Lucky New Year's Food

Looking for a fun theme for your New Year's Eve or New Year's Day party? Try hosting a get-together that features some traditional lucky foods for the New Year. Prepare an assortment of lucky New Year's food either as appetizers or as a buffet, and give your guests a little bit of explanation for why certain foods are considered to be lucky. For instance, pork is thought of as lucky because it symbolizes progress, so serving a pork dish in countries like Cuba, Spain, and Austria is customary. Other foods that are thought to be lucky are lentils, collard greens, and black eyed peas.

Browse a few of the New Year's lucky foods and recipes below and inject some luck into your tradional New Year's Eve food and menu!

Good luck food for New Year's:

Smoky Collard Greens

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 2 tbsp. garlic paste
• 4 cups chicken stock
• 2 tsp. smoked meat seasoning mix
• Large bunch collard greens, rinsed, trimmed, and chopped
• Salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Heat olive oil over medium heat in a large pot and add garlic.
2. Pour in stock and smoked seasoning. Simmer for 15 minutes.
3. Add greens and bring to a boil. Cook them down for about 30 minutes and add some salt and pepper to taste.
4. Reduce heat to simmer and drain after 40 minutes.

Black Eyed Pea Salsa

Ingredients:

• 1 can black eyed peas, rinsed and drained
• 1/2 cup onion, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup cilantro, minced
• 1 1/2 cup tomatoes, chopped and de-seeded
• 1 red pepper, finely chopped and de-seeded
• 1 can corn
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• Salt and black pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Mix peas, onion, cilantro, tomatoes, corn, and pepper together in a medium sized bowl.
2. Whisk vinegar, oil, cumin, garlic powder, salt, and pepper seperately and pour over salad.
3. Chill before serving to marinate all the flavors.

Hearty Pork and Spinach Salad

Ingredients:

• 1 pork tenderloin, cut into thin strips
• 1 package fresh spinach, washed, no stems
• 1 can black eyed peas, rinsed and drained
• 1/2 cup olive oil and vinegar salad dressing
• 1/2 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
• 1 jar green olives with pimentos
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp. olive oil

Directions:

1. Combine peas, mushrooms, olives, and dressing in a large salad bowl.
2. Heat garlic and olive oil over medium heat and saute pork until no longer pink in the middle.
3. Toss spinach and pork with rest of combined ingredients and serve on plates with fresh bread.

Smoked Salmon Bread Dip

Ingredients:

• 8 ounces smoked salmon
• 2 cups cottage cheese, small curd
• 3 tbsp. pepper-flavored vodka
• 2 tbsp. lemon juice
• 2 tsp. spicy mustard
• 1 small can capers, water drained

Directions:   

1. Place cottage cheese, vodka, lemon juice, and mustard in a food processor and blend briefly.
2. Cut half of the salmon into small pieces.
3. Mince the remaining salmon.
4. Add small pieces of salmon to food processor and combine until smooth.
5. Put mixture into decorative bowl and mix in remaining salmon and capers.
6. Serve with crostinis and crackers.   

Lucky Vanilla Bean with Chocolate Frosting Cupcakes

Ingredients:

• 1 cup pastry flour
• 1 1/2 cups cake flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 whole vanilla bean, split
• 1/2 cup grated apple
• 1 large egg
• 1 large egg yolk
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 cup powdered milk

For the frosting:

• 2/3 cup evaporated milk
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup finely shaved semi-sweet chocolate
• 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 3 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• Salt to taste

Directions:

1. Whisk flours, baking soda, and a dash of salt in a bowl.
2. Beat sugar and oil on medium speed and add black paste out of vanilla bean into mixture. Add apple, eggs, and vanilla extract, and beat well.
3. Continue mixing on low and gradually add in dry mixture and powdered milk, alternating.
4. Drop a spoonful of mixture in cupcake cups and bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees.
5. For frosting: Whisk evaporated milk with flour and dash of salt until smooth.
6. Cook over medium heat until stiff, whisking constantly.
7. Remove from heat and whisk in chocolate until all melted.
8. Put in stirring bowl and add sugar, powder, and vanilla, and beat until smooth.
9. Allow the mixture to cool and spread on cupcakes after about 2 hours. 

Create your own New Year's Day food traditions and whip up a few lucky dishes to serve on the first of the new year. Hopefully all your hard work will bring lots of luck in the year to come!

Plan your own celebration with one of our free New Year’s Eve party invitations.