Lucky Strike

See a penny
Pick it up
And all the day
You'll have good luck.

It's not that I'm terribly superstitious or anything. I admit to picking up pennies off the sidewalk when I come across them. If I see a pair of shoes with the left shoe on the right and the right shoe on the left, I feel compelled to put things right (though only with shoes I'm related to).

So the other day when I ran across some black-eyed peas in the bulk bins at the store, it seemed like a no-brainer to cook up a batch for the first day of 2012. That's because, in the seemingly infinite collection of useless knowledge I carry around in my head, I know that it's a traditional dish served on New Year's Day down South. And it's said to bring prosperity in the coming year, so why not? Plus it's super easy to cook up in a couple of hours, especially if you let the beans soak overnight the night before.

Called "Hoppin' John" when cooked with pork and served with rice, it's considered lucky because "the peas, since they swell when cooked, symbolize prosperity; the greens symbolize money; the pork, because pigs root forward when foraging, represents positive motion."* (Bonus useless knowledge, by the way…)

Works for me!

Good Luck Hoppin' John

2 lbs. dry black-eyed peas
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 large yellow onion, chopped fine
3 large cloves garlic, minced
2 ribs celery, chopped fine
1 Tbsp. dried oregano
1 bay leaf
4 c. chicken stock
1 large smoked ham hock
3 c. chopped lacinato kale, sliced in chiffonade (chard, collards or other greens could also be used)
Salt and pepper to taste

Place dried beans in large pot. Add water to cover by 3-4". Cover with lid and let sit out overnight.

The next day, at least a couple of hours or more before serving, drain any liquid from the beans and rinse.

Heat olive oil over medium heat in large soup pot until it shimmers. Add onion and garlic and sauté till tender. Add celery and sauté till tender. Add oregano and bay leaf and heat briefly. Add chicken stock, drained beans and ham hock, adding water if necessary to cover. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer and cook until beans are tender, at least 90 minutes to 2 hrs. (Again, don't let the beans get too dry; add water as necessary.) Add salt and pepper to taste. Before serving, remove ham hock and shred meat from bone, adding meat back to the beans. Add kale and simmer briefly till it wilts and turns a dark green. Serve with cooked white rice. You can also supplement with finely chopped green onions and hot pepper sauce.

* At least according to Wikipedia.

Howdy Podnah's!

It's a little embarrassing to admit, but despite all the buzz when it opened and the subsequent oohing and aahing over its Texas-style barbecued meats, including some mighty fine Carolina pulled pork, we had never made it into Podnah's Pit Barbecue.

This was made worse by the fact that Rodney Muirhead's original place was only a few blocks, nay, a three-minute stroll from home. That and the fact that the residents of my household are fanatical consumers of anything grilled or smoked. And therein lay my shame.

Fortunately the new location of Podnah's is just a hop, skip and a jump farther away in a brand-new building on a corner of NE 17th and Killingsworth known more for abandoned washing machines, drug dealers and gangbangers than good eatin'. Fortunately on most days now all you'll see is 'cue-loving folks lining up for the smoky goodness of the pork, beef, chicken and fish that have been lounging in the smoker since the early hours of the morning.

Open the door and a wall of that smoky aroma hits you. Take a seat at the counter or at one of the sun-soaked tables in the dining room and prepare to be overwhelmed by the choices on the menu. Not only is there brisket, chili, pulled pork, lamb and pork spareribs, chicken, hot links and trout, but then you have to choose between some kick-ass sides (and these are truly great, believe me) like collards bathed in bacon fat, a sprightly black-eyed pea salad, coleslaw, pinto beans, barbecued beans and mac & cheese. Oh, and cornbread that treads that lovely line between moist and just-crumbly-enough. Talk about the horns of a dilemma!

Because it was a late-ish lunch and we were heading out that evening to see what just-returned Chef Cafiero had managed to cadge from his travels in Spain (post to come), we decided to split an entrée of the brisket (smoked for 10 hours) with two sides and a wedge of cornbread. A couple of beers were de riguer, and Podnah's has a very decent lineup of mostly Northwest choices on tap.

The brisket, with its telltale smoke ring, was four very thin slices of not-yet-falling-apart meat, lovely and smoky though a bit skimpy in the portion department when you think of brisket plates at other barbecue joints. The above-mentioned collards were flavorful and retained enough texture to make me want to do this preparation at home soon, and the black-eyed pea salad with crunchy bits of celery was the perfect brightness in contrast to the smoky brisket.

It actually inspired Dave to stop at the store on the way home to get his own nearly six pound hunk of brisket to smoke the next day. Which is a good reason to stop in again and have another inspiring dish in the near future.

Details: Podnah's Pit Barbecue, 1625 NE Killingsworth St. 503-281-3700.