Make it a Mummerable meal

New Year’s Day is two days away and for us it means Mummers. My family and I will be making merry in front of the Bellevue, sipping hot chocolate, applauding our favorite string bands and shouting "play for us!"

Those of you who live on South Broad Street are fortunate to have the parade outside your front door.

My South Philly German-American and Polish-American friends always prepare pork for New Year’s Day. Pork chops and sauerkraut, ham and cabbage or roast tenderloin of pork, along with tasty side dishes, are on the bill of fare. So are sausages, boiled or roasted potatoes and applesauce. Since slow cookers are back, rustling up a pork stew is quick, warming and delicious.

It is traditional for African Americans to eat black-eyed peas on New Year’s Day. In the American South, this dish is known as Hoppin’ John or Carolina rice and bean pilau. According to The Joy of Cooking, this rice dish was probably brought to the Carolinas in the early 17th century by French Huguenots — Protestants who fled France because of religious persecution. The word "pilau," is Middle Eastern, not French. The dish has roots in the late Middle Ages when Muslims settled widely throughout the Mediterranean, including Provence.

Italian Americans and Irish Americans often cook bean soup. Black-eyed peas and bean soup are supposed to bring good luck.

Pork is, indeed, the other white meat. It is inexpensive, nutritious and comes in a variety of cuts. It adapts well to myriad preparations. I often substitute pork for chicken or veal in a number of recipes. The worst thing you can do to pork is overcook it. Pork is ready to enjoy when an instant-read thermometer registers an internal temperature of 140 degrees.

Here are recipes to celebrate New Year’s Day.

Roast Pork Loin

Ingredients:

1 (3-pound) boneless pork loin, at room temperature
6 fat cloves garlic, each sliced in half lengthwise
Fresh rosemary leaves
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees.

Using the tip of a sharp knife, cut 12 shallow slits into the pork loin. Fill each slit with garlic. Scatter some fresh rosemary leaves over the pork. Add kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Place the pork loin in a shallow roasting pan. Roast in the center of the oven for 50 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow the roast to rest for five minutes.

While the roast rests, place the roasting pan on top of the stove. Turn the heat to high. Add about 1 cup of red or white wine and deglaze the pan using a wooden spoon. Pour the gravy into a warm sauceboat. Slice the pork loin and serve.

Serves six to eight.

Pork Chops with Sauerkraut

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 onion, diced
6 loin pork chops
1 (15-ounce) can chicken stock
1 cup dry white wine
1 pound fresh sauerkraut, thoroughly rinsed, water squeezed out
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Sprinkling of caraway seeds

Directions:

Heat the oil on medium in a 4-quart Dutch oven. Add the onion and saut� for a few minutes, until the onion turns translucent. Add the pork chops and sear them a few minutes on each side. Add the remaining ingredients. Bring the contents of the pot to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for one hour. Serve with boiled potatoes on the side.

Serves six.

Bean Soup

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, diced
2 carrots, diced
2 ribs celery, diced
2 (15-ounce) cans chicken stock
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes with their juice
2 (15-ounce) cans navy beans
2 large bay leaves
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:

Heat the olive oil on medium in a 4-quart stockpot. Add the onion, carrots and celery and saut� for a few minutes, until the onion is translucent. Add the chicken stock and tomatoes with their juice. Bring the contents of the pot to a boil, lower the heat to a simmer and add the beans, bay leaves, kosher salt and pepper. Simmer with the lid askew for 45 minutes to one hour.

Serves six to eight.

Hoppin’ John (Carolina Rice and Bean Pilau)
From The All-New All-Purpose Joy of Cooking by Irma S. Rombauer, Marion Rombauer Becker and Ethan Becker

Ingredients:

8 ounces dried black-eyed peas, picked over and rinsed
3 cups water
1-1/2 cups chopped onions
1 tablespoon minced garlic, optional
4 ounces smoked ham, diced
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 large bay leaves
Salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 to 1-1/4 cups chicken stock
2 tablespoons butter
2 to 4 slices bacon
1-1/2 cups long-grain rice
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup minced parsley

Directions:

Turn the peas into a large ovenproof pot and add enough cold water to cover by 1 inch. Boil rapidly for one minute, remove from the heat, cover and let stand for 90 minutes. Drain the peas and rinse thoroughly.

Return the peas to the pot and add the water, onion, garlic, if using; ham, thyme, red pepper flakes and bay leaves. Simmer gently, uncovered, just until tender, about 20 to 30 minutes. Drain, reserving the liquid. Discard the bay leaves. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and set aside. Let the pea cooking liquid settle for five minutes, then pour it into a 4-cup measure, discarding the residue at the bottom of the pot. Add enough chicken stock to make 2-3/4 cups of liquid.

Position a rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Set the same pot you used to cook the peas on medium and add the butter and the bacon. Cook, stirring, until the bacon has released most of its fat and has begun to crisp. Stir in the rice and salt. Cook, stirring to coat the grains with fat for one minute. Add the pea cooking liquid and bring to a simmer. Stir once with a fork, then cover and bake until the rice has absorbed all the liquid, about 20 to 25 minutes. Scatter the peas and ham on top, cover and return to the oven for three minutes. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with chopped parsley.

Toss lightly with a fork until the rice is fluffed and all the ingredients are mixed. Cover and let stand for 10 to 30 minutes before serving.

Serves eight to 10.

Note from Phyllis: Hoppin’ John can be made one day ahead, covered and placed in the refrigerator. Just bring it to room temperature and bake, covered, without stirring, in a 275-degree oven just until warmed through.