1/8/2024 0 Comments Miss bimbo nieceThe Carolina Housewife may have been written by a “Lady of Charleston,” but dishes such as hoppin’ john were staples in the “big house” that had been brought there by black cooks. Those West Africans were long familiar with rice cultivation and cookery, and the pigeon pea (Cajanus), favored throughout Africa, quickly took to the tropical environment of the Carribean where so many of the hapless Africans were first shipped. Still, I believe the dish arrived here with the slaves, who numbered in the tens of thousands in Charleston and on the neighboring rice plantations of the 17th and 18th centuries. Where the name originated is a matter of dispute, and I hesitate to concur with any of the pop etymologies. As the daughter of Edward Rutledge, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, and niece of Arthur Middleton, another signer, Miss Rutledge was the “Lady of Charleston” who anonymously authored The Carolina Housewife&n bsp in 1847. “One pound of bacon, one pint of red peas, one pint of rice” - thus did Sarah Rutledge begin what may well be the first written receipt for this quintessential Lowcountry dish. The classic Charleston recipe for hoppin’ john is a very dry version of the dish, but it is served with greens in their juices - or with a side dish of more peas and pot likker. In Charleston and the surrounding Lowcountry, cowpeas - dried local field peas - are traditional. Throughout the South this humble dish of “peas” and rice is eaten on New Year’s Day for good luck, with a plate of greens, cooked with a hog jowl and plenty of corn bread to sop up the pot likker. To all our customers, employees, friends and families we wish you a prosperous and Happy New Year!īy John Martin Taylor from Hoppin’ John’s Lowcountry Cooking Don’t forget the food!īelow is a recipe for traditional New Years Eve Hoppin’ John which is said to bring luck in the new year. BUT, being in bed early means I’m well rested for the New Year’s Day Bowl-Game-O-Rama…and the food. These days I’m happy to be home and in bed by 10. It was EPIC and is still talked about in hushed and reverent tones. Nothing, however, can hold a candle to the James Bond themed New Year’s Party I had one year. My favorite was a Big Band night at Bimbo’s 365 during our swing dance phase. When I was younger, there was always some party or concert to attend.
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