What’s everyone doing for New Year’s this weekend? I hope you have fun plans and parties and will share all the details with me because I’m pretty boring and stay in, just hoping to make it until midnight. My husband and I do have a cute little tradition though for New Years Eve. All year long, I put notes of fun memories, crazy things the kids do or say, stories from trips or family visits and any sport/play/concert ticket stubs into a jar. On New Years Eve, we dump the whole thing out on the counter and take turns reading back over all the notes from our year.
Some notes make us chuckle, some make us shake our heads, some prompt us to look up photos or videos, but they all help us remember all the little moments along the way. It’s a sweet way to wrap up the year and something I look forward to all year long as I write my little notes for the jar. Anyway - onto the FOOD!
I’ve been all about the Southern goodies this month. We had my overnight cheesy grits casserole, my Southern collard greens with bacon and my Southern New Year’s Day dinner skillet. And today’s black eyed peas burgers (aka hopping John’s burgers) are right in that same wheelhouse of being perfectly New Year’s appropriate, all kinds of Southern flavored and a touch healthier. Basically we’ve got all the traditional hoping John’s ingredients but remade into a hearty bean burger. And these have seriously great flavor! The smoky bacon flavor is infused throughout the burgers and the black-eyed peas are mashed slightly to help bind the burgers. They get topped with the reserved bacon, cheddar cheese and sliced green onions for a loaded up burger that will stick to your ribs!
I prefer thick-cut bacon, but any kind will do. You only need the grease from about 4 pieces of bacon to cook the veggies, but if you want two full pieces to top each burger, make 8 pieces of bacon. I always have plenty of bacon grease (you need at least 1 tablespoon but a little more is OK). If you don’t have enough, add some extra-virgin olive oil until you have the right amount. You could make these vegetarian by skipping the bacon and using all olive oil for the recipe. It would take away from the flavor a bit, and not be traditional, but should still be delicious! It helps to pack the burgers together in your hands to form a ball, then flatten out slightly into a burger shape. If yours aren’t staying together, you can put the patties on a plate in the fridge for 30 minutes to help them firm up. (You can also do this if you want to make these ahead.) Be sure to flip the burgers carefully, too. I use a spatula in one hand and use my other free hand to help guide them. You can also use your spatula to nudge the burger back into shape after they’ve flipped if yours falls apart a little.
And for New Years, so you can get all your good luck foods in, serve these black eyed peas burgers with my quick collard greens with bacon. You can also do like I do and make these ALL year long. They’re just as delicious in summer as they are on Jan. 1. Wishing you all a safe and fun weekend and a prosperous, happy New Year! XO, Kathryn
I prefer thick-cut bacon, but any kind will do. You only need the grease from about 4 pieces of bacon to cook the veggies, but if you want two full pieces to top each burger, make 8 pieces of bacon. I always have plenty of bacon grease (you need about 2 tablespoons but a little more is OK). If you don’t have enough, add some olive oil until you have the right amount. It helps to pack the burgers together in your hands to form a ball, then flatten out slightly into a burger shape. If yours aren’t staying together, you can put the patties on a plate in the fridge for 30 minutes to help them firm up. (You can also do this if you want to make these ahead.) Be sure to flip the burgers carefully, too. I use a spatula in one hand and use my other free hand to help guide them. You can also use your spatula to nudge the burger back into shape after they’ve flipped if yours falls apart a little.
