I don't know about you, but I'm ready to get the New Year off to a terrific start! The best way I know to put my luckiest foot forward is to whip up a spread of good-luck foods. Superstition or not, I'm not taking any chances.

Now, depending on who you ask, you'll get all kinds of suggestions of the "right" food to eat for New Years. Growing up a Southern gal, I'm partial to the tradition of black-eyed peas. Sometimes referred to as Hoppin' John when mixed with rice, it's my feeling that black-eyed peas can be prepared any number of ways and still retain ample mojo. One of my favorite recipes comes from member Julie McLaughlin of Drummonds, TN. Her tasty pea salad incorporates garlic, vinegars, cumin, peppers and bacon for one a-list New Year treat with a bit of a bite.

"This is a recipe that I stumbled upon years ago and I tweaked it to my liking," says Julie. "It is also better the longer it sits."

Making Julie's recipe even more tempting is the age-old notion that bacon itself is believed to bring good luck. In fact, pork has had a place at year-end feasts for hundreds of years. The pig is said to symbolize progress and I have some German friends who still mark the occasion by decorating their table with miniature marzipan pigs! Not only are the sweet porkers cute, but they are said to represent "pushing forward" into a new year. (And between you and me, the marzipan almond paste tastes mighty good too! If you've never tried it, give Natasha Snell's easy Marzipan recipe a try.)

Natalie Tamminga of Gallup, NM has made quick work of her good luck feast. Her Grape & Bacon Spinach Salad includes three, count 'em THREE, New Year super foods! In addition to the forward-looking bacon, grapes are believe to represent the sweetness of the coming months while the spinach speaks to all your impending riches! Now if those aren't the makings of a tasty recipe, I don't know what is! Natalie's playful take on a classic wilted spinach salad will have you feeling love at first bite.

While all of these traditions can easily be boiled down to silly old superstition, there remains something very nostalgic about eating the same things each year. Even more comforting is the knowledge that we're dining on the same foods that our ancestors did generations before. The mere fact that we're here to enjoy another year - indeed, another meal - together is testament to all of our extraordinary good fortune. Here is to a prosperous and peaceful New Year!