Excellent! I did make a couple of changes though. I used fresh black eyed peas and cooked them in 1/2 beef broth and 1/2 water (do not use the recipe's water measurements--way to much water!). I only used 1 onion (b/c that's all I had) and 1 tsp onion powder. I substituted 2 cloves of fresh minced garlic for the powder. My can of tomatoes were petite diced w/ bell pepper, celery, & onion. I like my beans with a bit of a kick so I also added cajun seasoning. I only used about 1.5 cups of ham because that's all I had on hand. Everyone loved it...even the kids! De-lish!

These came out very good. My husband went back for 2nds and 3rds and doesn't normally like black-eyed peas. I omitted the tomatoes and used fresh garlic which I crushed in a press. I also reduced the cooking time to 1 1/2 hours by soaking them over night. If you choose to soak them over night make sure to drain the water and rinse the peas. Then return to the pot with 4 cups water and remaining ingredients.

I modified the recipe by adding: nearly a cup of rice for a heartier meal, half a chopped bell pepper, and a sprinkling of parsley. Also, we didn't have ham so I cut up some sausage for seasoning and added flavor. I didn't soak the beans overnight--just used two cans of black eyed peas that were pre-soaked. It really cut down on the prep time. The recipe is excellent, and highly recommended!

I futzed with this one, and it turned out great. I started by boiling the beans separately while I sauteed the following together: bacon (to replace the ham), onions, garlic, 2 seeded and sliced jalapenos, and a palmful of sage leaves. Once that was soft I drained & rinsed the beans and added them to the pot. I added the canned tomatoes (roughly chopped) and covered with vegetable stock. That just simmered for about an hour (maybe less), and it turned out brilliantly. Coupled with cornbread, my fiancee had his first true southern meal this New Year's Day. Yum!

FANTASTIC - THESE ARE REALLY GOOD. I have used a recipe similar to this several times. However, I did not add the tomatos during the cooking process. I have cooked black eyed peas for many years. I use to do the quick boil for 1 hour then drain method that is on the back of the package (I did not want to fool with the over night soak). The only things I changed were to use 1 1/4 lbs of black eye peas, 2 small/medium hamhocks (which were deboned and shredded after the cooking time)and 1-14 oz can petite cut tomatoes with garlic and olive oil. I used all of the other recipe ingredients that are called for to taste. Great recipe.

Gave it 5 stars because it's a good traditional recipe. The recipe is silent here, but you must always pick, soak and rinse the dried peas. If you make it more traditional by using smoked hog jowles, ham hocks, or smoked pork neck bones, instead of ham, it'll taste even better. We use the water fom cooking the pork for the liquid in this dish. Also, our preference is for a can of Rotel tomatoes, drained, instead of the purred tomatoes. There are several DO NOT's if you want to keep this dish "lucky" 1. Do not add chicken stock, as chickens and other fowl move backward as they eat. 2. Do not use beef, as a cow will move forward, sideward and backwards as it grazes, whereas, a pig always "pushes" forward as it eats. 3. Do not use canned peas as they've already swelled, so your luck will not "swell" as it will with dried peas.

What a great way to make black eyed peas! Great recipe!

My WHOLE famile LOVED this recipe! My husband was afraid to take a bite because he said he HATED black eyed peas, but he had TWO helping of this recipe! My 2 year old and 7 year old daughters loved it to! I did use two BIG ham hocks instead of chopped ham. WONDERFUL!

I rate this recipe a 4 because I had to add a lot of ingredients to it to make it my own. We (my fiance and I), made a double batch, and we added 2 bell peppers, celery, basil, parsley, 4 bayleaves, and lots of Tony Satcherins seasoning. It turned out absolutely amazing!!!! I will be making this recipe every new years now. We made "Grandma's Buttermilk Cornbread" and "Famous Fried Cabbage", also from this site... and might I say... the whole meal was rated a ten!!! Everyone raved!!! Thanks for the recipe!!!

we had these for new year's dinner tonite. i usually made the plain old tradition peas, but my mother in law is on a strange diet due to medicine she's on, so she can't eat cured or smoked meat. (so much for ham seasonng) i saw this and thought it would be good since i couldn't use seasoning and left off the ham. it reminded me of something i'd had. there is a restaurant that has black eye pea soup and that was it. i did change the recipe to make it tastier. i added celery, bell pepper, jalapeno and 2 cans of tomatoes. (i didn't bother to crush them) also a little mixed pepper and cayenne. it was great. thanks.