp. rum extract

3 to 4 tsp. eggnog

In a large bowl, combine the cake mix. pudding mix, eggs, eggnog, oil, extract and nutmeg. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes.

Pour into a well-greased 10-in. fluted tube pan. Bake at 350F for 38-41 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes before inverting onto a serving platter.

In a small bowl, combine the confectioners' sugar, extract and enough eggnog to achieve a drizzling consistency. Drizzle over cooled cake.

Black-Eyed Pea Soup

Contributed to American Profile by Joyce Gates of Clovis NM

1 pound lean ground beef

1 cup finely chopped onions

1 pound Polish sausage, cut into bite-size pieces

2 (15 oz) cans black-eyed peas with jalapenos, undrained

1 (14 oz) can reduced-sodium beef broth

1 (14 oz) can diced tomatoes, undrained

1 (10 oz) can mild diced tomatoes and green chilies, undrained

1 (4 oz) can chopped mild green chilies

1 to 2 medium jalapeno chilies, seeded and chopped (optional)

1/8 teaspoon salt

2 to 3 cups water

Place a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add ground beef and onions and cook until beef is browned, stirring frequently. Drain excess grease.

Add remaining ingredients; mix well. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and cover tightly. Simmer 45 minutes.

Refrigerate overnight to allow flavors to blend. Reheat before serving.

Mexican Cornbread

(my mother's recipe from when I was growing up)

Sift together:

1-1/2 cup cornmeal

3 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

Add in:

2/3 cup oil

2 eggs, one at a time

1 cup sour cream

1 (no. 2) can cream-style corn

1 cup grated cheese

2 jalapeno peppers, chopped (I sub dried, chopped chives)

Bake in a greased, square glass dish at 425F about 45 minutes.

Good Luck Peas

New Year's Day is just around the corner and all true Southerners know that means eating black eyed peas for good luck. Although I'm not one for superstition, I do like to keep with tradition and will have black eyed peas on the menu at my house.

For years I cheated and served purple hull peas instead of black eyes. We grew them in our garden and it was convenient to just pull some out of the freezer for the occasion. A couple of years ago I decided to switch to the real thing and have found several good recipes using black eyes. Today's paper had a recipe for black eyed pea soup that I plan to try this year. If it's good, I'll share it here. Meanwhile, this recipe from a friend at church is what I've prepared the past two years.

Black Eyed Pea Salad

from the 1988 Southern Living Recipe Book

3 cans black eyed peas, drained and rinsed
1 (2 oz.) jar diced pimento, drained
1/2 cup diced purple onion
1/4 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup plus 2 T. red wine vinegar
1/4 cup plus 2 T. vegetable oil
3/4 tsp. ground red pepper
1/4 tsp. salt

Combine first 3 ingredients, toss gently. Combine vinegar and remaining ingredients in a jar or bowl, shake or blend well. Pour over pea mixture, cover and chill at least 3 hours. Yield: 6-8 servings.