Black eyed peas

In the south, Black eyed peas are pretty common....and a must have for New Year's Day.  Gotta have'em for prosperity y'all!

Everyone has a way to make them but I thought I'd share my way.  You don't need much.

1 lb bag of dried black eyed peas
water
ham bone or salt pork or smoked turkey wing
*1 tsp salt (see below)
*1/2 tsp cayenne (see below)
2 stalks celery, diced
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
1 small onion, diced
1-2 cloves garlic, minced

First, take your beans and soak them overnight.  Before preparing, rinse them in fresh water and set aside while doing the next step.

Heat up a couple tablespoons of oil and add the veggies and seasonings.  Stir til soft.  Add the meat you are seasoning it with.  
BTW, Dean doesn't eat pork...his grandmother was raised on a pig farm and ruined him to pork.  *sigh*
Okay, so since he doesn't eat pork, I always add a smoked turkey wing instead of pork.
*When Dean isn't looking, add a few tablespoons of bacon fat, don't tell him.

Add the beans and cover with water.  I cover the beans with a good 2 inches of water.  Okay, so the turkey wing looks like some alien claw...just ignore it and get back to cooking....

Cover and bring everything to a boil, then turn it down to medium low and let everything simmer for about an hour and a half, stirring every now and then.  Check the water level every 30 minutes or so...you don't want them to dry out.  Also, Black eyed peas don't take as long to cook as other types of beans.  

After about an hour to an hour and a half, remove the lid and check for tenderness.  If they are tender, remove the bone and discard.  (Some people shred the meat and put it back in, but we eat our peas with corned beef so I just pitch it.)    

At this point, remove the lid and let them simmer about 10 minutes to evaporate some of the water.  These are a little bit TOO soupy, see?

During this time, taste them and adjust for seasonings.  I usually add another teaspoon of salt and another 1/2 teaspoon of  cayenne.    

This is how we like them.  A little bit soupy so when they thicken, they don't dry out but not so soupy as to run all over your plate....

We serve these with corn bread too....super good.  Some people will drizzle with vinegar, me?  I use a little ketchup....something I started as a kid and it just stayed with me.