Stories tagged "region north america"

For many, New Years Day is the chance to wipe the slate clean, change bad behavior, start a diet and an exercise regime, and get the year started off on the right foot. In order to help those resolutions along, why not eat foods to bring you luck and good fortune and taste good to boot? From collard greens to hoppin’ John, here to explain about Southern New Years' traditions are Matt and Ted Lee, cookbook authors and proprietors of the Southern food shop boiledpeanuts.com.

Need a Hoppin' John recipe to ring in the New Year prosperously? Look no further.

Hoppin' John from "The Lee Bros. Southern Cookbook"

For 6 people

TIME: 4 hours to soak peas, 1 1/2 hours to cook

1 cup dried black-eyed peas or field peas
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 smoked hog jowl (or 1/4 pound slab bacon or 4 slices thick-cut bacon)
1 medium yellow onion, coarsely chopped
6 cups Rich Pork Broth
H teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon salt
One 14-ounce can crushed Italian tomatoes
1 1/2 cups long-grain rice

• Wash the peas in a strainer, place them in a medium bowl, and soak for 4 hours in fresh water to cover.
• Heat the olive oil in a 4-quart pot over medium-high heat and brown the hog jowl on both sides, about 5 minutes. (If using bacon, omit the olive oil and simply render the fat in the pot for 5minutes.) Add the onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the broth, black pepper, red pepper and salt and bring to a boil.
• Let the broth boil vigorously for 10 minutes, then add the drained peas. Boil gently over medium-high heat, uncovered, until the peas are tender but still have some bite, about 25 minutes for black-eyed peas, 30 minutes for field peas. Add the tomatoes and the rice to the pot, cover, reduce the heat to low, and simmer vigorously for 20 minutes, until most of the broth has been absorbed but the rice and peas are still very moist.
• Remove the pot from the heat and allow the hoppin’ John to steam, covered, until all the liquid has been absorbed, about 5 minutes. Remove the hog jowl and pull off any meat.
• Fluff the hoppin’ John with a fork. Transfer to a serving dish, sprinkle the shredded hog jowl over the top, and serve.

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As the Bush administration fades in history, so will the little town of Crawford, Texas. The equivalent refuge in the Obama administration isn't really known. Obama is from Chicago...but he's also from Kahului, Hawaii.

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How bad can Christmas songs get? Jack Grace, the Martini Cowboy, explores the lower depths of holiday music hell.


Knight Rider Christmas


"It's So Chic To Be Pregnant At Christmas" by Nancy White
Read the lyrics »

"Mister Russian, Please Don’t Shoot Down Santa’s Sleigh" by The Sensational Little Shana Lynette
Listen at musicalfruitcake.com »

"Please, Daddy (Don't Get Drunk On Christmas)" by John Denver
Read the lyrics »

"A Toolbox Christmas" by Woody Phillips
Preview the CD at Amazon.com »

"Santa Claus Won't You Shoot My Boss" by Jack Grace, the Martini Cowboy
Listen to our own Jack Grace performing the new Christmas classic »

Discover more bad holiday songs at musicalfruitcake.com »
And there's more from Jack Grace at jackgrace.com »

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With more people out of work during the holidays, shoplifting is on the rise. Ian Urbina, reporter for The New York Times, talks about the vulnerablity as well as the sympathy retailers feel for their customers.

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After 21 years in office, Rep. Christopher Shays, R-Conn., lost the 2008 election to Democratic challenger Jim Himes. Shays joins The Takeaway to reflect on the future and the past.

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The first brother to pitch against another brother in a baseball all-star game.

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Psychiatry's number one diagnostic manual is being re-written -- and it's making everyone crazy. Gender identification disorder may be in, while sleepwalking disorder is on the outs. By 2012, the American Psychiatric Association hopes to have published a new edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) -- the diagnostic manual used to determine if a patient has a mental disorder. Proposed changes are already being challenged by patients, insurance companies, and the pharmaceutical industry. The New York Times science journalist Benedict Carey explains.

For more information, read Benedict Carey's article in today's New York Times.

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Caroline Kennedy says she’s interested in the New York's U.S. Senate seat that will be vacated by current senator Hillary Rodham Clinton. Some in the Democratic Party are already questioning her credentials. Does Kennedy have what it takes? And who else is in the running? Takeaway Political Director Andrea Bernstein discusses.

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Congress and the big three automakers are waiting to see if and when the White House will step in with a helping hand for the industry. Congress failed last week to approve an emergency loan package and now the White House says it may use its power to bail out the industry at least temporarily. The Takeaway talks to Todd Zwillich, reporter for Capitol News Connection, in Washington, DC.

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More details have come to light on possible connections between the congressman and disgraced governor Rod Blagojevich, D-Ill.

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Does falling family debt mean a stagnant economy?

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Columnist and commentator Clarence Page is on the editorial board of the Chicago Tribune. That makes him part of the story.

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Republicans quashed the House bailout bill and proposed a tougher alternative.

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Illinois lawmakers have the power to impeach Governor Blagojevich, call a special election, and more. What will they do next?

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How will the Blagojevich indictment impact the choice to fill Obama's seat?

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Five employees of Blackwater are indicted in the killing of 17 unarmed Iraqi civilians.

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Democrats in Congress and the President will come through with cash to save the automakers. Plus, help us pick a new name for the position of "Car Czar"

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Rogue football players, baseball winter meetings and ticket pricing.

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A man known only as H.M. is the reason we know as much as we do about the brain.

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