Make 2012 Your Lucky Year!

Did you ever wonder why some folks have a traditional food they always eat on New Year’s Eve? There’s probably a reason the custom was started in the first place. For example, if you’re from the South, you may welcome the New Year with black-eyed peas (which look like coins when they’re cooked) and greens (for their resemblance to folded paper money). Fish and pork, which swim or push forward, are both seen as signs of progress, so they’re a logical choice for a New Year’s menu.

Eating grapes to ring in the New Year is a Spanish custom that began in 1909 when there was a grape surplus and wine makers wanted to sell their excess stock. The idea stuck and a tradition was born. Here’s how it works: Revelers eat 12 grapes at the stroke of midnight. Each grape represents a month of the coming year, so if the fifth grape is sour, for example, May might not be your best month. But if you can gobble up all 12 grapes before the last chime sounds, you’ll be rewarded with good luck and success.  

So add a little fun to your New Year’s Eve bash by sharing the grape-ful story with your friends. Push 12 grapes onto individual kebab skewers, then drizzle them with honey, lime juice, and allspice, and broil them until they’re warm. Serve them at midnight, then make a toast to a great 2012!

Happy New Year!