The following is taken directly from The Fast Gourmet
Cookbook by Poppy Cannon, published in 1964 by Fleet Publishing
Corporation. I wanted to do an article
on New Year’s Southern food tradition –but Ms. Cannon did it better than I
could. So, Ladies and Gentlemen, Ms. Poppy Cannon:
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“It is the day after Christmas and in your mind the thought
keeps stirring that you ought in some way to pay off some of your holiday
social debts. So why not an
old-fashioned Hop-John party on New Year’s?
For briefing on this interesting project, we sent an appeal to Eloise
Barksdale, since Hop-John parties are a tradition in her hometown of Fort
Smith, Arkansas.
Post haste
came help. Eloise went so far as to
write us a poem.
Hopping John in the Southern way
should be eaten for Health
On New Year’s Day
The recipe handed down to me
Says this fine dish
Brings prosperity
Boil a fresh hog jowl
with some black-eyed peas
Add rice and red pepper
and it’s bound to please.
For those of
us who might not have immediate access to the jowl of a hog, nor time to soak
and cook the black-eyed peas, we have evolved, with Eloise Barksdale’s
assistance, a quick and tasty version using canned black-eyed peas and what she
calls instant rice. The menu is
traditional and unalterable. ‘Turnip
greens and turnips too, cole slaw, corn bread, buttermilk and egg custard pie.’
Barksdale Hopping John
Turnip Greens
Diced White Turnips, Eloise
Cole Slaw
Arkansas Corn Bread
Egg Custard Pie
BARKSDALE HOPPING JOHN…dice ¼ pound salt pork and fry out
nice and crisp. Add 1 ½ cups packed
pre-cooked rice, 1 large can of black-eyed peas with the liuid and 1 cup water
or stock. (There should be about 2 cups of liquid all together.) Bring to a boil uncovered. Season quite
jauntily with red pepper or several drops of Tabasco sauce as well
as freshly ground black pepper. Add
salt if it is needed. Stir with a
fork. Cover and allow to stand in a
warm place about ten minutes so that the rice will absorb all the rich
flavors. Four to 6 servings.
TURNIP GREENS…Prepare quick-frozen turnip greens according
to directions and add to each package, 2 tablespoons finely-chopped onion which
has been browned in a little pork or bacon fat. For the true Southern taste there should be a sting of hot
pepper.
DICED WHITE TURNIP, ELOISE…To serve 6, wash, peel and dice 2
pounds of white turnips. (These are
milder, cook faster than yellow.) Cook
tender (10 to 15 minutes) in salted, peppered, boiling water in a covered
pan. Drain. Fold in ½ cup heavy cream which has been whipped and seasoned
delicately with 1 tablespoon lemon juice or rum.
ARKANSAS CORN BREAD…Mix and sift together 1 cup cornmeal, 1
cup flour, 3 teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon salt. Add 1 cup milk or buttermilk, 2 eggs, well
beaten, 2 tablespoons melted shortening (preferably bacon, ham or sausage
drippings). Bake in a shallow
well-greased (8 by 8-inch) pan in a hot
oven (425 degrees)about 20 minutes and serve in squares.
EGG CUSTARD PIE…Follow your grandmother’s rule or buy it
quick-frozen or from a bake shop.
Sprinkle with nutmeg and slivered almonds or coconut.”
