Black-eyed peas

[Pencil Pusher]

I've got an aged (antique?) collection in my pantry.

Before dh & I married, I enjoyed eating them warm. Ya know, dump the can in the pot, heat, eat. I ate green beans the same way.

Seasoning? Never heard of it. My mom made "Helper" meals.

So now I've been spoiled by mil's cooking, & I don't know how to cook blacke-eyed peas. I asked my grmother, but her answer to everything is bacon grease. Um, besides how weird that is (& how would I know what to do w/ it anyway?), I don't have any. Never have, never do.

Any non-leftover-grease based ideas? I mean, that are neither complicated nor weird? Fwiw, I'm from the south. Northern food is weird. (Sorry. I'm SURE it's me who's weird--y'all's food SOUNDS delicious. More people like y'all's food than ours. Really. :o)

[Mom2legomaniacs]

How about in some Hoppin' John Soup?

We always had them that way along with just having them plain (with a little salt) as a side dish.

[Pencil Pusher]

(whispering) I put them in the chili tonight. Sh. Don't tell my family. We didn't have any kidney or pinto beans.

[ereks mom]

These are *canned* peas, right? (FWIW, the frozen ones are much better, cooked with a bit of pork -- or bacon grease if you wish, as your grandma says.) Either way, the BEST way to eat them is to heat them, then spoon them over a slice of hot cornbread, and top with cooked tomatoes (canned is fine, just get the diced ones, or dice/chop them yourself or just use a stick blender to pulverize them, then heat them up). ER loves this -- one of his favorite foods! And he also likes to add hot sauce to the mixture.

[Audrey]

They're really great as a bean salad, too. Drain a can, toss with chopped celery, red or green pepper (or both!), onion, celery salt, black pepper, olive oil and regular vinegar. Very yummy.

Or...

Bake em'. Don't drain the can all the way (you'll probably actually need at least 2 cans, it's soooo good), stir in equal parts ketchup and your favourite bbq sauce, some brown sugar or molasses (just 'cause), chopped onion, Tabasco if you like it, and whatever sausage you like best, cut into slices. You can top it with bacon too, if you want. Bake it all up for about an hour at 350°F. It shouldn't be too soupy then.

[Donna]

cooked in a pan then topped with hot sauce and vinegar on top (red wine or a good balsalmic).