New Year's Day Delights with Adam Gertler

Wild Mushroom Medley

Edible Skinny was lucky enough to be at Mister Adam Gertler’s New Year’s Day Beans, Greens and Butts Party!

Hoppin' John

The Silverlake backyard soirée brought together such classic Southern classics as Collard Greens, Black Eyed Peas, and Pork Butt (which according to Kelly was awesome!) along with fun morsels at Grilled Jalapeno Cornbread and a Garlic Lemon Wild Mushroom Medley (which the Veg of the Thomas Gals (that’s me!!!) got to try and were totally awesome!!!)

Adam Gertler is an American chef, television personality and occasional actor.  He was the runner-up on season four of The Next Food Network Star and is a host of FX Movie Download.

The Prepping

In 2009, he hosted Food Network's primetime series Will Work for Food, where he gave viewers behind-the-scenes access to countless food-related jobs as he learned how to do everything from ice sculpting and truffle foraging to competitive eating and cranberry harvesting.

There was a lot of reason behind all these New Year’s Day’s delights!  According to Epicurious, cooked greens (including cabbage, collards, kale, and chard) are consumed at New Year's in different countries for a simple reason: their green leaves look like folded money, and are thus symbolic of economic fortune.  In the South, collards are the green of choice.  The New Year’s Day lore states that the more greens one eats the larger one's fortune next year. 

Pre-Cooked Wild Mushroom Medley

In the Southern United States, it's traditional to eat black-eyed peas or cowpeas in a dish called Hoppin' John.  This traces back to the legend that during the Civil War, the town of Vicksburg, Mississippi, ran out of food while under attack.  The residents fortunately discovered black-eyed peas and the legume was thereafter considered lucky.

The custom of eating pork on New Year's is based on the idea that pigs symbolize progress.  Pork, due to its rich fat content, signifies wealth and prosperity.

So hopefully you got some greens, beans, or pork in your belly ‘cause 2015 is going to be a Hell of a ride!!!