Good fortune soup for the New Year

Collard greens? Check.
Black-eyed peas? Check.
Ham? Check.

With these three ingredients, I’m now set to eat a meal filled with good fortune on New Year’s Day. And lord knows, I need all the help I can get. Don’t get me wrong, 2007, for the most part, was a fantastic year, and a large portion of this year’s goodness was because of you.

For instance, this blog made it possible to make new friends and correspond with a ton of interesting people from all over the world. This blog also gave me the opportunity to create new recipes and share them with you, my dear readers. This blog also enabled me to return to Texas more times than I normally do. And so, thanks to all of you and your comments and conversation—writing Homesick Texan and interacting with fellow food lovers has made 2007 a year filled with joy.

The past couple of weeks, however, have been a bit of a trial. Sadly, I lost my dear cat Lily. And last Sunday, while attempting to cut some vegetables with a not-so-sharp paring knife, the knife slipped and ended up in my thumb. With some skin flapping and the blood gushing, I realized that a simple Band-Aid wouldn’t suffice. So I grabbed a roll of paper towels and wrapped them around my thumb, threw on my coat, and hopped on the subway to ride the two stops to St. Vincent’s emergency room. Two hours and four stitches later, I was back in my kitchen, but an important lesson was learned—keep your knives sharp!
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Praise the pralines!

I come from a divided family. Yes, it’s true—half of us are Aggies and the other half are Longhorns. This makes for some interesting dynamics, especially on the occasion of the two teams’ annual scrimmage.

My family gathered at a Tex-Mex restaurant the day after Thanksgiving, traditionally the date of the big game. The room was filled with people sporting the two teams’ colors of maroon (Aggies) and burnt orange (Longhorns). Our group leaned towards the latter, though my grandmother sitting at the head of the table shook her head at her progeny’s disloyalty to her beloved Aggies. There was much anticipation over who would win, and we ate our food quickly in order to be able to watch the kick-off. In order to keep the peace, however, we avoided talking much about the two teams, though occasionally slight tempers would rise if there was a bit too much boasting.

But there was one thing everyone saw eye to eye on: the excellence of my aunt Julie’s pralines.

Throughout my brief trip to Texas, I kept hearing nothing but high praise for Julie’s version of this beloved confection. “They’re the best praline I’ve ever eaten,” said my cousin Jessica, and both my grandmother and other aunts concurred. As we concluded our meal, Julie pulled out a bag of the candy for me to take back to New York and after one bite I had to agree—she does indeed make the best pralines.
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Menu for Hope

Food bloggers from all over the world rally at this time of year to raise money for those less fortunate in a campaign called Menu for Hope. Created and organized by Pim Techamuanvivit of Chez Pim, Menu for Hope raffles off a ton of food-related prizes for just $10 a ticket, with proceeds going to the UN World Food Programme. Last year, Menu for Hope raised an impressive $62,925!

For my part, I am offering the prize of a Homesick Texan Care Package. Missing your favorite Texan foods? This Homesick Texan Care Package is a wonderful way to get the tastes of Texas, no matter where you are. It includes three Robb Walsh cookbooks—The Legends of Texas Barbecue Cookbook, The Tex-Mex Cookbook and The Texas Cowboy Cookbook—so you can whip up your favorite recipes whenever you get a craving. There's also a tortilla press and a bag of masa harina so you can make your own tortillas; a bag of Kerbey Lane gingerbread pancake mix so you can pretend that you're in Austin on a Saturday morning; a molinillo and Mexican chocolate for cups of frothy hot chocolate on cold winter evenings; a few cans of Ranch Style beans and Ro-Tel Tomatoes and other Texas treats. And all this could be yours for just $10!
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Homesick Texan holiday gift guide 2007

It’s that time of year when people are scratching their heads trying to come up with gift ideas. Here are some options sure to warm the hearts and fill the bellies of any homesick Texan. And if you're looking for more inspiration, check out my list from last year, which includes how to order Blue Bell ice cream, kolaches and Ro-Tel tomatoes among other delicious Texan treats.

Grapefruit: Everyone knows the juiciest, largest and sweetest ruby red grapefruit comes from the Rio Grande Valley. And while there are many farms that ship, South Tex Organics has a leg up on the competition by being the only grower to not use pesticides. Prices start at $22.00. South Tex Organics

Dr Pepper: Sure, Dr Pepper is widely available, but what you see in the stores is an imposter made with high-fructose corn syrup. Enter Dublin Dr Pepper, a Texas bottler that produces Dr Pepper from the original recipe made with pure Imperial cane sugar. One sip and you’ll never drink that other stuff again. Prices start at $10.00 a case, peanuts not included. Dublin Dr Pepper
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