New Year Tradition

Traditions of cooking on New Year’s Day have changed quite a bit in some households since the fever of football has taken over. Nibbles and snacks hold appetites at bay until the real dinner is served. Foods that go a long way to feed a house full of people, or not, are a great idea.

Following in my mother’s teachings, I cook Pork and Sauerkraut with Potatoes for good luck in the coming year. It’s an old German custom handed down from her mother and grandmother. Of course they made their own sauerkraut from cabbage harvested in the fall.

Mom told me, “Sauerkraut in huge barrels lined the cellar. Grandmother would send me down with a pot to bring some up. I hated going downstairs but would eat handfuls of the kraut before I filled the pot. That was my reward for facing the fears of a dark, scary basement.”
I buy mine is a plastic bag.