Dinner in a Bowl/ by Renee Somerset-Mucha, Palace and Dahlia Server
Dinner time at my home was the best time of the day. I would drop anything to sit around the table with my mom, dad, and sister. A staple at our dinner table was any dinner eaten in a bowl, usually something savory and delicious over cornbread or biscuits. Dinner in a bowl was served so frequently that it was the only kind of meal a high school boyfriend of mine ever had at our house. Of all such dishes, our favorite was, and is, Black Eyed Peas and Ham Hocks. This is a dish that a friend of my parents made for them in 1979. He simply told my mom how to do it while they were eating and our family has been enjoying it ever since. (This is a recipe that gets passed along verbally, so everything in it is up for adjustment according to your taste and the size of your crockpot.)
Soak the black eyed peas overnight in water with about a tablespoon of baking soda added. Drain and rinse.
Dice a big onion and some celery. I love celery, so I tend to add quite a bit.
Tumble it into your crockpot: onion and celery, the beans, and a decent sized ham hock. (The butcher can cut it up if it is too big for your crockpot.)
Add water to cover ingredients. Cook 6-8 hours on low.
After initial cooking time, remove hock, cut off meat, and return it to the stew. Stir through the stew and remove pieces of bone and chunks of fat. Season with salt and pepper.
Continue to cook until desired thickness.
Serve over cornbread, obviously in a bowl. This stew reheats and freezes great.
After eating at least two servings, my family would continue to sit around the kitchen table and talk, always eating more of the cornbread, now slathered in butter and honey. In our house, chocolate cake was eaten for breakfast, with milk poured over the top. I suppose it goes without saying that this, too, was eaten in a bowl.
(Editor’s note: Renee is another winner in our staff family recipe blog contest.)
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