Bena Mae’s Kitchen: Had your Hopping John yet?

How fast the year rolls around. Before we know it, we are changing the date on our checks again. And making new resolutions we know we’ll never keep for more than a week or two. Bad habits are hard to break.
Here in the south, cooks stick to the old tradition of hog jowl and black-eyed peas or Hopping John that are supposed to bring good luck for the rest of the year. And it is said that eating collard greens will bring you good fortune because they are green like money. Some people swear by the tradition. Me? I don’t eat them because I don’t like them. So I take my chances.
We kiss those we love at midnight to set a pattern for the coming year. Or how about this from the Old Farmer’s Almanac: On New Year’s Eve, walk from one room to another and toss a shoe over your shoulder. Then look in a mirror, and the face of your future mate will appear. This would make me disappear…under the bed. I think we ought to just stick with a kiss at midnight 😉
New Year’s resolutions are a joke. I’ve never kept one yet. But I’ve tried, oh, how I’ve tried. Going on a diet seems to be the most common resolution among people who are trying to lose weight. I’ve tried them all but eventually back slid and went back to eating anything I wanted. I chose the quality of life over the quantity of life.
Searching around for resolutions I might possibly keep, I found these on my computer. By this time next week I’ll probably have forgotten all about them.

Bena Mae’s Resolutions for 2012
Just for today, I will not sit in my living room all day in my pajamas. Instead, I will move my computer into the bedroom.
I will no longer waste my time reliving the past, instead I will spend it worrying about the future.
I will do less laundry and use more deodorant.
I will avoid taking a bath whenever possible and conserve more water.
I will stop eating chocolates . Completely. Honestly….
I will stop watching QVC more than 4 hours a day.
I will read the manual… just as soon as I can find it. I will stop telling the same story at every get together.
I won’t worry so much.
I will stop considering other people’s feelings when they so obviously don’t consider mine.
That’s about all the perfection I can take at one time folks.
Happy New Year, Y’all.

Delight guests with this fruity bread pudding made with their signature Cinnamon Raisin bread.

Panera Bread Pudding
Source: Panera Bread

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1 loaf Cinnamon Raisin White Bread torn into bite-size pieces
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup pecan halves
Zest and juice of 1 large orange
1/4 cup apple cider
1 tablespoon vanilla extract or rum
8 small baking apples (about 2 pounds) such as Fuji, Gala or Granny Smith, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
1/2 cup apple, quince, or blackberry jam or jelly

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat.
Add the bread and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until well coated.
Add the sugar, pecans, orange zest and juice, cider, and vanilla extract.
Cook an additional 2 to 3 minutes until a sauce begins to form.
In a 9 x 13-inch baking dish, layer the bread mixture with the apples and dot the top with the jam or jelly.
Bake 30 to 40 minutes, or until bubbly.
Serves 4