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Thank you! If you saw me shuffling around the day after, you would be less impressed. 😳😁 Black eyed peas are most commonly eaten in the southern US, the Caribbean, and West Africa. Originally introduced to the Americas by enslaved people. I don’t know how to describe the taste except as earthy and good. Often cooked with smoked pork products. I was naively unaware of their limited use until more recent years!

The most prized wild mushroom in Catalonia is the rovellon (lactarius deliciosus). I snatched up a batch at the market - and while they always look a bit “rotten”, be assured they do taste great … I fried them simply with garlic & parsley as a most welcome mid-day snack. The rest … … went into estofat de vedella (Catalan beef stew) … … served with buttery mashed potatoes (with tiny bit of saffron). The family demolished the whole lot 🥳

House-made made truffle butter.

What a delicious looking meal. I have never had black eyed peas - don't know that I've ever seen them in a grocery store eitiher. While your meals all look amazing, I'm blown away by your stamina!

Scrambled eggs with roasted chile Poblano, sauteed onion and garlic, and feta cheese. Seasonings included cumin, cayenne, and Mexican oregano Used the Tramontina non-stick pans that @rotuts kindly suggested and they worked a treat. Thank you!

@weinoo Nice What is @ 3 o'clock ? An omelette ? pasta dough not yet rolled out and cut ?

Continuing the use of Perigord truffles... Mise for the dish. Linguini with Perigord truffles. Even easier, and certainly quicker, than the risotto above. Sautéed a clove of garlic in olive oil and butter while pasta is cooking, added cooked pasta to the sauté pan with a hunk of the truffle butter and Parmigiano, toss and toss with some pasta water till consistency is correct, top with a bit more Parmigiano, minced parsley and chives, and freshly sliced black truffle.

Thank you! It’s just called fried cabbage, although with the volume I cooked, it pretty much became smothered cabbage. Fried cabbage usually starts with bacon, but with the amount I was doing, I also used sausage since I only had two pounds of bacon. I cooked the sausage in a separate skillet and added in. Cabbage had to be added in batches and after a little chicken stock was added, it needed to be covered, which is more like a smothered dish. Definitely scale downable! 😂 And with a smaller version, less cook time and you can end up with something tender/crisp. I like it with a little heat and a little sweet. An aside. I’ve never made collard greens and didn’t grow up eating them. When I taste them now, sometimes I love them and sometimes not, which shows me it’s not easy to do them right. I wouldn’t want to insult people who know what they’re doing with an attempt. Therefore, I cooked cabbage. I often see big beautiful cabbages around here! Unfortunately, what was available at shopping time were smallish to medium ones, which made it harder for me to decide how many to get.

Moe's breakfast. Grilled top sirloin cap (Picanha) steak with scrambled eggs and toasted sourdough.

Me too. I love cooked cabbage. Added some shredded cabbage to our New Year's Eve extravaganza of steamed broccoli. Cabbages are just SO big! And they can last for half of forever!

@patti, your guests must have been delighted. I can understand folks hanging around on the day you deliver meals! What is that cabbage dish called? Your explanation and pictures are so straigtforward, that I think I could make that dish. Only, mine would have to be smaller. 🙄 That's why the name of the dish will help me find a smaller recipe. 😄 The texture wouldn't survive being frozen, would it?

First dinner of 2026. Lamb shanks with polenta.

Happy Birthday @Maison Rustique! Your birthday meal looks fabulous! Looks stellar! Sure you’re not from the south? This is a cheat picture. I cooked and ate this New Year’s Day meal (except for the cornbread, unfortunately), but this is not my plate.

Your version of “making do” is creating a feast! You always have the most beautiful and inventive spreads, and this is no exception. Kudos. This seems like a perfect NYE meal. Presented beautifully. 😍 🔥 Lovely feast. Those bacon wrapped dates are calling my name! Lobster, oysters, apple galette! 😍 Let the celebrations begin!

Happy Birthday @Maison Rustique!! I'm superstitious too, @Norm Matthews. The last few months of 2025 were a lot but I know it could have been worse so why not do all we can for luck lol. I did ham steak with mustard sauce, Hoppin John --used Super Lucky 2026 Rancho Gordo BEP's, deviled eggs and cheesy brussels sprouts (I figure those count for cabbages/money)

Patti, you did so great! I'm sitting here wishing I had a big plate with everything on it. I don't ever soak black eyed peas, either.

You know those big water pitchers they use for drinking water in meeting rooms and buffets? For a 4 inch-deep hotel pan, I used those and did 2 of rice, 3 of water. Cover the pan well (we used the heavy commercial plastic wrap, then foil) and pop it in your oven. Sadly I don't recall the actual cooking time, which is fairly important, but it was probably something in the range of 45 minutes to an hour.

Was taught a similar cake way back in grade 7 - Schwenkfelder Cake it was called - had saffron in it. Got replaced with another breakfast type cake later that didn't require yeast - but it was my go to for a number of years.

Here's a look at my quail condo this morning, looking more like a quail-sized "ski chateau." And yes, the deep snow in front of it is my driveway, so the snowblower and I will be taking some exercise together once I've finished my article this morning. Not pictured: the chicken run, the middle of which has collapsed under the snow load. I really should have thought about that when I got home and saw how the snow was falling. If I'd swept the roof then, and again at 10 when I was out to give the critters their night-time feeding, it probably would have been fine. Now I have a reclamation project ahead of me that will soak up a few afternoons of my time.

🎵 Let’s start at the very beginning. A very good place to start. 🎵 As previously posted, a generous eGullet member donated a variety box of Rancho Gordo beans to be used in community fridge meals. That box included two packages of black eyed peas, which southerners believe symbolize coins and abundance. Usually served with some type of greens (money) and cornbread (gold). Prosperity and good fortune for the coming year! Because my goal is to make 24 meals of generous portion sizes (and my neurotic desire to make sure there is “enough”), I decided to also cook 2 more pounds of peas, using the local favorite brand, Camellia. Also, my husband wanted to be sure there was enough for his own New Year’s Day meal! I found out just last week that you can buy ham bones from the Honey Baked Ham store when they are available. They were available, and I bought two, at $5.99 each. I consider it a bargain because there really was a good amount of ham attached. A ham for each pot of beans. First things first. Rinsing and sorting. There is often debate about whether or not to soak the beans, and if you do, for how long? I decided against soaking for two reasons. First, I wanted the longer cooking time to make sure the ham bone had time to do its job. B, Rancho Gordo black eyed pea package instructions did not include soaking! Who am I to argue (this time)? It’s probably because they are thin skinned, comme moi. So. After the rinsing and sorting, aromatics were sautéed in bacon grease from my bacon grease crock. The RG peas were cooked in an 8 quart stock pot, while the Camellias were cooked in a larger roaster. Instead of choosing pots for their usual function, I have to choose by size. My largest Dutch oven is 7 1/4 quarts, but I have larger roasters and stock pots. Two pounds of beans or peas needs at least an 8 quart pot. After the veg was sautéed, the ham bone, rinsed and sorted black eyes, and a few bay leaves were added to the pot, along with enough water to cover the beans by an inch or so. Pot 1 Pot 2 And eventually: Pot 1 Pot 2 At some point between those pics, smoked sausage, seasoning, and a couple of tablespoons of tomato paste were added. I didn’t add salt early in the cooking, according to package directions. But the ham added salt, so I don’t know if that is theoretically a bad thing or not. Taste wise, it was a good thing! The pot of Rancho Gordo beans had more liquid and it was brothier. I didn’t want to cook the liquid down at the risk of over cooking the peas, and they were done, and tasted delicious! I was very pleased with the result. The Camellias took a little longer to cook, and in the end, were thicker. There were a number of variables at play, but both pots of beans tasted good. While the original plan for the cabbage included tasso, getting the ham changed that. I’d already bought smoked sausage, and decided to use that in both the peas and the cabbage. Here is the beginning of the cabbage prep. I used five heads, and this was one. Fried cabbage usually starts with bacon. This was two pounds. The onions need to fry in the rendered bacon fat. And so did the cabbage. Seasoning included celery seed, salt, black pepper, sugar. A little chicken broth to let it lightly simmer to tenderize some, but I wanted a little bite to it, no mush. For the cornbread, I did my usual 6 packs of Jiffy in a sheet pan, adding some grated cheddar and some pickled jalapeño slices into the mix. The last time I made cornbread for a CFM, the cornbread seemed a little dry. This time I took a stick of butter and rubbed it all over the surface of the cornbread while it was still warm and uncut. I used half a stick of butter over the 24 pieces. It looked purty. No pics of the two rice cookers making rice. I really need to learn how to make rice in the oven in a hotel pan. Note: I usually like to mix the food cooked in separate pots, but I didn’t do that with these. I wanted the flavors of each to show. But about midway, I admit I did start mixing a scoop of the brothier peas with a scoop of the thicker peas. Apologies to the purists. The plated meal: Delivered, about 12:30 pm yesterday. There are only 20 plates in the fridge because a mother and her children took four as we were unloading. Happy New Year!

Thanks for your suggestion about the ladyfingers. I more or less settled on a method that is like yours, but with less work. I use whole eggs and beat the mixture, but not over heat (it doesn't rise much). Then I spread it on Silpats and bake it until it begins to brown, and then grind it into powder. It is the taste I want, so the rise is not important. I could not tell the difference in taste between this version and the traditional method. My recipe for tiramisu bonbons is one I developed based on the ideas of others (and my own experience of tasting tiramisu). I first tried Kalle Jungstedt's recipe, but tiramisu must be different in Sweden because it had an almond flavor. So I use a typical coffee ganache, with cream (steeping coffee beans in it beforehand) and a mixture of extra-dark chocolate, white chocolate. and a little extra cocoa butter. To that I add mascarpone and Kahlua. This combination gives a noticeable coffee flavor, but it's diluted enough (with white chocolate and cocoa butter) so that the coffee doesn't totally dominate and the mascarpone and ladyfinger flavors show up. I pipe this ganache into a mold, filling the cavities about 2/3. Later I mix the ground "ladyfingers" with caramelized white chocolate, cocoa butter, and sea salt and pipe that on top of the coffee ganache. I haven't tried Madeira or marsala; I don't think I would want to add additional flavors, but it is an idea worth pursuing. The aW reading of my ganache is 0.83. According to Melissa Coppel, that translates to 3-6 weeks. First, I think a span of 3-6 weeks isn't a terribly useful guide. Second, 0.83 is higher than I like to go. I think that if I replace some of the glucose added to the ganache with sorbitol, I could lower the water content, but haven't had time to try that yet.

Since NYE is my birthday, my sister and BIL treated me to a night out at our favorite local restaurant, Osteria Bianchi. It was absolutely stellar. Here is the menu. We all started with the beet salad and it was fantastic. I had the Rotolo and sis and BIL both had lobster risotto. Then I had Veal Osso Buco and both of them had the short rib. For dessert, we had Pistachio Souffle. We had their wine pairings so I don't recall what they all were. I know we started with a French Chablis and a Chateauneuf du Pape with the Osso Buco. We had a bottle of prosecco with dessert and then a little champagne when we got home--most of which went home with them the next day, as we went to bed at 9:30. Old people.

A quiet New Years Eve for husband and I. We had steak frites and salad for New Years Day… two sauces one green peppercorn with cream and the other creamy horseradish. i couldn’t choose which one, so had both.

Thank you! What did you end up making with them?