January Prompt 2-New Year’s Traditions

[Emily Spencer]

One tradition in my family is that we always have eggnog on New Year’s Eve (except this year as I was in the hospital).  What food traditions does your family celebrate?  Tell us about it in any medium you choose (artwork, story, poem, etc).  An extra 5 scales is up for grabs if you post a recipe along with your food tradition.

[February Fortescue]

We have a traditionof eating cooked cabbage on New Year's Day. It's supposed to bring you good luck and good fortune throughout the year. We also hide change in the cabbage - one quarter and several nickels. We never hide dimes in case someone gets choked.  We skipped the tradition this year because mom had passed away and none of us really felt up to it. 

Recipe:

Ingredients:

1 head of cabbage
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
½ teaspoon salt 
black pepper, to taste

Instructions:

Slice  cabbage into quarters, removing & discarding the hard stem at the center.

Slice each quarter into 1-inch wide strips. Set aside.

In a large pot, melt the butter and add olive oil.
Add remaining ingredients to the pot, including the cabbage.

Stir and bring to a boil, immediately reduce heat to a simmer, and cover.

Simmer 12-15 minutes or until cabbage is tender to your liking. (Do not overcook or cabbage will be slimy)

[Prof. Scarlet Leslie-Lewis]

My family was invited to my friends' place to celebrate Chinese New Year this year. Happy Year of the Rabbit!

One of them is from Singapore, where they always begin with a dish called lo hei or prosperity toss. It is a salad with raw fish and shredded vegetables. Everyone shares the dish and mixes the ingredients together. You recite good luck sayings and idioms while you toss the salad. The higher you toss, the more luck you'll have in the coming year! 

This was my first time participating in the preparation of lo hei. It was really fun and quite delicious!

[Harry Walles]

Here's a recipe for one of my favourite things to make for the New Years!

Ingredients:

• 100g butter, softened
• small bunch rosemary sprigs, leaves picked and chopped, plus extra sprigs to decorate
• flour, for dusting
• 880g ready-made pizza dough, defrosted if necessary (we used The Northern Dough Co), or make your own
• 150g cranberry sauce
• 250g box camembert or chaource (or vegetarian alternative)
• oil, for drizzling

Method:

• STEP 1

  Mash the butter, rosemary and some seasoning in a bowl. On a lightly floured surface, cut the dough into four sections (it will already be divided if you’re using ready-made pizza dough). One at a time, roll out each piece of dough to a thickness of about 4mm, keeping the pieces you’re not using covered. Use a 7cm cutter to stamp out 30-36 circles.

   
• STEP 2

  Spread the rosemary butter over half the dough circles, then spread the cranberry sauce over the remaining rounds. Fold each circle in half and bring the two points together like a fortune cookie; these are the ower ‘petals’.

   
• STEP 3

  Line a large baking tray with parchment. Put the cheese – in its box but with the lid removed – in the middle of the baking tray. Arrange a ring of dough petals around the box, alternating the rosemary butter and cranberry sauce fillings. Tuck the pointed ends neatly under the box. Arrange another ring of petals around the first, this time tucking the pointed ends under the row in front. Repeat with the remaining dough petals to create a neat ower pattern. Loosely cover the tray with oiled cling film and leave somewhere warm to prove for 30 mins, or until almost doubled in size. Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4

[Louis Walles]

I think we all need some New Year's Cookies!

Ingredients:

• butter
• sugar
• flour
• egg
• vanilla extract
• candy melts
• sprinkles - gold, silver, white and black or any combination work well, You can also use edible glitter if it is available

Method:

1. Combine butter, sugar, egg, and extract in a large bowl.
2. Blend at medium speed, scraping bowl often, until creamy. Add flour and salt, and blend at low speed until flour mixture is well mixed. 
3.  Fill the bag with cookie dough.
4. Pipe cookies onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
5. Bake cookies for 5 to 8 minutes, or until slightly golden.
6. Remove to a cookie rack and let cool.
7. Melt candy melts in a small bowl and carefully dip the cookies into the black candy melts and place on a rack to dry. Sprinkle tops of the cookies with star sprinkles. 

[Dibyarup James Potter]

My family has a tradition of eating a roasted meat dish on the night of 31 December. It can be roasted pork, lamb, chicken, turkey, duck, or even several of them. This tradition has been going on at least since my great-grandfather because my grandfather grew up with this tradition as well.

Here, I have provided a recipe for Smoked Pork Ribs Roast, and this is by far my most favourite recipe.

INGREDIENTS:

1. Raw pork ribs (about 1.5 – 2 Kg)

2. For the Roasted Pork Ribs Marination:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon freshly chopped thyme
• 1 tablespoon freshly chopped rosemary
• 2 teaspoons freshly chopped garlic
• 1½ teaspoons freshly chopped parsley
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 tablespoon coriander powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon black pepper

3. For the dry rub before smoking the Roasted Ribs:

• ½ tablespoons brown sugar (I do not prefer my meat recipes too sweet, so this is only for a slight caramelization.)
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 1 tablespoon chilli powder
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 1 tablespoon coriander powder
• 1 teaspoon ground mustard powder
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt

4. Apple cider vinegar spray (optional)

5. Smoking wood (cherry or applewood)

 

STEPS:

1. Preheat the oven to 175°C (347°F).

2. Pat the ribs dry. Then in a small bowl, combine olive oil, thyme, rosemary, fresh garlic, garlic powder, onion powder, coriander powder, salt, and pepper. Rub this mixture all over the ribs, making sure to get into the crevices between the bones. Then leave it to marinate for at least 10 hours.

3. Now it is time to roast the ribs. Place the seasoned ribs on a rack in a roasting pan with the fat side facing up. The rack allows for an even heat distribution and helps the fat render.

4. Roast the pork ribs for 1½ to 2 hours, or until the internal temperature reaches 63°C (145°F) for medium-rare or 71°C (160°F) for well-done. Verify the internal temperature of the ribs by inserting a meat thermometer into the thickest parts of the meat, at multiple locations, without touching the bone.

5. Baste the ribs occasionally with the pan drippings for extra flavour. This greatly improves the taste of the ribs, trust me.

6. Remove the ribs from the oven and let them rest for at least 15 minutes before moving on to the next step. This allows the juices to redistribute throughout the meat, thus keeping it juicy.

7. Now that the ribs have been roasted, it is time to make the dry rub for smoking the ribs. In a small bowl, combine all the brown sugar, paprika, chilli powder, garlic powder, onion powder, coriander powder, ground mustard powder, black pepper, cayenne pepper, and kosher salt.

8. Apply the dry rub to all sides of the ribs, making sure to get it in between the bones, but take care not to put too much of the dry rub on the ribs, because we do not want to over the flavour of the roast’s marination and that of the roasting process itself.

9. Preheat your smoker to 107°C (225°F) with indirect heat, and then add cherry or applewood chips to it. You may use some other wood, but do it at your own risk, because personally, I would suggest only using one of the two I mentioned.

10. Now we will smoke the roasted pork ribs. Place the ribs bone-side down on the smoker rack. Spray the ribs lightly with apple cider vinegar, to help keep them moist. Smoke for 8 – 10 minutes, which is just enough to make the ribs smokey, but not enough to burn them.

11. Remove the ribs from the smoker and let them rest for at least 20 minutes before separating the slab of ribs into individual rib pieces for serving. Again, this allows the juices to redistribute throughout the meat, thus resulting in juicier ribs. I like to sprinkle freshly chopped parsley and finely chopped fresh garlic over the ribs for garnishing.