Happy New Year, Carolina Style!

In the South, New Years day dinner includes Collard Greens and Black-eyed Peas for wealth and good luck! As a Steel Magnolia looking through rose colored glasses, with a positive attitude, I will stick to tradition! It is a great reason to show off generations of southern cooking and always a good idea to simply start the year with the mind set the best is yet to come!

The day began with Mango Mimosas!  The perfect sous chef!

Monogrammed glasses available at Mears Etc. Etc.

In NC and the US, pork is for prosperity!  The North Carolina Pork Council is a great place for recipes and to learn more!  Pigs are thought to symbolize progress.  We had a spread for friends that also included cabbage, green beans, hoppin john and cheese grits!

This year we tried a new collard recipe made with bourbon and brown sugar, called Boozy Braised Collard Greens!  The chopped collards do look a bit like green money!  We also had corn bread to cover all the spending money!

If all traditions are true our friend with the plate above will have a successful year! Thanks to a dear friend, we also enjoyed Lady Fingers famous ham biscuits and pecan pie for dessert!  

Happy New Year from the South!

Enjoy your Day, Carolina Style!

Jen Jen