Did you know that eating black eyed peas on New Years Day is thought to bring you good luck and prosperity? I'm not entirely sure why that is - but I'm all for bringing good luck and if eating them helps than why not haha! I searched for black eyed pea recipes and settled on making Emeril Lagasse's black-eyed pea jambalaya - it isn't like any jambalaya I've ever had before but that doesn't matter, it is delicious and easy to make.
I made a couple changes - I couldn't find tasso sausage so I used portuguese sausage instead.  I also couldn't find chorizo that was already cooked so bought fresh and cooked it first, it was a little greasy so I took some paper towels and blotted some of the grease out of the pan before adding the other sausages. I was afraid it would be too spicy for me but it just gave it a little bite, not at all too much. I added some cubed ham for texture since the chorizo was ground up instead of in chunks, didn't really need it though. The recipe doesn't include it but after reading the instructions on the bag of black-eyed peas I soaked them in water overnight.

I'm posting this a couple days after New Years so not sure if you will still get the benefits of good luck and prosperity ;) but fortunately this is just a yummy recipe that you should make just cuz it's good! Click here for the recipe. 1/2020 update - I clicked on that link and it no longer takes me to it on the Food Network - hmmm that's weird. I found it on emerils.com and also pasted it here so we will have it for the future!

Black Eyed Pea Jambalaya

• Prep Time: 20 minutes, plus overnight to soak the peas
• Total Time: 1 1/2 hours
• Yield: 10 to 12 servings

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 ounces tasso sausage, diced into small pieces
• 1/2 pound chorizo sausage, sliced in half lengthwise and cut into1/4-inch pieces
• 1/2 pound smoked sausage, sliced in half lengthwise and cut into 1/4-inch pieces
• 2 cups chopped yellow onions (1 large onion)
• 1 red or green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 4 bay leaves
• 5 sprigs fresh thyme
• 8 cups chicken stock
• 1 pound black-eyed peas, soaked overnight
• 2 cups long grain rice 
• 1/2 pound medium shrimp, peeled, deveined and chopped
• Essence to season
• 1/2 cup chopped green onions
• 2 tablespoons chopped flatleaf parsley

Directions

• In a large pot over medium heat, add the olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the tasso, chorizo and sausage, and render for 5 minutes. Stir in the onions, bell pepper, salt, cayenne, black pepper, garlic, bay leaves, and thyme. Saute for 5 minutes, or until the onions are wilted. Stir in the chicken stock and the peas. Bring the liquid up to a brisk simmer, reduce heat to medium-low and cook partially covered just until the peas are nearly tender, 20 to 30 minutes. Stir in the rice, bring the liquid to an intense boil, stir, cover, and cook for 10 minutes. Uncover the pot, stir the rice and peas again to evenly distribute the rice, then cover the pot and reduce the heat to low. Cook, undisturbed, until the rice has absorbed the liquid, about 10 minutes longer. Remove from the heat.
  Sprinkle the shrimp with Essence to season. Using a large fork, gently fluff the rice and toss the shrimp, green onions, and parsley into the rice. Return the cover and allow to steam (undisturbed), for an additional 10 to 15 minutes before serving. Serve warm.