Variation on the tradition

Usually, on New Year's Day, I make a round of cornbread, stewed black-eyed peas by their lonesome and collard greens. Today, however, I changed things up a bit while still sticking to tradition. The cornbread became honey and jalapeño muffins, the peas became my own version of a basic hoppin' John (rice, peas, olive oil, lemon, lots of freshly ground black pepper), and the collards a sauté of baby kales with lemon, olive oil and salt. The boys loved the hoppin' John, and I am grooving on the muffins. I love the texture and rustic look using stone-ground cornmeal provides. That recipe is posted now, as is the one for Emeril's barbecue shrimp.