Happy 2011, everyone!  Carnival season is well underway.  About 5 weeks left til Mardi Gras.  Our garage has undergone an intense cleaning.  Arcade Fire will be at Jazzfest. We're going to try a small garden. It's shaping up to be a great year.

We were in Oklahoma over New Year's, and didn't get a chance to make our standard black-eyed-pea and greens feast that we've enjoyed since moving here...but here's a simple recipe for some down-home greens 'n peas that'll fit the winter soup bill and sneak in some luck before January's out.

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Mother's is a New Orleans institution, famous for long lines, great grits, and heavenly baked ham.  The first time I went there, I ordered a ham po-boy--the ham is what's touted on their sign, after all.  But maybe I shouldn't have gone for the ham the first time.  It's the most perfect ham sandwich in the world.  The problem is that I can't order anything else on the menu.  I'll try the jambalaya or red beans or grits that other people at my table order--and bless them for doing that--but I'm committed to the ham po-boy above all else.

This is it.  I know it doesn't look like much, but trust me, it is the holy grail of ham sandwiches.  The truth lies in the simplicity and honesty of the ingredients:  shaved baked ham, shredded cabbage, mayonnaise, Creole mustard, pickles, and fresh French bread.  The ham is slightly sweet, the cabbage has a PhD in crispness, and the mayo and mustard create a background chorus that Ray Charles would hire on the spot.  I know I'm hyperbolic, but do you know that I would never get hyperbolic unless I felt it was my duty?  Because I wouldn't, I promise you.

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