You'll be hearing from the staff at FOOD52 every week in Too Many Cooks, our group column in which we pool our answers to questions about food, cooking, life, and more.
The New Year may bring resolutions for you -- more kale, less sugar, earlier bedtimes -- or it may be just a new month, a different date. Regardless, you're probably prone to reaching for a new slew of favorite foods, either to keep you warm in the winter cold, or to bring you luck in the clean-slate months ahead. This week, we're talking about our January go-tos when we answer the question:
What is the first food you turn to in the New Year? Black-eyed peas? Still not finished with Christmas cookies?
Merrill: Stews and braises. We've already made short ribs and a lamb stew...
Christina: Every year we make my grandma's Italian Wedding Soup on New Year's Day.
Lindsay-Jean: I am in full-on hibernation mode. Baked pasta, chili (mainly for the accompanying cheese, sour cream, and chips), and mashed potatoes.
Michael: I'm having distractingly persistent posole fantasies.
Kristy: I want lots of kale salads with roasted squash, and never-ending pots of soup.
Maddy: Lentils. Dressed in warm vinaigrette with wild game sausages or in mulligatawny soup.
Marian: Do copious amounts of coconut water count?
Jennifer: I'm with Merrill. Stews and braises, served over creamy polenta!
Kristen: My grandparents sit eating kipper snacks and clutching dimes for luck at midnight on New Year's Eve. I do not do this, and I think my luck comes from cheese and ice cream, so I'll be eating more of the same.
Amanda Li: Sticking with light proteins like tofu, fish, and chicken to make up for the meat-bonanza over the holidays.
Amanda: I want to learn to cook fiduea (Spanish seafood pasta stew), which seems like the perfect January meal, but in the meantime I've been making things like roast chicken with carrot and sweet potato mash.
Gheanna: I'm planning on drinking lots and lots of tea to not only stay warm these next few months, but also to detox after the crazy holiday season.
See what other Food52 readers are saying.